Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
04/17/2024 01:00 PM House RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB349 | |
| HB251 | |
| HB396 | |
| HB329 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 195 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 251 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 329 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 396 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HJR 22 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 349 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 396-DNR BIG GAME GUIDE PERMIT PROGRAM
[Contains brief mention of SB 253.]
2:19:19 PM
CHAIR MCKAY announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 396, "An Act establishing a big game guide
concession area permit program on land in the state; relating to
the duties of the Big Game Commercial Services Board, the Board
of Game, the Department of Fish and Game, and the Department of
Natural Resources; requiring the Board of Game to establish an
initial big game guide concession area; and providing for an
effective date."
2:19:53 PM
CHAIR MCKAY paraphrased the sponsor statement [copy included in
the committee packet], which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
For years, overcrowding of commercial hunting
operations on state lands have resulted in decreasing
incentives for guides to act as stewards of our public
trust resources. While federally managed lands in
Alaska have successful hunting guide concession
programs, there is no process by which the commercial
use of state land is allocated and no limits on the
number of commercial hunting guide operations that can
operate in these areas. The current unregulated
situation incentivizes guides to aggressively "race
for the game" thereby decreasing quality of experience
for guided clients, increasing conflicts between
commercial users, and disadvantaging resident hunters
and subsistence hunters.
This bill seeks to solve a long-standing problem on
state lands by implementing a constitutionally sound
concession program to limit the number of commercial
hunting guide operations on state lands in Alaska. The
key features of the program include a competitive
process that ensures qualified individuals and new
entrants to the market are selected, a 10-year
concession duration that requires all applicants
(including incumbents) to compete for each concession
area on an even playing field; transferability
conditions; heightened ability for state enforcement
of wildlife laws; and an equitable fee structure that
will allow the state to adequately maintain the
program.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation which
will put in place a proven mechanism to improve the
quality of hunting on state lands to the benefit of
all Alaskans.
2:22:30 PM
AZABEL ORDAZ, Staff, Representative Tom McKay, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor, the House Resources
Standing Committee chaired by Representative McKay, gave a
PowerPoint presentation, titled "HB 396 Big Game Guide
Concession Area Permit Program" [hard copy included in the
committee packet]. On slide 2, she discussed the economic
impacts of the guiding industry on the private sector. She
noted that the economic output of the guiding industry in 2019
was $91 million, and this included direct spending and wages.
She pointed out the data on the industry's spending in rural and
remote areas in the state. She noted that 1,380 individuals
were directly employed by the guiding industry, with most of
these individuals being Alaskan residents. She further
discussed the guide industry's spending in rural and remote
areas in the state.
MS. ORDAZ moved to slide 2 and discussed the guiding industry's
economic benefits to the public sector. She noted the number of
resident and nonresident licenses issued, along with the revenue
from these licenses. She stated that nonresident licenses
generate more revenue than do resident licenses. She moved to
the next slide and discussed the nonmonetary community benefits
from the guiding industry. She stated that the guide industry
shared 223,500 pounds of game meat with Alaskans, with 166,000
pounds of this shared with rural residents.
2:25:55 PM
MS. ORDAZ moved to slide 5 and discussed the guide industry's
history in Alaska, and the lawsuit that struck down the Guide
Licensing and Control Board's program on joint use areas and
exclusive use areas. She continued that after this, federal
programs implemented guide concession programs, while the state
did nothing. She moved to slide 6 and addressed the current
guide situation. She stated that currently there is no process
by which the commercial use of state land can be allocated among
commercial big game hunting guides, and this has caused an
unlimited number of commercial hunting guide operations on state
lands. She explained that this has led to overcrowding,
overutilization of wildlife resources, and [guide companies]
conflicting with resident and subsistence hunters. She stated
that without a limit of commercial guides in certain units, big
game is being exploited. She further discussed this
exploitation and its effects.
2:29:54 PM
MS. ORDAZ moved to slide 7 and pointed out that the Big Game
Commercial Services Board (BGCSB) created the [Big Game
Commercial Services Board Guide Concession Program Workgroup] in
December 2022 to address the problem. This workgroup was setup
to examine complaints received by the public regarding poor
wildlife conservation practices, conflicts, overcrowding, and
overutilization of hunting. She stated that the workgroup
conducted a comprehensive process that included public meetings,
a review of numerous past proposals, and a review of the federal
concession programs. She stated that the workgroup also had
public consultations with licensed guides, residents, other
stakeholders, and various state agencies. She stated that the
concession program proposed by HB 396 is modeled after the
workgroup's recommendations.
MS. ORDAZ moved to slide 8 and slide 9, stating that HB 396
would direct the Board of Game to establish a big game guide
concession area in a single game management unit or subunit,
which would expand to another unit after three years. After
taking public comment and consultation with the Alaska
Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G), BGCSB, and the Department of
Natural Resources (DNR), a determination would be made on a
guide concession area. She stated that the board would
determine the number of permits in the concession area, with
full and limited big game guide concession area permits issued
in an open, public, and competitive process. She added that
guides would be limited to three concession permits, which would
be valid for 10 years. She continued laying out the provisions
in the proposed legislation, as seen on the slides.
MS. ORDAZ moved to slide 10 and discussed the benefits of the
proposed legislation, which include: promotes improvement of
wildlife conservation; reduces conflict between commercial
hunting operations and subsistence and resident hunters;
strengthens and unifies collaboration between ADF&G, Board of
Game, BGCSB, and DNR; provides for stable Alaska business and
employment; and provides an open, public, and competitive
process for new entry.
2:34:43 PM
MS. ORDAZ presented the sectional analysis [copy included in the
committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Sec. 1 Authorizes the Big Game Commercial Services
Board to coordinate and consult with the Board of Game
and the Department of Natural Resources to fulfill the
duties of each under AS 16.05.262 and AS 38.05.022.
Sec. 2 Establishes big game guide concession areas and
designates the Board of Game to oversee the process of
determining which game management units or subunits
will adopt a big game guide concession area permit
program.
Sec. 3 Designates the commissioner of the Department
of Natural Resources to administer the implementation
of the big game guide concession area permit program.
Grants the Department of Natural Resources or their
designee the authority to enforce the terms of this
program and authorizes the commissioner to keep any
proprietary, commercial, and financial information
provided by concession permit applicants confidential.
Clarifies the conditions for permits that must be
included in regulations and provides definitions.
Sec. 4 Establishes the initial big game guide
concession area and permit program under Board of
Game. Provides definitions for permits and game
management unit.
Sec. 5 Adds transitional language allowing the big
game guide concession area program to extend to new
game management units and subunits after the first
concession area has been implemented for at least
three (3) years.
Sec. 6 Provides an immediate effective date.
2:37:00 PM
JASON BUNCH, Chair, Big Game Commercial Services Board, Division
of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Department
of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED),
provided invited testimony on HB 396. He stated that in the
interest of the state's wildlife resources, BGCSB was
established to regulate activities by licensees. He stated that
BGCSB has five main considerations, with the first and foremost
being the conservation of the state's natural resources. He
continued that the other considerations are stewardship,
continued resident opportunities, economic value to the state,
and the viability of small businesses. He stated that the
solution to the state's problem with big game would be to find a
balance of these five criteria.
MR. BUNCH stated that there have been formal complaints from
[the public and the guiding industry] about congestion, a
decrease in game populations, stress by guide businesses,
decisions by the Board of Game, and a decrease in law
enforcement. He stated that to address these complaints, the
Big Game Commercial Services Board Guide Concession Program
Workgroup was formed, of which he chaired. He stated that there
was first an investigation on BGCSB's spending, and it was found
that the bulk of its spending was for investigations on state
land users but not federal land users. He noted that the
difference is federal lands have concession programs that are
competitive. He listed the entities that are affected by big
game commercial services, which include ADF&G, the Board of
Game, DCCED, and DNR. He stated that the workgroup was
comprised of representatives from these entities along with a
member from the public.
MR. BUNCH stated that the workgroup educated itself on the
current federal concession programs by speaking with the
National Park Service and the US Forest Service. He disclosed
that he is a big game guide and has a permit on federal land,
and he noted that he understands the differences in the
concessions by these two federal entities.
2:41:59 PM
MR. BUNCH stated that to address the hurdles, the workgroup
followed the proposed DNR concession plan of 2013, which had had
five years of effort. He noted the workgroup's decision had
been based on BGCSB's five considerations. He continued that 16
public meetings were held in 10 months, with the results being
the recommendations under HB 396. He stated that this is
similar to the federal concession programs, and it would be a
four-step public process. He stated that once there is a
proposal for an area, it would go to the Board of Game, and the
board would alert the other entities of this. From here there
would be a public hearing and an advisory committee set up to
look at the details.
2:45:36 PM
CHAIR MCKAY questioned the final result of the workgroup.
2:45:45 PM
MR. BUNCH responded that the result is HB 396, which BGCSB fully
supports.
2:46:17 PM
MR. BUNCH, in response to a question from Representative
Saddler, stated that the public member of the workgroup was Ted
Spraker. He provided Mr. Spraker's qualifications, including
that he had been a biologist for ADF&G. In response to a
follow-up question, he stated that this was a public seat, as
Mr. Spraker is retired.
2:48:06 PM
JERRY BURNETT, Chair, Alaska Board of Game, Alaska Department of
Fish and Game, expressed support for HB 396 on behalf of the
board.
2:49:13 PM
SAM ROHRER, President, Alaska Professional Hunters Association
(APHA), spoke in support of HB 396. He stated that members of
APHA are statewide, as they guide on state, federal, and Native
lands. He discussed the history of hunting guides in the state,
noting that guiding has been an important economic driver for
rural Alaska. He noted the 1988 court decision that rendered
the state guide system unconstitutional. In response to this
lawsuit, he said, federal agencies had created their own guide
[concession] programs, and he expressed the opinion that they
work very well. He continued with the opinion that the lack of
a state guide system is the most urgent single issue facing the
profession. He explained that the problem has become one of
entitlement, as anyone who holds a guide license can access
state land. He stated that APHA believes the unlimited use of
this land is failing, as the land should be managed by resource
stewardship.
MR. ROHRER expressed the opinion that the problem of the
unlimited use of DNR land was successfully addressed by the
BGCSB's workgroup in its public meetings. He noted that the
workgroup addressed statewide implementation, transferability,
the collaboration of involved entities, the entry of new guides,
and limited concessions. He expressed support for the
workgroup's conclusions, as its proposal would benefit
residents, subsistence users, and rural communities, and it
would put conservation of the resource as its primary goal. He
suggested that without putting a state program in place, there
would be no future for guiding.
2:54:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER questioned how the proposed concession
program would benefit the public.
MR. ROHRER answered that if there were a concession program on
state land, when a resident hunter goes into the field the
hunter would know who is in the field. Currently on state
lands, there could be an unlimited number of guides and no way
to know who else is in the field. He said that in this scenario
it is difficult to avoid each other.
2:55:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER questioned whether SB 253, the Senate's
current version of the legislation, is similar to HB 396.
MR. BUNCH expressed the understanding that these bills are
exactly the same.
2:56:06 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BAKER stated that he has multiple questions. He
asked whether he could send these to the sponsor's office.
CHAIR MCKAY agreed that this would be the best, as the meeting
was out of time.
2:57:22 PM
CHAIR MCKAY announced that HB 396 was held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 396A.pdf |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 396 |
| HB 396 Sponsor Statement Version A.pdf |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 396 |
| HB 396 Sectional Analysis ver A 4.17.24.pdf |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 396 |
| HB 396 Letters of Support 4.17.24.pdf |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 396 |
| HB 396 BGCSB Workgroup Proposal Supporting Document.pdf |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 396 |
| HB 396 Fiscal Note #1 DNR.pdf |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 396 |
| HB 396 Supporting Document Owsichek v. Guide Licensing & Control Bd. 10.21.1988.pdf |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 396 |
| HB 396 Powerpoint Presentation 4.17.24.pptx |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 396 |
| HB 396 Fiscal Note #2 F&G (WC).pdf |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 396 |
| HB 396 Fiscal Note #3 F&G (BOFG).pdf |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 396 |
| HB 329 AM1.pdf |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 329 |
| HB 251 AM1.pdf |
HRES 4/17/2024 1:00:00 PM |
HB 251 |