SB 97-BIG GAME PERMIT PROGRAM  3:31:15 PM CHAIR GIESSEL announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 97 "An Act establishing a big game guide concession area permit program on land in the state; relating to the duties of the Big Game Commercial Services Board, the Board of Game, the Department of Fish and Game, and the Department of Natural Resources; requiring the Board of Game to establish an initial big game guide concession area; and providing for an effective date." 3:31:30 PM INTIMAYO HARBISON, Staff, Senator Cathy Giessel, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, called attention to written public testimony on SB 97 received by the committee since the last hearing. 3:31:57 PM CHAIR GIESSEL solicited a motion. 3:32:02 PM SENATOR MYERS moved to adopt Amendment 1, work order 34- LS0445\A.1, to SB 97: 34-LS0445\A.1 Nauman 3/11/25 AMENDMENT 1 OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR MYERS Page 4, line 28, through page 5, line 2: Delete all material and insert: "(e) A concession permit may not be transferred. A big game guide who holds a concession permit under this section may, during the term of the permit, relinquish the permit to the commissioner. If the Big Game Commercial Services Board established under AS 08.54.591 is aware that a big game guide is no longer able to guide in the concession area, the board shall notify the commissioner. The commissioner may revoke the permit under (f) of this section after providing the permittee with written notice and an opportunity to be heard. The department shall immediately reissue a permit revoked under this section." 3:32:12 PM CHAIR GIESSEL objected for purposes of discussion. 3:32:15 PM SENATOR MYERS explained that the intention with Amendment 1 was to remove the permit-transfer provision from SB 97. Professional hunting guides noted that some form of transfer was usually needed because permits were issued for 10 years, and guides may retire, stop operating, or pass away mid-term. Instead of allowing transfers, the Amendment 1 gave the Big Game Commercial Services Board authority to recommend that the DNR Commissioner revoke a permit, with public notice, and immediately reopen the area for a new permit application process. He said the intent was to keep the permit system open and prevent a small group from informally controlling permits, an issue in other limited- entry systems, while still ensuring that vacancies can be filled when guides leave before their permit term ends. 3:34:16 PM SENATOR DUNBAR noted that Senate Bill 189, the predecessor to SB 97, became tied up with other bills at the end of the 2024 legislative session, became law and was now being challenged in court. He noted that legislators expressed a desire to re- establish the programs [established by the contended legislation] through standalone bills to ensure they remain valid regardless of the court outcome. He asked whether passing new, independent bills might render the court case moot, and whether the likelihood of mooting the case was greater if the bills were passed in the same form as last year, "clean", rather than with amendments. 3:36:09 PM Sonja Kawasaki, Legal Counsel, Senate Majority Caucus, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, recommended that SB 97's substantive provisions should stay very close to those originally enacted in SB 189. While amendments would not automatically prevent the case from becoming moot, passing an identical or nearly identical version avoids requiring the court and litigants to argue over whether the new provisions match the challenged ones, thereby increasing clarity and the likelihood of mooting the case. 3:37:15 PM CHAIR GIESSEL sought to clarify that SB 189 had already passed and was in effect as law. She said SB 97 was affirming the passage of Senate Bill 189. She argued that the policy proposed in Amendment 1 might be a very good idea, but was best done as an independent bill of its own. 3:37:49 PM SENATOR DUNBAR agreed with Ms. Kawasaki's legal analysis and advocated for the intent to clarify matters before the court as they consider mootness. He said amending SB 97 would probably complicate matters. He affirmed the content of Amendment 1 but said he would not support it to avoid compromising the passage of SB 97. 3:38:53 PM SENATOR HUGHES concurred with the concerns expressed about Amendment 1. 3:39:11 PM SENATOR MYERS asked Ms. Kawasaki what the consequence would be if the lawsuit [challenging SB 189] was not mooted. 3:39:28 PM MS. KAWASAKI answered that if the state could not successfully argue that the case was moot, the lawsuit would proceed. She explained that if some of the related bills currently before the Senate were not passed into law, the court case would continue with respect to those unresolved bills. 3:39:29 PM SENATOR KAWASAKI and SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI arrived. 3:40:26 PM CHAIR GIESSEL found the objection was maintained and asked for a roll call vote. A roll call vote was taken. Senator Myers voted in favor of Amendment 1, work order 34-LS0445\A.1 and Senators Claman, Hughes, Dunbar, Wielechowski, Kawasaki, and Giessel voted against it. The vote was 1:6. 3:41:50 PM CHAIR GIESSEL announced that Amendment 1 failed on a vote of 1 yea and 6 nays. 3:42:14 PM SENATOR MYERS moved to adopt Amendment 2, work order 34- LS0445\A.2, to SB 97: 34-LS0445\A.2 Nauman 3/11/25 AMENDMENT 2 OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR MYERS Page 4, lines 9 - 10: Delete "without the same open and competitive process provided by the department for the issuance of a concession permit under this subsection" Insert ". The department shall use the same open and competitive process provided under this subsection for the issuance of a new concession permit after the previous concession permit has expired" 3:42:17 PM CHAIR GIESSEL objected for purposes of discussion. 3:42:21 PM SENATOR MYERS explained that Amendment 2 would remove automatic permit renewal after 10 years and instead require permit holders to reapply. He said this was meant to prevent routine renewals that could effectively create lifetime permits in the guide community. 3:43:15 PM CHAIR GIESSEL maintained her objection. 3:43:20 PM SENATOR MYERS withdrew Amendment 2. 3:43:26 PM CHAIR GIESSEL solicited a motion. 3:43:29 PM SENATOR MYERS moved to adopt Amendment 3, work order 34- LS0445\A.3, to SB 97: 34-LS0445\A.3 Nauman 3/11/25 AMENDMENT 3 OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR MYERS Page 5, line 15, following "appropriate": Insert ", except that the commissioner may not delegate authority under this section to the Board of Game or the Big Game Commercial Services Board" 3:43:32 PM CHAIR GIESSEL objected for purposes of discussion. 3:43:34 PM SENATOR MYERS said under SB 97 the commissioner of DNR could choose to delegate the guide concession program, but Amendment 3 would prohibit delegating it to the Board of Game or the Big Game Commercial Services Board. The concern is that those boards include many licensed guides, and delegating authority back to them could recreate pre-1988 conditions from before the Owsichek decision, effectively allowing guides to control their own permitting system again. The intent of Amendment 3 is to avoid that conflict of interest. 3:44:47 PM SENATOR DUNBAR supported the intent of Amendment 5. He agreed the DNR commissioner should not delegate authority back to the Board of Game for the reasons stated. He emphasized this point for the legal record and to clarify that any withdrawal of the amendment was due to concerns about preserving mootness in the related lawsuit, not because of disagreement with its substance. 3:45:26 PM CHAIR GIESSEL maintained her objection. 3:45:29 PM SENATOR MYERS withdrew Amendment 3. 3:45:35 PM CHAIR GIESSEL solicited a motion. 3:45:37 PM SENATOR MYERS moved to adopt Amendment 5, work order 34- LS0445\A.5, to SB 97: 34-LS0445\A.5 Bullard/Nauman 3/12/25 AMENDMENT 5 OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR MYERS Page 1, line 3, following "Resources;": Insert "relating to regulations adopted by the  Board of Game;" Page 1, following line 10: Insert a new bill section to read:  "* Sec. 2. AS 16.05.255(j) is amended to read: (j) This section authorizes the board to regulate regarding the conservation, development, or utilization of game in a manner that addresses whether, how, when, and where the public asset of game is allocated or appropriated. However, the board may  not adopt a regulation that adds additional species to  those listed under AS 16.05.407(a) for which a  nonresident may not hunt, pursue, or take unless the  nonresident is personally accompanied as required by  AS 16.05.407(a)." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 6, line 13: Delete "sec. 2" Insert "sec. 3" Page 6, line 20: Delete "sec. 3" Insert "sec. 4" Page 6, line 21: Delete "sec. 3" Insert "sec. 4" Page 6, line 26: Delete "sec. 2" Insert "sec. 3" Page 6, line 27: Delete "sec. 3" Insert "sec. 4" Page 6, line 29: Delete "sec. 2" Insert "sec. 3" Page 6, line 31: Delete "sec. 3" Insert "sec. 4" Page 7, line 13: Delete "sec. 2" Insert "sec. 3" Page 7, line 15: Delete "sec. 2" Insert "sec. 3" Page 7, lines 16 - 17: Delete "sec. 2" Insert "sec. 3" Page 7, lines 19 - 20: Delete "sec. 2" Insert "sec. 3" Page 7, line 21: Delete "sec. 3" Insert "sec. 4" Page 7, line 22: Delete "sec. 2" Insert "sec. 3" 3:45:42 PM CHAIR GIESSEL objected for purposes of discussion. 3:45:48 PM SENATOR MYERS explained that Amendment 5 clarified that the Board of Game cannot add new must-be-guided species beyond those already defined in statute, currently four species, including sheep and grizzly bear. He noted ambiguity about whether the Board could expand this list using its authority over hunting methods and means. He said there was concern that the board might designate new must-be-guided species in a specific area, and then recommend a guide-concession program to the Department of Natural Resources, potentially creating an unfair advantage or giveaway to certain guides. Amendment 5 would ensure that adding must-be-guided species can only be done by the legislature, not by the Board of Game. 3:47:11 PM SENATOR MYERS withdrew Amendment 5. 3:47:29 PM CHAIR GIESSEL solicited the will of the committee. 3:47:37 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI moved to report SB 97, work order 34- LS0445\A, from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). 3:47:54 PM SENATOR MYERS objected. 3:47:56 PM A roll call vote was taken. Senators Dunbar, Hughes, Wielechowski, Claman, and Giessel voted in favor of SB 97 and Senators Kawasaki and Myers voted against it. Therefore, SB 97 was reported from the Senate Resources Standing Committee by a vote of 5:2.