04/11/2025 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE

SENATE BILL NO. 29                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to an  executive administrator for the                                                                    
     Big Game Commercial Services Board."                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:29:12 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Hoffman  relayed that the committee  heard the bill                                                                    
on April 1, 2025.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
9:29:48 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  JESSE  BJORKMAN,  SPONSOR, relayed  that  the  bill                                                                    
built on the  work on Senator Cronk, and  provided a sponsor                                                                    
statement:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Senate  Bill  29  secures the  executive  administrator                                                                    
     position to  the Big Game Commercial  Services Board in                                                                    
     statute. This  position is paid for  by guide licensing                                                                    
     fees and has been requested  by the Big Game Commercial                                                                    
     Services Board  to make their  work more  efficient and                                                                    
     cost effective.  Guiding has many  complex regulations.                                                                    
     Designating  a  temporary  position to  concentrate  on                                                                    
     licensing  functions,  examinations and  investigations                                                                    
     is current  practice and it  is working  well. Securing                                                                    
     this  position   in  statute  adds  assurance   to  the                                                                    
     continuation of this effective process.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     The  Big  Game  Commercial   Services  Board  plays  an                                                                    
     important  role in  the management  of commercial  game                                                                    
     hunters  in  the  interest   of  the  State's  wildlife                                                                    
     resources.  They  fulfill  this role  by  managing  all                                                                    
     hunting guide licensing  functions, administering board                                                                    
     meetings,  assisting  the  board with  maintaining  and                                                                    
     writing  29  written  and practical  exams,  generating                                                                    
     reports,   and   assisting   Department   of   Commerce                                                                    
     Community  and   Economic  Development's  Investigative                                                                    
     Services  and  Department  of  Public  Safety  in  game                                                                    
     investigations.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     New  licensing  examiners require  extensive  training,                                                                    
     and with board  members only serving 4  years, it seems                                                                    
     like they depart as soon as  they are up to speed. This                                                                    
     has led to administrative  errors that were highlighted                                                                    
     in  the  recent  audit  of the  Board.  The  Board  was                                                                    
     previously sharing an  executive administrator with the                                                                    
     Board of  Marine Pilots to  help address  the workload.                                                                    
     While this helped, the two  boards were too complex. As                                                                    
     a result, a temporary position  was created in the FY24                                                                    
     and FY25  budgets to  add this  executive administrator                                                                    
     using  Designated  General  Funds  paid  for  by  guide                                                                    
     licensing  fees. This  bill  would  continue using  the                                                                    
     same funding  source and codify  this position  and its                                                                    
     range into statute.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:32:09 AM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:32:20 AM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Stedman MOVED to report SB 29 out of Committee                                                                         
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal                                                                     
note. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SB  29 was  REPORTED out  of committee  with four  "do pass"                                                                    
recommendations,  two  "no recommendation"  recommendations`                                                                    
and  with one  previously published  fiscal impact  note: FN                                                                    
1(CED).                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:33:01 AM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:34:44 AM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED                                                                                                                      
Co-Chair Hoffman discussed the agenda for the next meeting.