04/18/2024 10:00 AM House FISHERIES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB297 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HJR 26 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 297 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES
April 18, 2024
10:05 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Sarah Vance, Chair
Representative Kevin McCabe
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative Rebecca Himschoot
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative CJ McCormick
Representative Craig Johnson
Representative Louise Stutes
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 297
"An Act establishing the sport fishing angler access account;
establishing the sport fishing angler access surcharge; and
providing for an effective date."
- MOVED CSHB 297(FSH) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 297
SHORT TITLE: SPORT FISHING ANGLER ACCESS ACCT/SURCHARG
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
01/26/24 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/26/24 (H) FSH, FIN
03/21/24 (H) FSH AT 10:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
03/21/24 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/02/24 (H) FSH AT 10:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
04/02/24 (H) Heard & Held
04/02/24 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
04/04/24 (H) FSH AT 9:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
04/04/24 (H) Heard & Held
04/04/24 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
04/16/24 (H) FSH AT 10:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
04/16/24 (H) Heard & Held
04/16/24 (H) MINUTE(FSH)
04/18/24 (H) FSH AT 10:00 AM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
DOUG VINCENT-LANG, Commissioner
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: On behalf of House Rules by request of the
governor, answered a question on HB 297.
ACTION NARRATIVE
10:05:08 AM
CHAIR SARAH VANCE called the House Special Committee on
Fisheries meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. Representatives
McCabe, Carpenter, Himschoot, and Vance were present at the call
to order.
HB 297-SPORT FISHING ANGLER ACCESS ACCT/SURCHARG
10:05:35 AM
CHAIR VANCE announced that the only order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 297, "An Act establishing the sport fishing
angler access account; establishing the sport fishing angler
access surcharge; and providing for an effective date."
10:05:57 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE moved to take from the table Amendment 1,
as amended on 4/16/24, to HB 297, labeled 33-GH2500\A.1,
Bullard, 4/11/24, which read:
Page 1, line 1, following "Act":
Insert "relating to the duties of the
commissioner of fish and game;"
Page 1, following line 3:
Insert new bill sections to read:
"* Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of
Alaska is amended by adding a new section to read:
LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the
legislature that the commissioner model the biennial
report required under AS 16.05.050(c), added by sec. 2
of this Act, on the Department of Fish and Game's
Professional Publication No. 08-01, titled "Economic
Impacts and Contributions of Sportfishing in Alaska,
2007."
* Sec. 2. AS 16.05.050 is amended by adding a new
subsection to read:
(c) The commissioner shall produce and
disseminate to the public a biennial report on the
economic impacts of sport fishing in the state."
Page 1, line 4:
Delete "Section 1"
Insert "Sec. 3"
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
Page 1, line 8, following "to":
Insert "production and dissemination of the
biennial report on the economic impacts of sport
fishing in the state required under AS 16.05.050(c)
and"
Page 1, line 11, following "use.":
Insert "In allocating money from the account, the
department shall apportion one dollar from the
surcharge imposed on each license by AS 16.05.340(l)
to the production and dissemination of the biennial
report required under AS 16.05.050(c)."
Page 2, lines 22 - 31:
Delete all material and insert:
"(1) resident sport fishing license ...... $5
(2) resident hunting and sport fishing
license .............................................. 5
(3) resident hunting, trapping, and sport
fishing license ...................................... 5
(4) nonresident 14-day sport fishing
license ............................................. 26
(5) nonresident seven-day sport fishing
license ............................................. 21
(6) nonresident three-day sport fishing
license .............................................. 11
(7) nonresident one-day sport fishing
license .............................................. 6
(8) nonresident annual sport fishing
license ............................................. 41
(9) special nonresident military small game
and sport fishing license ............................. 5
(10) special nonresident military sport
fishing license ...................................... 5"
Page 3, line 7:
Delete "Section 4"
Insert "Section 6"
Page 3, line 8:
Delete "sec. 5"
Insert "sec. 7"
[There being no objection, Amendment 1, as amended, was before
the committee.]
10:06:05 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER moved to rescind the committee's action
on 4/16/24 in adopting Conceptual Amendment 1 to Amendment 1.
[Conceptual Amendment 1 would add "subsistence, commercial,"
before the word "sport" on line 14, page 1 of Amendment 1.]
There being no objection, the adoption of Conceptual Amendment 1
was rescinded.
10:06:19 AM
CHAIR VANCE stated that Amendment 1 in its original form was
before the committee. There being no objection, Amendment 1 was
adopted.
10:06:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER moved to adopt Amendment 2 to HB 297,
labeled 33-GH2500\A.2, Bullard, 4/05/24, as amended, which read:
Page 1, line 2, following "surcharge;":
Insert "providing for the repeal of the sport
fishing angler access account; providing for the
repeal of the sport fishing angler access surcharge;"
Page 2, following line 8:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 3. AS 16.05.340(i), as amended by sec. 2 of
this Act, is amended to read:
(i) If the commissioner determines that
residents of the state are entitled to obtain licenses
for sport fishing, including sport fishing for
anadromous king salmon, in Yukon, Canada, for the same
fees that are charged to residents of Yukon for
comparable sport fishing licenses, the commissioner
may adopt regulations authorizing residents of Yukon
to receive
(1) nonresident annual sport fishing
licenses for the fees charged to residents under (a)
[AND (l)] of this section for a resident sport fishing
license; and
(2) nonresident anadromous king salmon
annual tags for the fee charged to residents under (a)
of this section for a resident anadromous king salmon
tag."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
Page 2, following line 31:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 5. AS 16.05.130(i) and 16.05.340(l) are
repealed."
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
Page 3, line 7:
Delete "Section 4"
Insert "Section 6"
Page 3, following line 7:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 8. Sections 3 and 5 of this Act take effect
January 1, 2030."
Renumber the following bill section accordingly.
Page 3, line 8:
Delete "sec. 5"
Insert "secs. 7 and 8"
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT objected for the purpose of discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER stated that Amendment 2 would create a
sunset date of January 1, 2030, for the surcharge to the sports
fish license fee. He stated that this would allow a
conversation on the fee increase at a later date.
10:07:44 AM
CHAIR VANCE questioned why the timeframe of five years was
chosen.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER expressed the opinion that five years
would be enough time for some of the projects using the
surcharge fee to be started.
10:08:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT questioned why a sunset date would be
needed.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER responded that there are constituents
who would want to see an end to the increased fee. He surmised
that once projects are built, the fee should be gone; otherwise,
the fee would be perpetuated, whether it is needed or not.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT questioned whether the extra fee would
be needed for ongoing matching funds. She expressed the
assumption that there would be an unending list of projects,
such as maintenance.
10:09:46 AM
DOUG VINCENT-LANG, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Fish and
Game (ADF&G), on behalf of House Rules by request of the
governor, answered that ADF&G has the intent that when projects
are built, partners would be sought to operate the projects over
the long term. When a partner cannot be found, the department
would need to do the maintenance, and the money could be used in
this way. He stated that the department is not opposed to being
held accountable and having a future review; however, he
cautioned that the timeframe should be further out so there
would be money and results.
10:10:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT questioned whether the five years would
create a review of the effectiveness of the collected fees, and
from this, the sunset could be reupped.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER recommended that if the sunset date
does not seem right, the committee could amend it now. He
suggested that this timeframe should be sufficient to see if the
projects and funding are working appropriately. He explained
that this would not be a "forcing function to stop," rather this
would require a conversation to make an assessment.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT expressed the understanding that the
date could be changed to 2035, for example.
10:12:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE expressed support for sunset dates on
issues like this because a timeframe would be created for a
conversation.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT expressed the desire not to "hamstring"
the department, so it can do what it needs. She also expressed
the desire for a simple path forward when there is a sunset
date.
10:13:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT removed her objection. There being no
further objection, Amendment 2 was adopted.
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE moved to report HB 297, as amended, from
committee with individual recommendations and the attached
fiscal notes. He granted Legislative Legal Services the
authority to make technical and conforming changes. There being
no objection, CSHB 297(FSH) was reported from the House Special
Committee on Fisheries.
10:14:40 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Fisheries meeting was adjourned at 10:14
a.m.
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