02/02/2023 10:00 AM House FISHERIES

             HB 19-REGISTRATION OF BOATS: EXEMPTION                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
10:01:13 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE  announced that the  only order of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE  BILL NO.  19,  "An  Act relating  to  the registration  of                                                               
commercial vessels; and providing for an effective date."                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
10:01:34 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LOUISE STUTES, Alaska  State Legislature, as prime                                                               
sponsor, introduced HB  19.  She stated that the  intent of HB 19                                                               
is to  remove burdensome and  duplicative licensing  fees created                                                               
under Senate Bill  92, "the derelict vessel  bill," passed during                                                               
the  Twenty-Ninth Alaska  State  Legislature and  imposed by  the                                                               
Department  of  Motor  Vehicles (DMV)  to  current  motor  vessel                                                               
owners.     Representative   Stutes  explained   that  currently,                                                               
commercial  fishers must  register with  two state  agencies, and                                                               
the proposed legislation seeks to remove that duplication.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
10:03:16 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MATT GRUENING, Staff, Representative  Louise Stutes, Alaska State                                                               
Legislature, presented HB 19 on  behalf of Representative Stutes,                                                               
prime sponsor.  He gave an  overview of vessel documentation as a                                                               
long-standing national form of vessel  registration with the U.S.                                                               
Coast Guard.   He pointed to document [included  in the committee                                                               
packet]  that outlines  its applications,  and explained  that in                                                               
the   context   of   the  bill   discussion,   "documented"   and                                                               
"undocumented" would  apply "to  having or  not having  that U.S.                                                               
Coast Guard registration."  He stated the purpose of  the bill is                                                               
to exempt the requirement to  register vessels every three years.                                                               
He reiterated the  beginning of the information  the bill sponsor                                                               
had  given  from  the  first couple  paragraphs  of  the  sponsor                                                               
statement   [included  in   the   committee   packet],  then   he                                                               
paraphrased the  next three paragraphs of  the sponsor statement,                                                               
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Prior to the passage of  SB 92, USCG documented vessels                                                                    
     were  exempt  from   DMV  registration;  however,  that                                                                    
     exemption was  repealed by  the bill  and as  a result,                                                                    
     documented vessels now must register with the DMV.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     The rationale  for this requirement was  to provide the                                                                    
     State and local  municipalities with a state-maintained                                                                    
     database of  who owns and  operates vessels  in Alaskan                                                                    
     waters, as well as how to contact those individuals.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     However,  the database  CFEC  maintains for  commercial                                                                    
     fishing  vessels  was   overlooked.  Active  commercial                                                                    
     fishing vessel  owners must renew their  vessel license                                                                    
     annually with the CFEC and  the commission provides the                                                                    
     necessary   contact    information   in    a   publicly                                                                    
     accessible, state database.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR.  GRUENING  defined  CFEC  as   standing  for  the  Commercial                                                               
Fisheries Entry  Commission.   He said HB  19 would  institute an                                                               
annual $8 fee  for documented CFEC vessels upon  renewal, in lieu                                                               
of  the three-year  $20 fee  at  the Division  of Motor  Vehicles                                                               
(DMV), to keep  the bill cost-neutral; the  fiscal notes attached                                                               
to HB  19 reflect interagency  transfers the first  couple years.                                                               
This ensures that although CFEC  vessel owners are exempt from an                                                               
unnecessary  trip to  the DMV,  they are  still paying  their way                                                               
toward boating safety programs through  the Department of Natural                                                               
Resources,  such as  the "Kids  Don't Float"  program.   He noted                                                               
there are  other related boating programs  through the Department                                                               
of Commerce, Community & Economic  Development (DCCED).  The rest                                                               
of  the money,  after  licensing  fees are  paid,  goes into  the                                                               
derelict vessel fund.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
10:07:16 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MATT  GRUENING,  in  response to  Chair  Vance,  offered  further                                                               
details regarding the  fee, including that vessel  owners who had                                                               
already paid the $24 fee would  have that amount apply toward the                                                               
$8 fee  [for three years].   In further response to  Chair Vance,                                                               
he  cited Section  3 of  HB  19, beginning  on page  2, line  26,                                                               
[through page 3, line 2], as addressing this issue.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
10:10:03 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE  ascertained that  there were  no questions  from the                                                               
committee.  She expressed her  support for "cutting out extra red                                                               
tape."                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
10:10:55 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  STUTES expressed  appreciation to  the Department                                                               
of Public  Safety for becoming  aware of the duplicate  issue and                                                               
working with her office.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  VANCE indicated  that  [the duplication  of  fees] was  an                                                               
unintended consequence of Senate Bill 92.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
10:11:40 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
The committee took an at-ease from 10:11 a.m. to 10:12 a.m.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
10:12:36 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE  noted that the  committee had briefly  discussed its                                                               
intent for HB 19 during the at-ease.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
10:12:53 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. GRUENING  noted that  since mentioning  the Kids  Don't Float                                                               
program, he  recalled that  approximately $147,000  annually goes                                                               
to the Alaska Marine Safety  Education Association (AMSEA), which                                                               
conducts marine training and safety exercises.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
10:13:27 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR VANCE announced that HB 19 was held over.