CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 204(RES) "An Act relating to auctions or raffles for hunting harvest permits and big game tags; and providing for an effective date." 9:04:19 AM SENATOR JOSH REVAK, SPONSOR, thanked the committee for hearing the bill. He read the sponsor statement (copy on file): Since its passage in the 1997, the Governor's Auction and Raffle Tag program has successfully and substantially increased funding for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). In 2021, gross revenue was just over $1.2 million. SB 204 seeks to build on this success and expand the department's ability to bring in revenue, which will support wildlife conservation and protection programs and education across Alaska. Foundationally, Senate Bill 204 adds three species to the available harvest permit list and standardizes the number of game harvest permits that ADF&G grants each year to qualified organizations for fundraising auctions or raffles. By doing so, the department will have the flexibility to issue up to four permits for each species, taking into account the health of the game population and recommendations of department biologists when determining the actual number that will be issued each year. The increased revenue from this moderate expansion of available harvest permits will ensure two important outcomes. First, it allows the department to maintain sufficient funds to continue critical conservation and wildlife protection measures that have been the mainstay of wildlife management for decades. Second, with the large increase in firearms and ammunition sales and approximately $18 million in new Pittman- Robertson (PR) grants coming our way, ADF&G will need sufficient matching dollars to prevent these new PR funds from reverting back to the federal government. Modern, effective wildlife management is becoming more expensive. For example, an increase of a couple of dollars to aviation fuel has a major impact on survey and inventory operations which, in turn, are a key element in setting game population and harvest objectives. Without accurate objectives, for instance, the Board of Game cannot make well-informed decisions on yearly hunting seasons and bag limits. In sum, SB 204 will allow more federal revenue to be leveraged for critical sustainable wildlife education and management programs and the proactive work needed to prevent new listings under the Endangered Species Act. Senate Bill 204 directly supports sustainable wildlife populations, outdoor traditions, hunters, and outdoor recreation users. Co-Chair Merrick indicated the committee had been joined by Representative Thompson. 9:07:43 AM Representative Josephson inquired about the impacts of the aerial survey work the senator had mentioned. He asked whether the aerial work would help prevent Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings. EMMA TORKELSON, STAFF, SENATOR JOSH REVAK, responded that the work that the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) supported with the funds was wide-ranging. She offered that online testifiers could answer the question in more detail. Representative Josephson would follow up with Mr. Eddie Grasser on his question. 9:08:52 AM EDDIE GRASSER, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME (via teleconference), supported SB 204 and thanked Senator Revak for introducing the bill. He had worked on the tag program since the 1990s. In 2014, he strengthened the statutes to make fundraising easier. He explained that the goal of the legislation was to make DFG a self-sufficient operation. He provided some history around the legislation. Hunters helped push through the Wildlife Restoration Act in Washington D.C., which elicited the Pittman-Robertson (PR) grants. He thought that hunters seemed more willing to support wildlife conservation than most other groups. Mr. Grasser relayed there was a bill currently being discussed by the United States Congress called the Recovering America's Wildlife Act (RAWA), and if it passed, the department would receive an influx of money almost equal to the money it received in PR grants. The bill would provide money to states for the purpose of recovering species listed as threatened or endangered. He emphasized the importance of recovering these species in Alaska and added that the failure to do so could negatively affect the state's economy. However, RAWA would require funds to be matched by the state in order to receive the funds, and it would be very difficult for Alaska to match $32 million under the current system. He thought SB 204 would help bring financial stability to the state and would be a good first step. He had been looking at other ways for the department to be self-supporting and it was likely that he would be back before the committee with additional solutions in coming years. 9:17:25 AM Senator Revak offered clarity on the suggestion that the bill would prevent new listings under ESA. The bill was essentially focused on effective wildlife management. If hunters were educated and wildlife management was effective, accidental over-hunting would be less likely. Representative Josephson wanted to support the bill. However, he was concerned that 70 percent of the profits would go to the department and 30 percent would go to a non-profit. He was worried that there would be misconceptions about where the money was going. He asked whether language could be added to ensure that the monies could not be used for consumptive purposes. 9:20:07 AM Co-Chair Merrick indicated Representative Rasmussen had joined the meeting. Senator Revak asked Mr. Grasser to comment on Representative Josephson's concerns. He did not know if specific funds could be directed to specific types of management. Mr. Grasser thought there was a way to direct the funds to specific management. He thought it would fall under the same statutes that provided for the non-diversion of funds for the waterfowl and fur-bearing programs. He shared that he had already compiled a team to put together another piece of legislation in the following year that would address some of Representative Josephson's concerns. He reiterated that if RAWA passed, the state would need matching funds to obtain federal dollars. Senator Revak noted that it was his intent and the intent of the department to use the funds for non-consumptive purposes. 9:23:19 AM Co-Chair Merrick OPENED public testimony. Co-Chair Merrick CLOSED public testimony. Co-Chair Merrick provided an amendment deadline for the following day. CSSB 204(RES) was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. 9:24:21 AM AT EASE 9:25:42 AM RECONVENED