Legislature(2021 - 2022)ADAMS 519
04/13/2021 01:30 PM House FINANCE
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB79 | |
| HB80 | |
| SB22 | |
| HB126 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 79 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 80 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 22 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 126 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE BILL NO. 80
"An Act establishing the sport fishing hatchery
facilities account; establishing the sport fishing
facility surcharge; and providing for an effective
date."
1:47:59 PM
Co-Chair Merrick OPENED public testimony.
1:48:23 PM
RON SOMERVILLE, TERRITORIAL SPORTSMEN, JUNEAU (via
teleconference), spoke in strong support of HB 80. He
shared that the Territorial Sportsmen had supported the
surcharge in the past, which greatly helped the local
fishery. He stated it was a situation where the users were
willing to pay for the extra benefits. He noted that the
king salmon fisheries had been abysmal in recent years,
except for fish from the hatchery program supported by
funds from the surcharge. He highlighted there had been
virtually no complaints about the surcharge over the years.
He mentioned the original reason for the surcharge. He
stated the surcharge was a win-win for everyone; it did not
take anything out of the General Fund and was user
supported.
1:50:30 PM
DAVID LANDIS, GENERAL MANAGER, SOUTHERN SOUTHEAST REGIONAL
AQUACULTURE ASSOCIATION (SSRAA), KETCHIKAN (via
teleconference), spoke in support of HB 80. He understood
the bulk of the projected revenue would go to the William
Jack Hernandez hatchery in Anchorage and the Ruth Burnett
hatchery in Fairbanks. He pointed out that the Crystal Lake
hatchery in Petersburg was also owned by the state and
operated by SSRAA. He relayed that a portion of the
operational funding for Crystal Lake was funded through the
surcharge and the funding was critical to the continued
operation of the hatchery. He relayed that fish produced at
Crystal Lake with the funding were primarily king salmon.
The fish were paid for by the surcharge in combination with
Dingle Johnson funds. He highlighted that SSRAA also
produced an equivalent number of kings transported and
released in other Southeast locations. The fish were caught
in large numbers by sport fishers. He stressed the
importance of the operational and maintenance funding for
Crystal Lake. He read from a fact sheet generated by the
Department of Fish and Game. He stated that the user pays
system was fair and appropriate. The organization supported
the passage of the bill.
1:53:10 PM
SUSANNE DOHERTY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SOUTHEAST ALASKA
SEINERS ASSOCIATION, KETCHIKAN (via teleconference), spoke
in support of the legislation. She stated that the hundreds
of millions of dollars in the sportfish hatchery
infrastructure needed to be maintained and upgraded as
appropriate. She stressed the importance of additional
revenues to Southeast Alaska to support king salmon. She
stated a revenue source was needed and reenacting the
surcharge in some form had been a proven method of
generating capital.
1:54:30 PM
BEN MOHR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KENAI RIVER SPORT FISHING
ASSOCIATION, SOLDOTNA (via teleconference), spoke in
support of the governor's version of HB 80. The association
did not support the changes made in the House Fisheries
Committee that added an additional $2.50 to the surcharge.
He explained that the surcharge had fallen off the previous
year because bonds issued for sportfish hatcheries had been
repaid early. He stated that the hunting and fishing
communities had supported the user pays model for fish and
game conservation and management. He relayed that the sport
fishery directly benefitted from Alaska's sportfish
hatcheries. The governor's bill introduced a surcharge on
sportfish licenses and dedicated the funds to supporting
sportfish activities.
Mr. Mohr stated it was critical for the funds generated
from sportfish licenses to stay with the users. The
organization opposed some of the language in amendments
that essentially poured money into the department and were
fairly vague in terms of how the money would be used. He
requested for the excess money to go towards access and
opportunity, specifically to the construction or
maintenance of capital improvements that directly supported
sportfishing access or activities that were not authorized
under the hatchery program. Under the governor's proposal,
the average Alaska fisherman would see a net $5 reduction
in licenses between last year and the coming year, while
maintaining services provided by the department. He thanked
the committee for considering the bill.
1:56:58 PM
Vice-Chair Ortiz thought there had been testimony that the
added surcharge was to partially help address the invasive
species issue. He asked if the organization saw any benefit
from trying to address invasive species.
Mr. Mohr responded that the organization saw the benefit of
managing Alaska's invasive species problem. The issue the
association had with the bill was the $2.50 surcharge. He
stated the organization had been supportive of legislative
efforts to take care of invasive species in Alaska. He
stated that the organization's issue with the $2.50
surcharge, which included invasive species management, was
not specific about how it would impact invasive species
within the sportfishing community. He highlighted that
invasives impacted all users of the resource, not just
sport fishermen.
1:58:16 PM
ROD ARNO, POLICY DIRECTOR, ALASKA OUTDOOR COUNCIL, PALMER
(via teleconference), supported the governor's proposal of
HB 80. He stated that the Outdoor Council had been present
when a Fairbanks Senator got the bond package together to
get the two sportfish hatcheries in operation. There had
been a number of people concerned that when the bonds were
paid off, the fees would go away. He shared that the
membership was supportive of changing the Sportfish
Enterprise Account (primarily about constructing the two
hatcheries) to the Sportfish Enhancement Account. The
outdoor community was supportive of helping to pay for
management of resources they personally benefit from.
2:00:38 PM
KATIE HARMS, DOUGLAS ISLAND PINK AND CHUM (DIPAC), JUNEAU
(via teleconference), supported HB 80. She provided details
about the DIPAC hatchery and its mission. She provided a
brief history of the sportfishing programs operating
through funds from the Department of Fish and Game (DFG)
that were currently almost 90 percent supported by the
sportfish license fee surcharge. She shared that DIPAC had
received just over $300,000 annually for the sportfish
enhancement program. She shared that without the outside
funds, the chinook program would never have started at
DIPAC. The program had become a staple sport fishery in
Juneau for residents and nonresidents. She highlighted that
with the decline in wild chinook stocks in Southeast
Alaska, the opportunity to catch hatchery raised chinook
salmon was more important than ever. She shared that due to
financial uncertainty associated with poor salmon returns
in Southeast Alaska, the DIPAC chinook program would likely
be greatly reduced in the upcoming year if no surcharge
license state revenues were established in the current
session.
2:02:41 PM
Co-Chair Merrick CLOSED public testimony.
Co-Chair Merrick indicated Amendments were due in her
office by the end of Saturday, April 17, 2021.
HB 80 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.