04/13/1993 01:30 PM Senate L&C

  SENATOR KELLY  announced SB 177 (SALMON  MARKETING, TAX;ASMI                 
  BOARD & DUTIES) to be up for consideration.                                  
                                                                               
  MR.  FINK  explained  the  changes   contained  in  the  new                 
  committee  substitute which  were included  after discussion                 
  during the previous meeting.                                                 
                                                                               
  SENATOR LINCOLN  asked what guarantees  that representatives                 
  from the small discrete fisheries on the Yukon and Kuskokwim                 
  Rivers,  and Norton  and  Kotzebue Sound  were  going to  be                 
  heard.  MR. FINK said  there were no provisions  stipulating                 
  those concerns.  He said  this bill restricts administrative                 
  costs to 10 percent and the remaining 90 percent would go to                 
  domestic marketing.                                                          
                                                                               
  RICK   LAUBER,   Pacific  Seafood   Processors  Association,                 
  commented that the language on page 4, line 7 was confusing.                 
                                                                               
                                                                               
  It   could   be   interpreted    as   establishing   grades,                 
  classifications, etc.  instead  of  establishing  a  futures                 
  market.  The language he suggested was "...product forms and                 
  to explore  the development  of futures  markets for  salmon                 
  products."                                                                   
                                                                               
  DEAN PADDOCK, Bristol Bay Driftnetters Association, said the                 
  fishermen want to  be reassured  that if they  are going  to                 
  pay, they are going to be able to play a substantial part in                 
  determining where the money goes and that is accomplished by                 
  deleting the "9" on line 29 and adding "8."                                  
                                                                               
  SENATOR LINCOLN  asked what assurance there is  that it will                 
  not tax  the fisherman  whose product  occupies a  specialty                 
  market niche without providing visible benefits to them.                     
                                                                               
  Number 440                                                                   
                                                                               
  MR.  ELTON  said there  probably  isn't any  assurance.   He                 
  pointed out that  the market is extremely  diverse and there                 
  are many new product forms.                                                  
                                                                               
  A  representative  from  the  Alaska  Trollers   Association                 
  opposed SB 177.   Trollers feel that marketing is  not their                 
  problem,  she  said.   Not  catching  enough  fish is  their                 
  problem.                                                                     
                                                                               
  SENATOR RIEGER moved to adopt the amendment and then asked a                 
  question on "e".  He thought they should refer to the "whole                 
  salmon  enhancement tax" instead  of "three percent" because                 
  the figure may vary.                                                         
                                                                               
  KATE TROLL, Southeast  Alaska Seiners Association, explained                 
  that they want  to be able  to petition the Commissioner  of                 
  Department of Commerce and Economic  Development directly to                 
  repeal   the  tax  because  they  didn't  want  to  have  an                 
  institutional perspective involved.                                          
                                                                               
  PAUL FUHS explained the  only provisions in there are  for a                 
  repeal, because other  people might want  to change it.   He                 
  said  it  is  a matter  of  democracy  that  the people  who                 
  establish it should have the right to vote on it.                            
                                                                               
  SENATOR SALO asked  if there wasn't  an easier way to  solve                 
  the   problem  of   having  to   repeal  everything   before                 
  instituting a new tax  rate.  COMMISSIONER FUHS said  he did                 
  believe this was  the most direct way to do it given all the                 
  circumstances.                                                               
                                                                               
  Number 275                                                                   
                                                                               
  TOM  TILDEN, a  commercial fisherman  from Dillingham,  said                 
  there was  a lot of  opposition to the  bill in its  present                 
  form.  There  was a lot of  fear regarding who was  going to                 
                                                                               
                                                                               
  dominate  the  governing board.    He  said  there  were  no                 
  stipulations  for the  commercial  fishermen although  there                 
  were  for  the  processors.   He  feared  domination  by the                 
  seafood processors.                                                          
                                                                               
  SENATOR KELLY asked if there was objection to the amendment.                 
  SENATOR SALO and  SENATOR LINCOLN objected.   SENATOR SHARP,                 
  SENATOR RIEGER,  and SENATOR  KELLY supported the  amendment                 
  and the amendment was adopted.                                               
                                                                               
  SENATOR  RIEGER  moved to  pass the  CSSB  177 (L&C)  out of                 
  committee with individual  recommendations.  SENATOR LINCOLN                 
  objected.  She pointed out that there has been  considerable                 
  language change  to the bill and there were other amendments                 
  that  need  to  be  made  before   it  moves  to  the  other                 
  committees.  SENATOR KELLY said there was ample time to look                 
  at the changes before it moved from the Finance Committee.                   
                                                                               
  SENATOR SHARP,  SENATOR RIEGER,  SENATOR KELLY,  and SENATOR                 
  SALO  favored  moving  the  bill  and  SENATOR  LINCOLN  was                 
  opposed.     The Chairman stated  the motion to move  SB 177                 
  out of committee had passed.