02/13/2018 11:00 AM House FISHERIES

          HB 149-BOARDS OF FISHERIES AND GAME MEETINGS                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
11:31:50 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES announced that  the final order of business                                                               
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 149,  "An Act relating to meetings of the                                                               
Board of Fisheries and the Board of Game."                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
11:32:12 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CHENAULT  made a  motion  to  adopt Amendment  1,                                                               
labeled 30-LS0605\D.1, Bullard, 3/6/17, which read as follows:                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     Page 1, line 12:                                                                                                           
          Delete "a year"                                                                                                       
          Insert "every five years [A YEAR]"                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Page 2, line 1, following "Sound":                                                                                         
          Insert ";                                                                                                         
               (5) Southeast"                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
11:32:26 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TARR objected for the purposes of discussion.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
11:32:54 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
TOM  WRIGHT, Staff,  Representative Mike  Chenault, Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, stated  that the proposed language  was suggested by                                                               
the Southeast  Alaska Fishermen's Alliance.   This language would                                                               
clarify that  board meetings  would take  place every  five years                                                               
under AS  16.05.300(b).  He  was unsure why Southeast  Alaska had                                                               
been included  in the areas listed.   He stated that  Yakutat was                                                               
removed  from Prince  William Sound  and Southeast  was added  as                                                               
another region.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
11:33:39 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  TARR  removed  her objection,  but  commented  it                                                               
seemed strange to  be amending the bill before  hearing about the                                                               
bill.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  STUTES explained  that Amendment  1 was  a technical  fix;                                                               
that the bill affects five  areas in Alaska, yet Southeast Alaska                                                               
was omitted.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
11:34:16 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EASTMAN asked  for further  clarification whether                                                               
the bill  would require the board  to meet once every  five years                                                               
in each of these five [regions].                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR. WRIGHT answered yes; that is correct.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
11:34:44 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There being no further objections, Amendment 1 was adopted.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
11:35:08 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CHENAULT  stated  that  HB  149  related  to  the                                                               
meetings of the  Board of Fisheries and the Board  of Game.  This                                                               
bill  would propose  two changes.    First, it  would change  the                                                               
three-year meeting  cycles for management  of a  specific fishery                                                               
to five years.  Secondly, it  would add Kenai to the Southcentral                                                               
region as a location to hold Board of Fisheries meetings.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CHENAULT explained  that the  main reason  he was                                                               
advocating for  a change from  the three-year meeting cycle  to a                                                               
five-year  meeting  cycle  was  to  determine  whether  proposals                                                               
adopted  by the  Board of  Fisheries were  working. A  three-year                                                               
cycle was simply too short of  a timeframe to determine whether a                                                               
policy adopted  by the board  was beneficial to the  resource and                                                               
the many user  groups dependent on salmon,  especially since most                                                               
salmon runs range from three to seven-year cycles.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  CHENAULT said  that  the Board  of  Fish or  Game                                                               
could  still   meet  under  emergency  order   to  address  those                                                               
situations.   The  Commissioner of  Alaska Department  of Fish  &                                                               
Game  (ADF&G) or  two or  more board  members could  also call  a                                                               
meeting.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT explained the  second change, noting that                                                               
the board  has not met  on Upper Cook  Inlet (UCI) issues  in the                                                               
Kenai-Soldotna area since  1999.  These UCI issues  have a direct                                                               
impact  on Kenai  Peninsula  residents  as well  as  the rest  of                                                               
Southcentral  Alaska.    Although  he said  he  was  not  against                                                               
holding meetings  in Anchorage or  the Mat-Su areas,  he believed                                                               
due the  impact on  commercial fishermen and  all user  groups in                                                               
the Kenai Peninsula  area, that it was imperative they  meet on a                                                               
regular basis on the Kenai Peninsula area.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
11:37:29 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EASTMAN   asked  for  further   clarification  on                                                               
whether  the Kenai  or  the  Mat-Su area  would  qualify for  the                                                               
meeting.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CHENAULT answered that was correct.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
11:37:49 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR STUTES  directed attention to  the fiscal note  in members'                                                               
packets, noting  that the bill has  a cost savings to  the state.                                                               
She announced that the bill would  be set aside for a future date                                                               
at which time public testimony would be taken.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
[HB 149 was held over.]