05/17/2021 01:00 PM Senate FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 182                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An  Act extending  the  fishery  resource landing  tax                                                                    
     credit  for  certain  taxpayers  that  harvest  fishery                                                                    
     resources   under  the   provisions   of  a   community                                                                    
     development quota;  providing for an effective  date by                                                                    
     amending the  effective date  of secs.  16 and  23, ch.                                                                    
    61, SLA 2014; and providing for an effective date."                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:48:34 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Bishop discussed housekeeping.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:48:57 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  BRYCE EDGMON,  SPONSOR,  explained that  the                                                                    
bill  would extend  the fisheries  landing tax  credit until                                                                    
December 2030.  He noted  that the tax  had been  created in                                                                    
1993, the  same time  as the  CDQ program.  The tax,  at 3.3                                                                    
percent,  was split  50/50  between  municipalities and  the                                                                    
state. He noted that the bill would have no fiscal impact.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:50:28 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Senator  Wilson disclosed  that he  had many  family members                                                                    
that were  beneficiaries of the  credit. He asked  about the                                                                    
effect of the retroactivity in the bill.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Edgmon explained  that the  bill would  most                                                                    
likely have  passed in the  previous legislature if  not for                                                                    
COVID-19  hence the retroactivity clause.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
1:51:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Senator Olson  asked whether there was  any consideration of                                                                    
having other CDQs further north in the Kotzebue area.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Representative Edgmon replied that  the CDQ program was ring                                                                    
fenced around 65 communities in  western Alaska, 14 of which                                                                    
were in  the Norton sound Economic  Development Corporation.                                                                    
He said that the ring  fencing had made for arbitrary policy                                                                    
calls. He stated that without  changing federal law the CDQs                                                                    
could not be extended further north.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Senator  Olson asked  about extending  the  sunset date  and                                                                    
what it  did to the efforts  to extend the program  into the                                                                    
Kotzebue area.                                                                                                                  
Representative Edgmon shared that he  used to manage the CDQ                                                                    
program  and  knew  it  had grown  overtime.  He  said  that                                                                    
expanding the  boundaries of  the CDQ  program would  take a                                                                    
change to federal law.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:54:04 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Bishop OPENED public testimony.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:54:18 PM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:54:37 PM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:54:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ANGEL   DROBNICA,  APICDA,   JUNEAU  (via   teleconference),                                                                    
testified in support of the legislation.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:56:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Bishop CLOSED public testimony.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Bishop  noted that the  amendment deadline  was May                                                                    
17, 2021 at 5PM.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
HB  182  was  HEARD  and   HELD  in  committee  for  further                                                                    
consideration.