Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
02/22/2025 11:00 AM House FISHERIES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB93 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 93 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 93-RESIDENCY REQ: HUNTING, TRAPPING, FISHING
11:01:48 AM
CHAIR STUTES announced that the only order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 93, "An Act changing the residency requirements
for hunting, trapping, and sport fishing privileges; and
providing for an effective date."
CHAIR STUTES noted that it was her intent, and if the will of
the committee, to move HB 93 to its next committee.
11:02:43 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT, as prime sponsor, reintroduced HB 93.
She remarked that HB 93 would align the resident hunting and
fishing licensure requirements with the requirements of the
permanent fund dividend (PFD). She said this would make
residency more enforceable for law enforcement and would lead to
more effective citations where they are needed. She said it
would also preserve the resource for the residents. She said
the goal is to preserve resources and support law enforcement.
11:04:25 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said that she was looking at a document
that the Department of Public Safety legislative liaison
provided regarding the annual amount of residency investigations
conducted by law enforcement. She noted that the document
stated that the Alaska Wildlife Troopers conduct 118
investigations per year. She asked how many convictions were
made of these investigations.
11:05:09 AM
MAJOR AARON FRENZEL, Deputy Director, Alaska Wildlife Troopers,
Department of Public Safety, responded that he looked at this
number and doing a thorough investigation would take time. He
remarked that each case is different regarding their outcome in
court. He explained the complications associated with
researching these convictions. He said that out of those 118
cases, some could involve multiple years of investigation and
could yield multiple charges for a single incident.
11:06:52 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said that she was trying to grasp how
widespread of a problem this is. She noted that something that
someone saw is often different from an actual conviction.
11:07:41 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 11:07 a.m. to 11:14 a.m.
11:14:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP asked Major Frenzel that from an enforcement
perspective, did he think that there is a benefit to realigning
the residency requirement with the PFD requirements.
MAJOR FRENZEL responded that having an exact number of days
allowed to be absent from the state would make enforcement
easier. He said the Department of Public Safety is neutral on
this issue but said the amount of time that a person can be gone
is not defined and allows people to be a resident for hunting
and fishing purposes while being in the state a minimal amount
of time.
11:16:10 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP commented that from a field perspective as
an enforcement officer and the conversation on the initial
contact, that most residents apply for a PFD and almost
everybody has a smartphone. He said if they applied for a PFD
then they could show this information on a smartphone. He said
it would be one more tool enforcement has, and any legal
resident should have no problem showing PFD information. He
said it seems like a "good tool in the box."
11:17:59 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON commented that he supports the bill but
the PFD residency requirements are for January 1 and a person
could come into the state in February and not qualify for
residency requirements for more than a year. He asked for
clarification regarding licensure.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT clarified the PFD deadlines and how it
related to hunting and fishing licensure.
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON remarked that there were some residency
cases that were very expensive to go through the court process
and this could impact the fiscal note.
11:19:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said that she shares the concerns that
resources need to be protected but remarked that she still has
reservations around the mechanics of the bill itself. She
pointed out Section 2 of the bill that defines residency and
stated that discussions with other legislators were taking place
to define residency regarding the elections. She said she would
like to continue to work with the bill sponsor regarding this
topic. She said that questions regarding residency definition
have been commonplace and stated that these definitions should
be common law. She proceeded to talk about residency and intent
and their complications with regards to court systems and other
institutions.
11:21:49 AM
CHAIR STUTES echoed Representative Vance's remarks and that
hunting and fishing resources are dear to Alaskans. She said
that she was delighted to see something that could potentially
support enforcement efforts. She stated that she supported the
bill but understood that other committees could help strengthen
it.
11:22:39 AM
CHAIR STUTES entertained a motion.
11:22:53 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EDGMON moved to report HB 93, out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, HB 93 was reported out of the
House Special Committee on Fisheries.