03/18/2008 03:30 PM Senate COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS

              SB 304-CFEC AS INFORMATION RESOURCE                                                                           
                                                                                                                              
3:32:05 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR OLSON announced the consideration of SB 304.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
DAVE  GRAY, Staff  to Senator  Olson,  Alaska State  Legislature,                                                               
said  SB  304 is  a  committee-sponsored  bill.  It is  meant  to                                                               
provide,  without  charge,   Alaska  Commercial  Fisheries  Entry                                                               
Commission  (CFEC)  information  to Alaska  Regional  Development                                                               
Organizations   (ARDOR).  ARDORs   are  nonprofit   organizations                                                               
comprised of  economic, political,  and social interests  in each                                                               
region, with the purpose of  encouraging and stimulating economic                                                               
activity. Of  the eleven regions with  these organizations, eight                                                               
have substantial  commercial fisheries activities. SB  304 allows                                                               
ARDORs to benefit,  free of charge, by  the fisheries information                                                               
generated by the CFEC. Commercial  fisheries have a multi-billion                                                               
dollar impact on Alaska and are  the main economic engine in many                                                               
parts of the state.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:34:11 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR KOOKESH asked if the CFEC has a position.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR. GRAY said someone is here to testify.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WAGONER said  he has trouble with line 6,  page 3, of the                                                               
bill.  "Why  would  the  ARDOR  be able  to  access  or  even  be                                                               
interested in individual fishermen's earnings?"                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR.  GRAY  said  they  would  not  have  access  to  confidential                                                               
information, only information on trends, averages, and values.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:35:21 PM                                                                                                                    
MR.  GRAY said  to look  at  AS44.33.895. It  talks about  public                                                               
information, not confidential information.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WAGONER  said if  it defined  earnings as  collective, it                                                               
would be fine.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. GRAY  said that is  his understanding. The CFEC  won't reveal                                                               
anyone's  personal gain.  It  does  composite analyses  regarding                                                               
harvest value and  ex-vessel added value in the  region and "that                                                               
sort of thing."                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:37:48 PM                                                                                                                    
FRANK  HOMAN,  Commissioner,   Alaska  Commercial  Fishery  Entry                                                               
Commission, said  normally the  CFEC would  be reluctant  to make                                                               
more work  for themselves without  charging a fee. But  there are                                                               
only  a few  ARDORs,  and he  doesn't anticipate  a  big rush  of                                                               
requests. There  is a zero  fiscal note because the  impact would                                                               
not  be great.  It is  a  matter of  spending  a few  hours of  a                                                               
technician's time to  generate a report that is  tailored to each                                                               
region. He said much of  the CFEC's information is presented more                                                               
broadly than  that. He is  personally sympathetic because  he was                                                               
president of  the Southeast  ARDOR. The  ARDORs have  very little                                                               
money. He believes that SB  304 only allows public information to                                                               
be   released.  The   confidentiality  statute   says  that   the                                                               
commission  may  release  information   that  does  not  identify                                                               
individual fishers,  buyers, or processors, or  the specific area                                                               
where fish had  been taken. The CFEC also has  the requirement of                                                               
not releasing any  information that is not  aggregated to protect                                                               
individual information.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:41:08 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR OLSON asked if there is a charge for the information now.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR.  HOMAN  said it  runs  from  $20 to  $50  per  hour of  work,                                                               
depending  on  the  quality  the   information.  These  types  of                                                               
requests  will run  from a  few hundred  dollars to  $1,500. Even                                                               
with several requests, there will only be a slight impact.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOMAN  said the  CFEC gets  harvest and  earnings information                                                               
from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR THOMAS  asked if this  just expedites the access  to this                                                               
information since it is public information.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOMAN  said this  bill just  allows the  CFEC to  provide the                                                               
information without charge.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR THOMAS asked why an ARDOR would want the information.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOMAN  said ARDORS  look at  the economics  of the  region to                                                               
stimulate  development. "They  use it  as  part of  a package  to                                                               
portray their  region that would  encourage people to  come there                                                               
and stimulate economic development."                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:43:50 PM                                                                                                                    
MR. GRAY said  there is a lot of support  from ARDORs even though                                                               
this bill has only recently been introduced.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  KOOKESH  moved SB  304  from  committee with  individual                                                               
recommendations  and  attached  fiscal note(s).  There  being  no                                                               
objection, SB 304 moved out of committee.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
The committee took a brief at-ease at 3:45:13 PM.