Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
01/26/2022 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB85 | |
| HB79 | |
| SB85 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 85 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 79 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HB 79-SALTWATER SPORTFISHING OPERATORS/GUIDES
4:25:14 PM
CHAIR REVAK announced the consideration of CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO.
79(FIN) "An Act relating to sport fishing operators and sport
fishing guides; requiring the Department of Fish and Game to
prepare and submit a report; and providing for an effective
date."
4:25:50 PM
DOUG VINCENT-LANG, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish and
Game, Anchorage, Alaska, introduced HB 79 on behalf of the
administration. He read the following statement into the record:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Thank you for this opportunity to speak to HB 79,
legislation introduced by the Governor and a
department priority.
With this bill the department would like to reinstate
the saltwater licensing and reporting requirements.
Before amendment in House Fisheries and passage by the
House, last year, it did not reinstate the freshwater
licensing or reporting requirements because the
department does not see an immediate need for this
kind of reporting in freshwater at this time.
However, in House Fisheries the bill was amended to
require licensure of freshwater operators and guides,
but not require reporting by them. This was
accompanied by a reduction in licensure fees for both
freshwater and saltwater guides. This change has
caused some concern with the freshwater operators and
guides across the state. The bill was also amended in
House Finance to include a resident/nonresident
licensing fee differential. The amended version of the
bill was passed by the House last year and is now
before you.
Before I go any further let me provide you with a
little bit of legislative background on this issue.
The sport fish guide and operator licenses were first
adopted in the 2003-2004 legislative session and took
effect in 2005 and remained in effect until December
31, 2014, when they expired due to a sunset clause.
This legislation was passed based on the urging of
both fresh and saltwater guides who were looking to
professionalize their industries and to ensure the
department had information necessary to manage their
fisheries.
During the 2015-2016 legislative session only the
saltwater licensing and reporting requirements were
reinstated with a sunset of 2018. The legislature
stripped the freshwater piece from the legislation and
the Department supported this as we were not using the
freshwater information for in season management or
assessment of fisheries. And, we were seeing minor
logbook violations, for example an error in the
reporting of the number of grayling released, result
in loss of concession permits, notably on federal
lands. This legislation sunsetted in 2018. The
legislature provided some bridge funding through UGF,
but that has since gone away. As such we have no
legislation in place to collect fees to pay for the
marine logbook program.
Logbook data has been collected by the department from
saltwater sport fishing businesses and guides since
1998 and is critical to:
• Upholding the state's US/Canada Pacific Salmon
treaty obligations
• Providing data to the International Pacific Halibut
Commission crucial to making allocation and
management decisions
• It is also critical for the North Pacific Fisheries
Management Council for managing federal fisheries,
avoiding duplicative reporting requirements, and
undue burden on the charter industry.
• Logbook data also supports a myriad of additional
critical uses, including but not limited to; State
Fisheries Monitoring & Management, Advisory
Announcements & Emergency Orders, the Alaska Board
of Fisheries Processes, Advisory Committees, etc...
Let me give you an example of the utility of this
information in the management of saltwater fisheries.
Last year, we saw significant decreases in tourism
across Alaska which resulted in significant reduction
in saltwater charter boat fishing. We used data from
the logbook program to show that we would be
significantly below our catch quotas for halibut in
the charter industry and we were able to use data to
relax the regulations enacted by the IPHC and allow
the charter boat fishery some additional opportunity.
This resulted in increased participation in halibut
charter fisheries, mainly by Alaskans. It also
provided a needed economic boost to the charter
fisheries and local economies.
Fees collected as part of this bill would provide data
necessary to manage marine charter fisheries of
Alaska. These fisheries support somewhere in the
neighborhood of 250,000 angler days of effort and
contribute over $1.5M to the state's economy.
In sum, the Department supports this bill as
introduced by the Governor and see it as a necessary
tool to fund and manage saltwater charter fisheries.
We urge your support in moving this bill out of
committee.
4:30:46 PM
RACHEL HANKE, Legislative Liaison, Alaska Department of Fish and
Game, Soldotna, Alaska, paraphrased the sectional analysis for
HB 79.
[Original punctuation provided.]
Section 1
Establishes license fees for resident sport fishing
guides and operators.
• Resident guide license - $100
• Resident operator license - $200
• Resident operator and guide combined license -
$200
Establishes license fees for nonresident sport fishing
guides and operators.
• Nonresident guide license - $200
• Nonresident operator license - $400
• Nonresident operator and guide combined license -
$400
Section 2
Adds new Article to AS 16.40 that
• AS 16.40.262 provides stipulations for the
sport fishing operator license and defines the
license type
o Includes requirements such as a business
license and general liability insurance
• AS 16.40.272 provides stipulations for the
sport fishing guide license and combined operator
guide license, defines both license types
o Includes requirements such as a current sport
fishing license and first aid certification
• AS 16.40.282 establishes the logbook reporting
requirements for saltwater guides and operators.
Allows the department to collect freshwater
logbook information if the departments deem the
information necessary.
• AS 16.40.292 establishes penalties for
violations the of the chapter
• AS 16.40.301 defines "sport fishing guide" and
"sport fishing guide services".
Section 3
Adds salt sportfishing operator and guide license to
AS 25.27.244(s)(2) which defines "license" in statutes
regarding the Child Support Services Agency.
Section 4
Uncodified law directing the Department of Fish and
Game to prepare a report for the legislature proposing
solutions to gathering harvest data for the saltwater
rental and unguided fishing industry, due December 1,
2022.
Section 5
Effective date of January 1, 2022.
4:32:18 PM
SENATOR STEVENS recalled the courts ruled that the cost of a
nonresident commercial fisheries license must equate to the cost
to administer the program. He asked whether the nonresident fee
increases in this bill are justifiable.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG responded that in the Carlson Case,
the courts ruled that the department may not charge nonresident
businesses more to operate in the state than the relative cost
to administer the program. Typically, the nonresident to
resident cost differential is 3 to 1. On the advice of counsel,
HB 79 settled on a defensible 2 to 1 differential.
4:33:37 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked whether $600,000 was required to
implement the logbook program at the department level and meet
the obligations of the Pacific Salmon Treaty and International
Halibut Act.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG answered that the cost is a little
more than $600,000. Limited funds from the Halibut Commission
and the Salmon Treaty will supplement the cost to do portions of
the logbook program. He said that $600,000 is the unrecoverable
cost associated with this program.
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked how the program was funded prior to
2004/2005 and what the bridge funds were in 2018/2019.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG answered that this was originally
funded through Fish and Game unrestricted general fund (UGF)
dollars. He said that early on the guides wanted to
professionalize the industry, set standards, and use data for
economic analysis. The guides pushed freshwater and saltwater
licensing in the original bill. Later, this information was used
against the freshwater guide industry and became very
controversial. The guide industry successfully let the program
sunset, and the bill with it. The freshwater guide data was not
used by ADFG. The department still had obligations, which Fish
and Game funded through the Sportfish Division UGF and Dingell-
Johnson (DJ) funds in federal aid. Since the bill did not get
reapproved, the department lost the legislature UGF bridge
funds over time. He stated that the department decided to
reintroduce the saltwater piece of this bill to reduce Fish and
Game's dependence on UGF and recover some of those funds. The
saltwater guide industry, in-large part, is supportive of HB 79.
4:36:08 PM
SENATOR KIEHL commented that this a good bill. He asked at what
threshold guide-type activities define an individual as a guide.
He illustrated the question, asking whether a guide/operator
license would be required to put highlighter marks on an
angler's chart, rent an angler a boat and rod, or sell an angler
a bucket of bait.
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG answered that guide activities do not
include boat rentals at this point in time. The official
definition of a guide means that an individual accompanies an
individual, guiding.
4:37:36 PM
CHAIR REVAK opened public testimony on HB 79.
4:38:27 PM
ED MARTIN JR., representing self, Kenai, Alaska, testified on HB
79. He is a 56-year resident of Alaska. He agrees with the cost
of the resident sport fishing services license but strongly
disagrees with the nonresident cost. He reasoned nonresident
fees should be significantly higher because:
1. Nonresident dollars are a better option for generating
revenue than a state income tax, and
2. Cost prohibitive fees will reduce the number of nonresidents
that obtain a guide/operator license. The reduced number of
nonresident guides/operators will create space in the industry
for more local guides/operators.
SENATOR STEVENS commented later in the meeting that he
appreciated Mr. Martin's testimony. Senator Stevens said that
the legislature has attempted to increase nonresident fees for
commercial fisheries in the past. He suggested the Department of
Law brief the committee on the implications and limitations
opined in the Carlson Case.
4:41:33 PM
CHAIR REVAK closed public testimony on HB 79 [and held the bill
in committee.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 85 DNR Presentation 1.26.22.pdf |
SRES 1/26/2022 3:30:00 PM |
SB 85 |
| SB 85 Fiscal Note DNR 1.6.2022.pdf |
SRES 1/26/2022 3:30:00 PM |
SB 85 |
| HB79 Sectional Analysis ver. I 5.13.21.pdf |
SRES 1/26/2022 3:30:00 PM |
HB 79 |
| HB79 Explanation of Changes ver. A to I 5.13.21.pdf |
SRES 1/26/2022 3:30:00 PM |
HB 79 |
| HB 79 Fiscal Note 1.21.2022.pdf |
SRES 1/26/2022 3:30:00 PM |
HB 79 |