Legislature(2023 - 2024)GRUENBERG 120

04/02/2024 10:00 AM House FISHERIES

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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+= HB 195 COOK INLET: NEW ADMIN AREA;PERMIT BUYBACK TELECONFERENCED
Moved CSHB 195(FSH) Out of Committee
*+ HB 297 SPORT FISHING ANGLER ACCESS ACCT/SURCHARG TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
*+ HB 294 ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF FISHING VESSELS TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
+ Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled TELECONFERENCED
        HB 297-SPORT FISHING ANGLER ACCESS ACCT/SURCHARG                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
10:04:07 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE announced  that the first order of  business would be                                                               
HOUSE  BILL  NO. 297,  "An  Act  establishing the  sport  fishing                                                               
angler  access account;  establishing  the  sport fishing  angler                                                               
access surcharge; and providing for an effective date."                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
10:04:24 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
DOUG VINCENT-LANG,  Commissioner, Alaska  Department of  Fish and                                                               
Game  (ADF&G),  on  behalf  of  House Rules  by  request  of  the                                                               
governor,  introduced  HB  297.   He  stated  that  the  proposed                                                               
legislation  would   establish  a  surcharge  on   sport  fishing                                                               
licenses for  funds to  go toward nonboating  angler access.   He                                                               
explained  the importance  of access  for Alaskans,  stating that                                                               
this surcharge would  enable the department to  fund services for                                                               
anglers, including  construction and  maintenance of trails.   He                                                               
explained  in  detail  why  the  proposed  legislation  would  be                                                               
necessary.   He  stated  that  the bill  would  create parity  in                                                               
angler  access  to fishing  resources  between  shore access  and                                                               
motorized access.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
10:07:21 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
JOE  FELKL, Legislative  Liaison, Alaska  Department of  Fish and                                                               
Game,  on behalf  of  House  Rules by  request  of the  governor,                                                               
paraphrased the  sectional analysis on  HB 297 [copy  included in                                                               
the   committee  packet],   which  read   as  follows   [original                                                               
punctuation provided]:                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Section  1:  amends  Fish and  Game  Fund  statutes  by                                                                    
     adding a  new subsection creating a  subaccount for the                                                                    
     sport fishing  angler access surcharge, referred  to as                                                                    
     the Sport Fishing Angler Access Account.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
     Section 2:  conforming amendment  to the Fish  and Game                                                                    
     license, permit,  and tag fees statute  that authorizes                                                                    
     the Commissioner of Fish and  Game to provide residents                                                                    
     of the  Yukon with  nonresident sport  fishing licenses                                                                    
     and tags for the same fee as a resident license.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     Section 3:  amends Fish and  Game license,  permit, and                                                                    
     tag fees statute to add  a new subsection (l), creating                                                                    
     the angler access surcharge.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     Section 4: transition section to allow the Department                                                                      
       of Fish and Game to adopt regulations necessary to                                                                       
     implement the bill.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Section 5: immediate effective date for section 4.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     Section 6: effective date of January 1, 2025, for all                                                                      
     other provisions of the bill                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR.   FELKL  discussed   the  fiscal   impact  of   the  proposed                                                               
legislation.    He stated  that  by  using  a 5-year  average  of                                                               
licensing   sales,   deducting   10  percent   for   the   vendor                                                               
commissions,  the  surcharge  is  estimated to  be  $4.1  million                                                               
annually.  He stated that these  funds will be deposited into the                                                               
new angler-access  sport fishing account,  and there would  be no                                                               
added cost to the department.   He asserted that this would allow                                                               
nonboating angler-access projects not  to compete with other work                                                               
of the  Division of Sport  Fish.  He  noted that the  user groups                                                               
support a user-pay system.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
10:10:16 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  VINCENT-LANG gave  the  example of  the Homer  Spit                                                               
access  project.   He  noted that  across  the state  boardwalks,                                                               
fishing piers,  canoe access,  and kayak  access would  be added,                                                               
along with guide  and map publications of  the nonboating access.                                                               
He stated  that this would  provide legal access into  areas that                                                               
cannot support boating access.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
10:11:20 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  VANCE questioned  what the  current license  fees are  and                                                               
what the  proposed change would  be.  She questioned  whether the                                                               
different fees would be impacted equally.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR.  FELKL   responded  that   the  proposed   surcharge  differs                                                               
depending  on  the license  type.    For resident  licenses,  the                                                               
surcharge amount would  be $4, and a  nonresident surcharge would                                                               
be anywhere from $4 to $40.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
10:12:36 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HIMSCHOOT  questioned  how  the  collected  funds                                                               
would be distributed among projects.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  VINCENT-LANG  answered  that   ADF&G  would  use  a                                                               
similar model  to the current boating-access  model to distribute                                                               
funds.    He  noted  that  there  would  be  a  call  for  public                                                               
proposals,  and a  five-year plan  would be  created to  fund the                                                               
projects.   In  response to  a follow-up  question, he  explained                                                               
that distributing  the money proportionately would  be difficult,                                                               
as tracking  the money would be  hard.  He emphasized  that ADF&G                                                               
would  not short  sight Southeast  Alaska, as  many lakes  in the                                                               
area need access.  In response,  he said that ADF&G could provide                                                               
funding  for increased  opportunities  for  subsistence users  as                                                               
long as there was a sport fishery part of the funding package.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
10:14:32 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE  asked if the  recent $5 increase  in bison                                                               
tags has proven beneficial for the  state.  He postulated that in                                                               
the future some  areas may not agree that the  sport fish funding                                                               
was spent appropriately.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG  responded that the  proposed surcharge                                                               
to license  fees in HB 297  would be modeled after  the surcharge                                                               
to build  fish hatcheries,  and these sport  fish funds  would go                                                               
into a  subaccount.   He expressed  confidence that  this process                                                               
would  not   bring  about  any   disagreements  because   of  the                                                               
subaccount.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MCCABE asked  if there  was a  ranking system  in                                                               
place to choose which projects to fund first.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR.  FELKL answered  that ADF&G  prioritizes projects  around the                                                               
state based on need first, and then on the available funding.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
10:17:04 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER  asked why ADF&G's cost  estimate in the                                                               
fiscal  note  does  not  include   a  dollar  figure  for  future                                                               
maintenance of the projects.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG  answered that the cost  estimate of HB
297  is  modeled after  a  recent  boating-access project,  where                                                               
partners  take  over  the  maintenance  after  the  projects  are                                                               
constructed.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  FELKL  added  that  the fiscal  note  relates  to  financial                                                               
impacts  directly from  HB 297  and explained  that the  proposed                                                               
legislation creates a surcharge, and  it does not account for any                                                               
future or  proposed projects.  He  noted that coming up  with the                                                               
cost to maintain the projects would be challenging.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER  commented that  it is  always difficult                                                               
to estimate the  cost of future projects and said  that it is the                                                               
responsibility  of  the legislature  to  ensure  tax dollars  are                                                               
being spent responsibly.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG  expressed agreement with  the comment.                                                               
He  reiterated that  this  would be  modeled  after the  boating-                                                               
access project.   He expressed the hope that  partners would help                                                               
with the maintenance.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
10:19:33 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE  asked Commissioner Vincent-Lang about  the timelines                                                               
of any potential projects.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  VINCENT-LANG  gave  his  understanding  that  ADF&G                                                               
could complete  most of the  proposed projects  in a year  or two                                                               
once the funding becomes available.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR. FELKL  added that the  timelines for each  individual project                                                               
would be  on a case-by-case basis  and offered to follow  up with                                                               
an answer.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
10:20:12 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CARPENTER asked  if there  is a  list of  angler-                                                               
access projects currently waiting funding.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR.  FELKL  answered  that  there  was a  list  provided  to  the                                                               
committee prior to the meeting.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
10:20:52 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 10:20 a.m. to 10:24 a.m.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
10:24:18 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MCCABE  asked  for  clarification  regarding  the                                                               
nonresident surcharge.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER VINCENT-LANG  answered that  the surcharge  would be                                                               
about a third of the fish hatchery surcharge.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE  requested a full price  list of the licenses  so the                                                               
full impact to anglers could be seen.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
10:26:38 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CARPENTER asked  if  private  employers or  state                                                               
employees would complete projects funded by grants.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  VINCENT-LANG  responded  that   there  would  be  a                                                               
combination of the  two in any given project.   He discussed this                                                               
further.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
10:27:13 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE announced that HB 297 was held over.                                                                                

Document Name Date/Time Subjects
HB 297 - Transmittal Letter v.A.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 297
HB 297 - v.A.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 297
HB 297 - Sectional Analysis v.A.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 297
HB 297 - Supporting Document Surcharge Revenue Breakdown 01.31.24.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 297
HB 297 - ADF&G-SF Fiscal Note.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 297
HB 297 - Non-Boating Angler Access Projects Supporting Doc..pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 297
HB 294 - Transmittal Letter v.A.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 294
HB 294 - v.A.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 294
HB 294 - Sectional Analysis v.A.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 294
HB 294 - ADF&G-SFM Fiscal Note.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 294
HB 294 - NOAA Observers and EM At-a-glance Supporting Doc..pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 294
HB 195 - Amendment #4 (A.1) by Rep. Vance.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 195
HB 195 - Amendment #5 (A.7) by Rep. Vance.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 195
HB 195 - Amendment #6 (A.6) by Rep. Stutes.pdf HFSH 4/2/2024 10:00:00 AM
HB 195