05/15/2017 01:30 PM House FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 105                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act establishing the Gordon Haber Denali Wolf                                                                          
     Special Management Area."                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:42:47 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Foster  invited  the  bill  sponsor  to  introduce                                                                    
himself and  to make any  comments he wished  concerning the                                                                    
legislation.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ANDY JOSEPHSON,  SPONSOR,  replied that  the                                                                    
amendment  took  up  a  critic's   concerns  in  an  earlier                                                                    
hearing.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster MOVED to ADOPT Amendment 1 (copy on file):                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 1:                                                                                                            
          Delete "hunting or trapping of wolves"                                                                                
          Insert "taking  of wolves and  the use  of certain                                                                    
          traps and snares"                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 5:                                                                                                            
          Delete "hunting or trapping of wolves"                                                                                
          Insert "taking  of wolves and  the use  of certain                                                                    
          traps and snares"                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, lines 6 - 7:                                                                                                       
          Delete "Hunting and trapping of wolves is                                                                             
          prohibited"                                                                                                           
          Insert  "A person  may not  take a  wolf or  use a                                                                    
          cable snare  with a diameter greater  than 3/32 of                                                                    
          an  inch or  a  leg-hold trap  with  a jaw  spread                                                                    
          greater than five inches"                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     Page 3, line 20, following "who":                                                                                          
          Insert "negligently"                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Representative Kawasaki OBJECTED for discussion.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Representative   Josephson   continued   that   his   office                                                                    
consulted  with Vic  Van Ballenberghe  who  had trapped  100                                                                    
wolves  in his  life, mostly  for study.  He also  consulted                                                                    
with Bruce  Dale, Wildlife Division Director,  Department of                                                                    
Fish and  Game and with  Bernard Chastain of  the Department                                                                    
of  Public  Safety  (DPS)  who   knew  a  great  deal  about                                                                    
trapping. The bill  language was prepared by  Mr. Bullard of                                                                    
Legislative Legal  Services and  reviewed by  the Department                                                                    
of Law.  One of the  criticisms of  the bill was  that there                                                                    
could  be incidental  take  if the  state  just banned  wolf                                                                    
trapping  and  hunting. He  explained  that  the bill  would                                                                    
still ban wolf  trapping and hunting, but the  case would be                                                                    
stronger  if  someone  used  2  types  of  traps  that  were                                                                    
primarily designed  to catch  a wolf  but could  catch other                                                                    
animals too.  The 2 types  of traps  would be banned,  and a                                                                    
person found using them would  be charged with a misdemeanor                                                                    
whether they caught  a wolf. He continued  that the standard                                                                    
of someone's  -mental state would be  "negligently." Another                                                                    
concern raised by a caller  was about whether the bill would                                                                    
impede subsistence. He confirmed  that the legislation would                                                                    
not impede subsistence.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Representative Josephson reported that  there were two units                                                                    
in  question:   subunit  20A   was  closed   to  subsistence                                                                    
currently, and  subunit 20C  of which  only a  small portion                                                                    
would be  incumbered. He  remarked that  all other  forms of                                                                    
trapping would  be allowed.  His office  had carved  out the                                                                    
types  of  traps  that  generally  would  not  impact  lynx,                                                                    
wolverine, and coyotes. Finally, he  noted the Board of Game                                                                    
had  a  similar, although  not  identical,  buffer zone  and                                                                    
there  was  no  litigation  when  it  was  closed  regarding                                                                    
subsistence.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative Guttenberg  asked about the "Insert"  on line                                                                    
11. He  wondered if  the intent  was that  the snare  or the                                                                    
trap  was  designed such  that  it  would not  take  animals                                                                    
smaller than  a wolf. Representative Josephson  responded in                                                                    
the affirmative.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Representative Kawasaki WITHDREW his OBJECTION.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
There being NO OBJECTION, Amendment 1 was ADOPTED.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster  asked Vice-Chair Gara to  review the fiscal                                                                    
notes for the bill.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair Gara reported HB 105 had two zero fiscal notes.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
He relayed the details of FN 1:                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Department: Department of Fish and Game                                                                                         
Appropriation: Wildlife Conservation                                                                                            
Allocation: Wildlife Conservation                                                                                               
OMB Component Number: 473                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
He relayed the details of FN 2:                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Department: Department of Public Safety                                                                                         
Appropriation: Alaska State Troopers                                                                                            
Allocation: Alaska Wildlife Troopers                                                                                            
OMB Component Number: 2746                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Seaton  MOVED  to  report  CSHB  105(FIN)  out  of                                                                    
Committee   with   individual    recommendations   and   the                                                                    
accompanying fiscal notes.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CSHB 105(FIN) was  REPORTED out of committee  with three "do                                                                    
pass"  recommendations, one  "do  not pass"  recommendation,                                                                    
three "no  recommendation" recommendations, and  one "amend"                                                                    
recommendation  and  with   two  previously  published  zero                                                                    
fiscal notes: FN1(DFG) and FN2(DPS).                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster moved to the next agenda item.