Legislature(2019 - 2020)ADAMS ROOM 519
02/07/2020 01:30 PM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Fy 21 Budget Overview: Department of Fish and Game | |
| SB74 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 205 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 206 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 74 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE BILL NO. 205
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
loan program expenses of state government and for
certain programs; capitalizing funds; making
appropriations under art. IX, sec. 17(c), Constitution
of the State of Alaska, from the constitutional budget
reserve fund; and providing for an effective date."
HOUSE BILL NO. 206
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
capital expenses of the state's integrated
comprehensive mental health program; and providing for
an effective date."
^FY 21 BUDGET OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
1:38:47 PM
DOUG VINCENT-LANG, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND
GAME (via teleconference), introduced the PowerPoint
presentation: "FY 2021 Budget Overview: Department of Fish
and Game" (copy on file). He began with slide 2 titled The
Constitution of the State of Alaska, which reviewed the
portion of the states Constitution dealing with natural
resources as follows:
Article 8 Natural Resources; ? 4. Sustained Yield
Fish, forests, wildlife, grasslands, and all
other replenishable resources belonging to the
State shall be utilized, developed, and
maintained on the sustained yield principle,
subject to preferences among beneficial uses.
The Alaska Statutes
Title 16. FISH AND GAME; Sec. 16.05.020.
Functions of commissioner.
(2) manage, protect, maintain, improve, and
extend the fish, game, and aquatic plant
resources of the state in the interest of
the economy and general well- being of the
state.
Mission Statement
To protect, maintain, and improve the fish, game,
and aquatic plant resources of the state, and
manage their uses and development in the best
interest of the economy and the well-being of the
people of the state, consistent with the
sustained yield principle.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang turned to slide 3 titled " Alaska
Department of Fish and Game Core Services:
Management
Provide hunting and fishing opportunities,
protect state's rights to manage its fish
and wildlife resources, protect and improve
habitat and access.
Stock Assessment and Research
Ensure sustainability and harvestable surplus,
improve assessment and research capabilities,
invest in new technologies, anticipate changing
conditions.
Customer Service and Public Involvement
Make improvements to information and education
services, the Boards and other regulatory processes,
licensing and permitting.
1:40:52 PM
Commissioner Vincent-Lang continued to slide 4 titled
Alaska Department of Fish and Game Economic Value:
Sustainable Management of Fish and Wildlife Resources
means $12.4 billion dollars in economic value to
Alaska!
Commissioner Vincent-Lang added that the Department of Fish
and Game (DFG) managed the resources for sustainability and
yield, to provide an economic benefit, and improve the
wellbeing of Alaskans. He indicated that DFG received an
approximate annual budget of $200 million of which $65
million were either Unrestricted General Funds (UGF) or
General Funds (GF). The department turned the investment
into over $12 billion in economic value as follows:
Commercial Fisheries returned $5.6 billion; Sport Fishing
returned $1.9 billion; Wildlife $4.6 billion; and
Subsistence $0.3 billion.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang turned to Slide 5 titled "Alaska
Department of Fish and Game Regional and Area Offices."
showing the locations of regional and area offices within
the state. He spoke of the importance of serving remote
locations.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang highlighted slide 6 titled
Alaska Department of Fish and Game FY 2021 Operating
Budget Comparison, which displayed a bar chart of the FY
21 Operating Budget compared to previous management plans
in FY 19 and FY 20. He offered that the department reduced
GF in total by 4.2 percent between FY 19 and FY 21. He
noted that the reduction minimized the impact on
sustainability or investment returns. The department was
able to meet all constitutional, statutory, and regulatory
responsibilities.
1:42:08 PM
Commissioner Vincent-Lang moved to slide 7 titled "Alaska
Department of Fish and Game FY 2021 Fund Source Breakdown
by Fund Category. The slide depicted a pie chart of the
percentage of core services funded by GF for FY 21. He
noted that nearly half [46.3 percent] was expended on stock
assessment and research, approximately 30 percent [27.1]
went to management of surplus yields, and 20.2 percent to
customer service and public involvement. The slide also
contained a chart of DFGs funding streams. He reported
that over 70 percent of the budget was derived from non-GF
sources with the majority comprised of federal funds.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang continued to slide 8 titled
Department of Fish and Game Strategy for Reducing General
Fund Authority:
Least impact to return on investment
Availability of alternative funding
Opportunity to enter in new partnerships
Commissioner Vincent-Lang related that he had asked the
staff to evaluate DFGs programs according to the bullet
points listed on the slide. The department was asked to
identify programs that could save GF. He communicated that
since much of the Division of Commercial Fisheries was most
dependent on GF most of the impact fell on the division.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang reviewed Slide 9 titled "Alaska
Department of Fish and Game FY 2021 Operating Budget Change
Highlights:
Division of Commercial Fisheries
• Southeast Regions Fisheries Management, ($401.7)
UGF, (1) permanent part-time
$66.2 UGF and 1 permanent part-time
position reduction to close Wrangell Office
$19.9 UGF reduction to dive fishery stock
assessment
$315.6 UGF reduction to eliminate Southeast
red king crab assessment
• Central Region Fisheries Management, ($47.2) UGF
$47.2 UGF reduction to eliminate pike
suppression
• AYK Region Fisheries Management, ($299.6) UGF
$299.6 UGF reduction of Bering Sea salmon
research
• Westward Region Fisheries Management, ($123.2)
UGF
$23.2 UGF reduction of management of Frazer
Lake fish pass
$100.0 UGF reduction to Westward region
facility maintenance
• Statewide Fisheries Management, ($159.0) UGF, (1)
permanent full-time
$159.0 UGF and 1 permanent full-time
position reduction to aquaculture planning
and permitting
• Division of Sport Fisheries
$250.0 UGF reduction of support for license
modernization
• Boards of Fisheries and Game
$24.5 UGF reduction to travel for Boards
supplemental meetings
• Habitat Section
$24.0 UGF reduction to realize savings from
position changes
Commissioner Vincent-Lang remarked that the slide listed
the programs that were either eliminated or reduced. He
hoped to find additional grant money for the Central Region
pike suppression, Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) Region,
Bering Sea salmon research, and Westward Region management
of Frazer Lake fish pass. He noted that the license
modernization program was currently operating on a grant
and was in the development stage. He offered that he would
seek operational money in the future. He concluded the
presentation.
1:46:05 PM
Representative Sullivan-Leonard asked why weirs were being
removed in the upper Cook Inlet. Commissioner Vincent-Lang
answered that the reduction happened in the prior year, but
the count took place because the weirs were already
operating. He relayed that the department was leaving one
of three weirs in place. The counts at the weir were used
for post-season assessments to determine how accurate the
management decisions were and would not affect in-season
management. He noted that he would be looking for
additional funding through partnerships to keep one of the
weirs open. He emphasized that the department could manage
the fisheries under the current Board of Fish management
plan guidance to meet escapement goals. Representative
Sullivan-Leonard relayed that she would be monitoring the
situation closely.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang thanked the committee and
welcomed further questions.
1:48:28 PM
Vice-Chair Ortiz referred to slide 9 and asked for the
total amount of the reductions for commercial fisheries.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang responded that it was about
$900,000. He deferred to the Administrative Services
Director.
DAYNA MACKEY, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT
OF FISH AND GAME, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, OFFICE
OF THE GOVERNOR responded that the amount was approximately
$1.3 million.
Vice-Chair Ortiz asked whether the department analyzed the
impact of the $1.3 million cut on the $5.6 billion return
on investment cited on slide 4. Commissioner Vincent-Lang
replied that the largest impact would be from the
elimination of the Southeast red king crab fishery. He
noted that the fishery only occurred about 25 percent of
the time over a decade. The department chose to cut from
the Southeast red king crab assessment rather than from a
fishery like Bristol Bay, which occurred annually. He
offered to provide the return on investment figure for the
years the red king crab fishery operated.
1:51:02 PM
Vice-Chair Ortiz thought that eliminating the red king crab
assessment would prevent a personal use fishery from
happening. He asked whether his statement was correct.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang responded that it would not
impact subsistence fisheries. Vice-Chair Ortiz clarified
that it would impact the personal use fishery. Commissioner
Vincent-Lang agreed with the statement. Vice-Chair Ortiz
wondered how many personal use fishers would be impacted.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang did not know and offered to
provide the answer later. He furthered that his goal was to
explore opportunities for using alternative options like
designing a fishery that would allow DFG to collect
assessment through a commissioners permit. The permit
would allow the department to use the fishery to obtain
stock assessment information in a manner that allowed
informed fishery management decisions for future openings.
He noted that currently ADFG used the approach in Adak and
Prince Willian Sound with Tanner crab.
Vice-Chair Ortiz asked about a $19.9 thousand UGF reduction
to the dive fishery stock assessment under the same
Southeast Region list. He asked who would be impacted by
the dive fishery reduction. Commissioner Vincent-Lang
answered that the reduction impacted dive fisheries for
Geoduck and Sea cucumbers, among others. Typically, the
department sent divers down to make an assessment. He
wanted to partner with the fisheries divers to design a
program that helped with the assessment as a way to keep
the fishery open. He did not have the statistics for the
number of people impacted but would provide the
information. Vice-Chair Ortiz asked for clarification by
what the commissioner meant by help with the assessment.
He inquired whether he wanted the divers to share the cost
of the assessment and pay additional landing taxes.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang responded affirmatively.
1:53:48 PM
Vice-Chair Ortiz asked about the closure of the office in
Wrangell due to a lack of use. He shared that he had
information that showed the office was heavily used. He
asked for an explanation. Commissioner Vincent-Lang
responded that he might have misspoke. He intended to say
that the office was little used for the management of
fisheries. He pointed out that DFG could manage the areas
fisheries just as easily out of Petersburg. The department
was modernizing its licensing through electronic licensing.
He argued that given the proximity to Petersburg, the
Wrangell office could be closed without impacting stock
assessment and management. He acknowledged that the office
was heavily used by the community.
1:54:58 PM
AT EASE
1:55:30 PM
RECONVENED
Co-Chair Foster reported that Representative Merrick had
joined the committee meeting online.
Co-Chair Johnston asked Commissioner Vincent-Lang to
explain what the Sustainable Salmon Fund was.
1:56:50 PM
Commissioner Vincent-Lang clarified that the fund was a
federal grant program focused on sustaining Alaskas salmon
runs and protecting habitats. The fund allowed the
department some flexibility in making awards for things it
determined were priorities for sustaining Alaskas salmon
resources. He related that the fund was used for pike
suppression in relation to sport fishing and he wanted to
expand it to protect commercial sockeye fisheries. Co-Chair
Johnston asked for the annual amount of the grant.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang could not recall the total sum of
the project. He would provide the information. Co-Chair
Johnston asked whether all the grant money was encumbered
by other projects. Commissioner Vincent-Lang replied that
all the funds were awarded as grants in the prior year. He
furthered that he had the opportunity to shape the grant
into the future for priorities and planned to reshape it
into priorities for UGF items that were reduced in the
budget process.
Co-Chair Johnston wondered whether the state had matching
money for the Pitman Robertson funds. Commissioner Vincent-
Lang responded that he thought the department had a good
process in place to ensure funding would not be lost in the
future. He recalled that millions of dollars had reverted
in previous years. He indicated that part of the
departments strategy was to pursue grant proposals from
the public for improved hunter access across the state. The
grantees would provide the matching funds. The option had
helped to spend down some of the excess funds. Co-Chair
Johnston recognized the value of the fund.
1:59:08 PM
Representative Wool queried about the 2 positions that were
eliminated in the aquaculture planning and permitting under
Statewide Fisheries Management. Commissioner Vincent-Lang
responded that the person occupying one of the positions
was retiring. The position will not be filled, and the
responsibilities will be reassigned within the program. He
was assured by the division that mariculture planning and
permitting will not be impacted. He viewed mariculture as
an additional way to provide economic opportunity for the
state.
Representative Wool clarified that the House recently
passed a mariculture bill that supported and encouraged the
industry. He asked whether the commissioner was referring
specifically to mariculture and not aquaculture.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang responded in the affirmative.
2:00:35 PM
Representative Knopp asked about a reduction of $250,000
for license modernization. He asked if the funding had to
do with HB 260 (Fish & Game Licenses; Electronic Form)
{Chapter 54 SLA 18 07/13/2018] that was adopted in
February 2018. Commissioner Vincent-Lang explained that the
reduction was money set aside to maintain the program after
it was developed. He hoped that the amount to maintain
electronic licensing would not be close to $250,000. The
development funding was still available, and the department
planned to move forward with electronic licensing.
Representative Knopp expressed concern that the project was
not moving along very far. He recalled that the intent of
the bill was to create an electronic display and he
understood that the design was going a lot further. He was
concerned with the projects slow progress in two years and
wondered when it would be completed. Commissioner Vincent-
Lang indicated that within the year phone displayed
licenses should be ready. The new application would also
include harvest reporting and other items associated with
licensing. Representative Knopp reiterated his concern.
2:03:28 PM
Representative Wool relayed that when he went to get a
license at a retail store, an employee had to manually
enter in all the data, which was time consuming. He asked
if that reflected an improvement or was part of
modernization. Commissioner Vincent-Lang suggested that
electronic licensing should make it easier for the user to
apply online at home by entering all the necessary data. He
suggested that having a vendors employee enter data
remained more efficient that using paper books where the
department had to transfer all the information into the
data base.
SAMANTHA GATTON, DEPUTY OPERATIONS MANAGER, DIVISION OF
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME,
interjected that for the prior two years DFG was
transitioning to paperless licensing. Currently, stores and
entities were in the process of complying, using the
departments paperless application and licensing system
called eVendor. The department was providing training and
was no longer sending paper booklets to license vendors.
The licensee's drivers license was scanned, and the entire
transaction was done electronically. She added that the
system realized a cost saving for the department.
Representative Wool suggested that the system was too
cumbersome for an eVendor and some vendors might decide it
was not worth offering licenses. He stated that a license
could not be issued at home because a license needed to be
verified. He thought going into the DFG office might be
more efficient but not convenient. He asked whether the
department received any pushback from retail vendors who
thought the process involved too much work.
2:06:52 PM
Ms. Gatton responded that the retailers and entities
enjoyed the process. She indicated that the vendors were
compensated and received $1 for every application.
Eliminating the paper saved the vendors time as well. She
qualified that the system was still a work in progress.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang offered that a person had the
option to go online to apply for a license making it easier
for the end user. Representative Wool appreciated the
information.
2:07:57 PM
Representative Josephson looked at what had been removed
from the operating budget by the veto and restored from the
prior year. He noted that the vetoes maintained the
reduction of roughly $1 million from the Division of
Commercial Fisheries and was currently proposing an
additional cut of about $1 million. He inquired whether the
department received feedback on the prior years cuts.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang answered that he had not heard
much feedback. He deduced that since the vetoes occurred in
August many of the reduced items were already operational
and services were continued. He thought that the impact
would be felt in the current years upcoming field season.
He informed the committee that the department had already
discussed partnership opportunities with the Bristol Bay
Science Partnership to cover some of the work impacted by
the reductions. He endeavored to continue mission critical
work through partnerships, other opportunities, and federal
funding. Representative Josephson wondered whether the full
weight of the cuts would be felt in the upcoming fishing
season. He asked whether the commissioner was concerned
over the cuts. Commissioner Vincent-Lang stated that he
could manage the departments mission critical functions
and constitutional and statutory duties with the budget
that was passed.
2:10:11 PM
Vice-Chair Ortiz understood that commercial fishing and DFG
was down by over 20 percent UGF since 2015. He shared that
at the time he became a legislator, the department had a
stellar reputation with Alaska having world class managed
fisheries. He stressed that the effort took investment and
believed that the reduction in the investment over time had
an impact on the ability for DFG to maintain its status. He
cited the return on investment by commercial fisheries on
slide 4 as $5.6 billion. He surmised that as the state
moved forward the market for Alaskas seafood products
would increase as the worlds population grew. He thought
that in order to protect Alaskas current economic value
and invest in the growth potential it was
counterproductive to continue to reduce DFG support.
Commissioner Vincent-Lang responded that because of tough
financial times, the department has had to tighten its belt
in ways that did not impact the core of the program. He
believed that the core of the program remained strong and
was convinced the department remained a world class
fisheries organization and was a model to others. He
acknowledged that impacts would be felt but, overall, he
was confident the department would be able to continue to
fulfill its mission and provide a good return on
investment.
2:13:33 PM
Vice-Chair Ortiz related concerns he discovered during the
prior fishing season. He indicated that there was a
significant overestimate of the return of chum salmon
throughout the state, which particularly impacted Southeast
Alaska. The overestimate had a significant impact on the
regions gillnetters and Seine fleet. He continued that no
one at DFG had been able to explain the over-estimation. He
suggested that an increase in the budget might be warranted
in cases where errors in estimates or other management
decisions occurred to determine the causes. Commissioner
Vincent-Lang answered that it was clear that the
overestimation had to do with something interrupting the
fishery out in the ocean. He reported that the department
reprioritized a fisheries scientist to study ocean
survival questions. Currently, the department was
developing a plan to better understand the problem. He
believed that the department could not find the answer
alone and needed to engage in partnerships and find federal
or other dollars to find the answer.
2:16:10 PM
Representative Wool asked about the department's hatchery
investments. He asked about investment trends and whether
the department was trying to supplement the lacking
numbers of fish. Commissioner Vincent-Lang asked a
clarifying question. He inquired whether Representative
Wool was speaking to private nonprofit hatcheries across
the state or the sportfish state hatcheries. Representative
Wool responded that he was more interested in the private
hatcheries. He was unfamiliar with how the private
nonprofit hatcheries operated. Commissioner Vincent-Lang
stated that the private nonprofit hatcheries were producing
significant amounts of fish. One question was whether the
pink or chum hatchery fish were straying and impacting
Alaska's wild stocks. He mentioned an article he had
written about 6 months prior discussing his cautionary
approach that would not permit increased pink and chum
salmon releases until the wild stock issue was understood.
He noted that work was underway to study the issue in
cooperation with private industry and was two or three
years into a five year study. Hatchery production for sport
and commercial fisheries was important for times of low
wild stocks but he cautioned that a careful measured
approach to avoid impacts on wild stocks was warranted.
Co-Chair Foster thanked the commissioner and the other
testifiers.
HB 205 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 206 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
2:18:59 PM
AT EASE
2:20:05 PM
RECONVENED
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Deptartment of Fish and Game FY21 Budget Overview 2.7.20.pdf |
HFIN 2/7/2020 1:30:00 PM |
|
| FY21 Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund Cap Request.pdf |
HFIN 2/7/2020 1:30:00 PM |
ADFG Response HFIN Overview |
| ADF&G Response to HFIN Hearing 2.7.20.pdf |
HFIN 2/7/2020 1:30:00 PM |