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.]