02/24/2020 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES

            SB 145-REGISTRATION OF BOATS: EXEMPTION                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:30:15 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR MICCICHE  announced that the  only order of  business would                                                               
be SENATE BILL  NO. 145, "An Act relating to  the registration of                                                               
commercial  fishing  vessels;  and  providing  for  an  effective                                                               
date."                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:30:46 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR COGHILL moved to adopt  the committee substitute (CS) for                                                               
SB 145, work order 31-LS1292\U, as the working document.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR MICCICHE objected for discussion purposes.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:31:33 PM                                                                                                                    
KONRAD  JACKSON,  Staff,  Senator Peter  Micciche,  Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, Juneau,  Alaska, reminded the committee  that SB 145                                                               
seeks  to  resolve some  unintended  consequences  of a  derelict                                                               
vessel bill that  passed in  2018. SB 145 removes duplicative and                                                               
confusing   registration  requirements   for  active   commercial                                                               
fishing  vessels,   inadvertently  created  by  passage   of  the                                                               
derelict vessel bill, Senate Bill 92.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
He provided  the following summary  of changes from version  A to                                                               
version U of SB 145:                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
   • Section 1:                                                                                                                 
     Amends page 2, line 9: deletes the word "fishing".                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. JACKSON  explained that the change  in section 1 is  to allow                                                               
for other vessels, such as  tenders, registered by the Commercial                                                               
Fisheries  Entry  Commission  (CFEC)   to  also  fall  under  the                                                               
registration requirement.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
   • Section 2:                                                                                                                 
     Amends AS 05.25.056(a) to  clarify the requirement that                                                                    
     vessels not  exempted by  section 1  of the  act, shall                                                                    
     apply  to  the  Department   of  Administration  for  a                                                                    
     certificate of title.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
   • Section 3:                                                                                                                 
     Adds new subsections to AS 16.05.475:                                                                                      
     (e)  CFEC  shall  assess an  $8.00  commercial  fishing                                                                    
     vessel registration fee.                                                                                                   
     (f) Specifies the fee collected  shall be accounted for                                                                    
     in the same  manner as the fee  previously collected by                                                                    
     Dept. of Administration (DMV).                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
   • Section 4:                                                                                                                 
     Adds a  retroactivity clause to uncodified  law, making                                                                    
     section 1 of the bill effective January 1, 2020.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
   • Section 5:                                                                                                                 
     Adds new immediate effective date.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:33:50 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  KAWASAKI   asked  him  to  clarify   which  version  the                                                               
committee is considering.  He said he has a version  U, a version                                                               
M, and the  original version A and a summary  of changes document                                                               
from version A to version G.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. JACKSON  apologized and  said the  summary of  changes should                                                               
say from  version A to  version U,  which is the  correct version                                                               
and the  one Senator Coghill  moved. He added that  the substance                                                               
of the summary of changes from the CS is correct.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  COGHILL  asked  for  an explanation  of  the  change  in                                                               
section 3, subsection (f) that points to the DMV statute.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR.  JACKSON explained  that the  new  subsection (f)  in the  CS                                                               
requires the $8  fee assessed by CFEC to be  accounted for in the                                                               
same way that the current  DMV registration fee is accounted for,                                                               
which would go toward the derelict vessel fund.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:35:26 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR MICCICHE summarized that the  committee decided at the last                                                               
hearing that commercial  fishermen should be pay  the same amount                                                               
for registration  as everyone else  who is registering  a similar                                                               
vessel. However, the committee questioned  the need for fishermen                                                               
to  go  to  DMV  to  register  when  they  are  preparing  for  a                                                               
commercial fishing season.  He admitted that the  rollout for the                                                               
current  registration requirements  did not  go well  and SB  145                                                               
eliminates  the   rollout  requirement.   The  bill   will  allow                                                               
commercial fishermen  to simply  click a box  and pay  their boat                                                               
registration  fee for  the  season  as they  do  every year  when                                                               
renewing permit fees and vessel fees on the CFEC website.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:36:25 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  MICCICHE   removed  his  objection.  Finding   no  further                                                               
objection, version U was adopted.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:37:06 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR MICCICHE noted  that public testimony was  heard during the                                                               
last hearing and it was still  open. Finding no one who wished to                                                               
testify, he  closed public  testimony on SB  145 and  solicited a                                                               
motion..                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:37:18 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR COGHILL  moved to report  the CS  for SB 145,  version U,                                                               
from  committee  with  individual  recommendations  and  attached                                                               
fiscal notes.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:37:28 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR MICCICHE found no objection and CSSB 145(RES) moved from                                                                  
the Senate Resources Standing Committee.