02/28/2012 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE

           SB 190-BIG GAME COMMERCIAL SERVICES BOARD                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:08:01 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR EGAN announced the consideration of SB 190.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:08:24 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR PASKVAN moved to bring CS  for SB 190, version \M, before                                                               
the committee for discussion purposes.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR EGAN objected, for discussion purposes.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LINDA  MENARD, sponsor of  SB 190, thanked the  chair and                                                               
committee for allowing  the bill to be heard and  then turned the                                                               
presentation over to her staff.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MICHAEL ROVITO, Chief of Staff to  Senator Menard, said SB 190 is                                                               
about  licensing  and  disciplinary   issues  for  the  Big  Game                                                               
Commercial  Services  Board.  The  board  spent  about  one  year                                                               
working on these changes that  they think are beneficial to their                                                               
industry.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
First,  he said,  the bill  will create  a retired  status master                                                               
guide outfitter  license; an individual holding  this license may                                                               
not guide or  outfit in the state, but the  license will serve as                                                               
a symbolic  recognition of their  achievement in  the profession.                                                               
The medical field has five such retired status licenses.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
He said the  bill also simplifies and  clarifies the relationship                                                               
between a registered guide working  for another registered guide.                                                               
It also  eliminates the  requirement that  a registered  guide be                                                               
present in the  field during a hunt if a  Class A assistant guide                                                               
or another registered guide working  for the contracting guide is                                                               
handling the  hunt. Currently, the  contracting guide  would have                                                               
to fly out  to the site of  the hunt, even if it's  just to shake                                                               
the person's  hand that is  going on the  hunt. Not having  to do                                                               
that would  save money  and resources,  because another  guide is                                                               
actually conducting the hunt.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR.  ROVITO explained  that  the CS  gives  the board  additional                                                               
authority to suspend or permanently  revoke a transporter license                                                               
or any class of guide license  if it finds, after a hearing, that                                                               
the  licensee  engaged  in conduct  involving  unprofessionalism,                                                               
moral  turpitude  or gross  immorality.  Further,  the bill  will                                                               
slightly change the  penalties for certain violations  to allow a                                                               
court  to  order  the  board  to suspend  a  license  instead  of                                                               
requiring  the  court to  order  the  board  to suspend  it.  The                                                               
concern  here was  that a  minor  violation might  fall into  the                                                               
category where  the court has to  order the board to  suspend the                                                               
license;  this would  give  the  court a  little  more leeway  to                                                               
determine the severity of the  offense before ordering revocation                                                               
of a license.  The last section simply directs  the department to                                                               
set a fee for that retired status license.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR.  ROVITO said  Version M  gives the  board authority  to adopt                                                               
other regulations  that it considers appropriate.  Another change                                                               
in section 4  gives the board the ability to  make regulations to                                                               
change the requirement  that the contracting guide  be present in                                                               
the field, and that can be  done through the course of the normal                                                               
board deliberations  (as opposed  to through statute).  The third                                                               
change  makes the  section 4  effective  date July  1, 2013,  the                                                               
reason  being that  the board  meets in  March and  December, and                                                               
it's  unlikely   that  this  legislation  will   be  through  the                                                               
legislature by  the time their  March meeting occurs.  This would                                                               
give  them time  to address  the contracting  guide in  the field                                                               
issue at their next board meeting  so it could go into effect the                                                               
next year.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
The  final change  was  that  the original  bill  didn't have  an                                                               
effective date;  that was cleared up  by adding that the  rest of                                                               
the bill goes into effect immediately.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:13:38 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR GIESSEL asked  what five medical licenses  have a retired                                                               
category.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR.  ROVITO answered  chiropractic,  medical doctor,  physician's                                                               
assistant, podiatrist and optometrist.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR EGAN opened public testimony.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:14:35 PM                                                                                                                    
THOR  STACEY, Alaska  Professional  Hunters' Association,  stated                                                               
support for the  CS for SB 190. It is  an extensive collaborative                                                               
effort through the  board process to make the  statutes more user                                                               
friendly, and it has been well vetted by all parties.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
He said section  4 addresses supervision requirements;  this is a                                                               
big  issue for  both the  guide industry  and members  conducting                                                               
hunts and  running businesses.  It's what  the public  wants from                                                               
licensed professionals  hunting big  game animals in  Alaska. The                                                               
intent of these changes is  to maintain a supervision requirement                                                               
in statute that is permissive enough  to allow the board to adopt                                                               
meaningful regulations  that fulfill  the supervision  intent. An                                                               
example is the question of  whether a registered guide could take                                                               
meat out of  the field. The requirement to  be physically present                                                               
in the field with the client  at least once during the contracted                                                               
hunt was  not meaningful; the  hinge point was the  definition of                                                               
"field."  Operators   that  were  not  supervising   their  hunts                                                               
correctly  were able  to circumvent  the  requirement by  shaking                                                               
hands with a client and signing  a contract on state land outside                                                               
of an area with permanent  dwellings. Removing that provision and                                                               
giving   the  board   the   regulatory   authority  to   approach                                                               
supervision  in a  meaningful way  will make  it work  better. He                                                               
clarified that this bill does not address licensing standards.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:19:50 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR PASKVAN thanked him for a thorough explanation.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:20:28 PM                                                                                                                    
LIEUTENANT   BERNARD   CHASTAIN,    Alaska   Wildlife   Troopers,                                                               
Department of Public Safety, Anchorage,  said he was available to                                                               
answer questions.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if they support SB 190.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
LIEUTENANT CHASTAIN answered that they  are fine with the changes                                                               
in SB 190. Currently, the court  is bound to a mandatory one-year                                                               
suspension for a  conviction, but the language  change allows the                                                               
court to decide if a suspension is warranted or not.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  PASKVAN asked  if  the  CS is  an  improvement that  the                                                               
troopers added to.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
LIEUTENANT CHASTAIN  said he'd been involved  throughout and that                                                               
yes it was.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:22:39 PM                                                                                                                    
JOE  KLUTSCH, master  guide  representing  himself, King  Salmon,                                                               
stated support for  SB 190 and that the CS  refines the points in                                                               
the current  legislation. Statutes are sometimes  restrictive and                                                               
this  gives the  board the  authority to  respond to  federal and                                                               
state  agencies, industry  concerns, public  safety and  wildlife                                                               
enforcement agencies.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
2:25:11 PM                                                                                                                    
LOREN  KARRO,  registered  guide  representing  herself,  Palmer,                                                               
stated support  for the SB 190,  although she said both  items in                                                               
section  4  were  already  addressed  by 12  AAC  75.240  and  AS                                                               
8.54.620  when they  discuss the  duties of  a Class  A assistant                                                               
guide. She  stressed that section 4  in no way allows  a guide to                                                               
sit  in a  Florida or  California  condo and  conduct their  hunt                                                               
through somebody else.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:27:22 PM                                                                                                                    
DAN  MONTGOMERY,  master  guide  representing  himself,  Wasilla,                                                               
stated strong  support for SB 190.  It will be very  good for the                                                               
industry.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:28:28 PM                                                                                                                    
WAYNE KUBAT,  master guide representing himself,  Wasilla, stated                                                               
support for  SB 190,  but said  he agreed  with the  previous two                                                               
presenters  that the  in-field issue  was already  addressed. "In                                                               
the field" means  the same or neighboring guide use  area. If you                                                               
have a  hunting lodge there, it's  easy to comply with,  but that                                                               
is  not the  case for  him where  the nearest  place is  70 miles                                                               
away, and he can't buy gas  for his airplane there. That has been                                                               
the problem with the in the field participation.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
He also didn't understand the  changes why the effective date for                                                               
section  4  was delayed  for  a  year  (so  the board  can  adopt                                                               
regulations  formalizing   a  Class  A   guide  to  work   for  a                                                               
contracting  registered  guide),  because   it's  already  in  AS                                                               
08.54.620 and regulation 75 AAC 240(a).  Why wait a year to adopt                                                               
regulations that are already covered?                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
2:30:58 PM                                                                                                                    
DICK ROHRER, master guide representing  himself, Kodiak, said Mr.                                                               
Stacey covered the issues very  well. He heard Mr. Rovito mention                                                               
not requiring the  contracting guide to be  physically present in                                                               
the field and that statement could  be a bit misleading, not that                                                               
that was his intent. He explained  that he is a contracting guide                                                               
who is  always in the field;  he doesn't fly an  airplane, but he                                                               
has other  guides guiding clients,  as well. His  ongoing problem                                                               
is that he  is in a place  where he has to have  a certain height                                                               
and stage of tide  access for a boat; then the  boat goes dry for                                                               
as much as  a week and he  can't physically get back  to his base                                                               
camp in case  a client finished a hunt early  and wants to leave.                                                               
So,  this  language helps  contracting  guides  who are  actively                                                               
involved in  the business to  not get  caught in a  problem area;                                                               
it's not designed  for him to not be there  and still oversee the                                                               
hunt. He said it was not necessary to delay implementation.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:33:30 PM                                                                                                                    
VIRGIL UMPHENOUR,  master guide representing  himself, Fairbanks,                                                               
said Big  Game Guides is  the only  occupation he knows  of where                                                               
the 14th Amendment  of the Constitution of the  United States has                                                               
been violated  by statute if you  fill out a form  wrong. He fits                                                               
in the  same category as Mr.  Rohrer except that he  hunts inland                                                               
and some of his camps may be  120 to 150 miles apart and accessed                                                               
by  boat. Boat  gas at  Huslia,  where he  bases his  operations,                                                               
costs $7/gallon; and if the  wind starts blowing, it's impossible                                                               
to leave.  If a client  wants to  leave early he  will definitely                                                               
leave,  and  then  you  can't   comply  with  the  communications                                                               
requirement. These changes make the law better.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  EGAN  thanked  everyone   for  testifying  and  said  that                                                               
completed public  testimony. He  announced the  he would  hold SB
 in committee and bring it up again soon.