SB 77-BIG GAME HUNTING WITH CHILDREN  2:00:57 PM CO-CHAIR SADDLER announced that the next order of business would be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 77(RES) "An Act relating to big game hunting with children." 2:01:10 PM LARRY SEMMENS, Staff, Senator Peter Micciche, Alaska State Legislature, said that the proposed bill had been recommended and requested by Senator Kelly and the chair of the Board of Game, Ted Spraker. He paraphrased from the sponsor statement, which read: Since long before statehood, Alaska has enjoyed a long history rich with the subsistence, social and cultural benefits, as well as the generational outdoor traditions derived from Alaska's hunting culture. Such traditions and the outdoor legacy in the best interest of all Alaskans, is most effectively passed on to the next generation by encouraging young people to hunt responsibly. The Board of Game currently possesses the ability to establish special hunts to ensure the responsible instruction and indoctrination of young hunters. This bill will give the board more flexibility to establish youth hunts. The bill will also make an exception to the rule that both the youth hunter and the adult hunter's tags must be punched whenever an animal is harvested in a youth hunt. In the specific case where the hunt is for black- tailed deer in areas where the annual limit is one deer, only one tag would have to be punched. This exception would allow a family to harvest a deer for each tag rather than one deer for two tags. Without this provision, it is likely that there could be low or non-existent participation in youth deer hunts in these areas. Encouraging youth to responsibly participate and carry on Alaska's great hunting tradition and outdoor heritage is very important for youth development and quality multi-generational outdoor experiences. I hope you will consider supporting this important bill. MR. SEMMENS reported that the proposed bill had been unanimously passed by the Senate and had a zero fiscal note. It allowed the Board of Game more flexibility to establish youth hunting seasons by removing a requirement to set the season before school and the regular hunting season. It allows a deviation from the normal requirement of punching both the adult and the youth tags, specifically for Sitka black-tailed deer, thereby allowing a family to take one deer per tag. 2:03:57 PM REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI directed attention to the definition of "adult" on page 2, line 1, and asked if this was the typical definition for an adult. MR. SEMMENS replied that he was unsure if that was a typical definition throughout statute. He deferred to ADF&G. DOUG VINCENT-LANG, Acting Director, Division of Wildlife Conservation, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, offered to research and get back to the committee with an answer. REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI reflected that hunting and sport fishing licenses typically considered 18 as the adult age. CO-CHAIR FEIGE referred to page 1, line 15, "In this subsection," which preceded the definitions for adult. He offered his belief that the intent was for the person accompanying the child to be over the age of 21. 2:07:06 PM CO-CHAIR SADDLER opened public testimony. 2:07:52 PM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked about the elimination of the extra season and questioned whether any time there was an adult hunting with someone under 17 years of age it would be necessary for both to punch their harvest tickets, which had greater ramifications than an extra season. MR. SEMMENS offered his understanding that the provisions of the proposed bill were only applicable to special youth hunts established by the Board of Game and would not impact the regular season and those regulations. MR. VINCENT-LANG explained that the Board of Game, under the statute, created youth hunting opportunities that were different than the regularly scheduled season. He reported that, as in recent years schools had started earlier, it was now more difficult to provide those hunting seasons. This legislation was trying to eliminate the requirement for before the school year hunting dates, so that youth hunts could be offered at times other than the narrow window of time before school began. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON understood that this proposed bill only applied to certain designated hunts, with no consequence for control over non-special hunting seasons. MR. VINCENT-LANG agreed. 2:11:31 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR requested clarification of the age designation, reporting that it was necessary to be 16 years of age to obtain a hunting license, and yet the proposed bill referenced 17 years of age. She questioned whether it would be better for the bill to have 16 years of age as the cut-off, so that older individuals would have the opportunities for regular bag limits. MR. VINCENT-LANG replied that the ages were not changing as a result of the proposed bill. He questioned why the ages had been selected in the proposed bill. He opined that the ages reflected maturity, and that this offered the opportunity for youth still living at home to go on the special youth hunts. He said that age was not a constraint for the current special established hunts. 2:13:33 PM AL BARRETTE testified in support of the proposed bill, as the removal of the side boundaries complicated the allocation issues at the Board of Game. He stated that the Board of Game promoted youth hunting and had the authority to allocate to different user groups. He said that the proposed bill would work and its added language would help to codify. CO-CHAIR SADDLER closed public testimony. 2:14:49 PM REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON referred to page 1, lines 7-8, of the proposed bill, and read: "Only a resident child accompanied by a resident adult ...." He asked why there was a need for the following language for resident parent, step-parent, or legal guardian as this should cover all the possibilities. MR. SEMMENS deferred to Mr. Vincent-Lang. MR. VINCENT-LANG said this should be read as two different parts. The first language would allow a resident adult to take a resident child who was not his family on a hunt. The remainder language for a resident parent, step-parent, or legal guardian allowed for a nonresident child to be taken along. CO-CHAIR FEIGE opined that statute did not currently address a nonresident child and a resident grandparent, and asked whether this addition should be considered. REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER pointed out that the existing statute had already been debated in the legislature. He offered his belief that a resident child accompanied by a resident adult should encompass a child and the child's grandparent. He also questioned the need for the additional language, opining that current statute seemed to be working and it was the sponsor's intent to remove the seasonal restrictions and to acknowledge the unique circumstances for Sitka black-tailed deer. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON expressed his support for the issue raised by Co-Chair Feige, and that this was an opportune time to expand this opportunity. CO-CHAIR SADDLER suggested that a resident legal guardian may also fulfill this requirement. REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER acknowledged the merits of the ongoing conversation, and asked to what degree the discussion should include a blood family member, and should the issue of step- children be addressed. REPRESENTATIVE SEATON pointed out that step-children were already covered, and that only resident grandparents were not covered. 2:20:48 PM CO-CHAIR FEIGE moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1 as follows: Page 1, line 9, following "resident parent," Insert "resident grandparent," MR. SEMMENS said that there was no objection from the sponsor, Senator Micciche. There being no objection, Conceptual Amendment 1 was adopted. 2:22:11 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR suggested that it may be necessary to amend page 1, lines 14-15, to also include "grandparent." CO-CHAIR SADDLER suggested that Conceptual Amendment 1 would allow some latitude. 2:22:47 PM CO-CHAIR FEIGE moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 2 as follows: Page 1, line 14, following "parent," Insert "grandparent," MR. SEMMENS pointed out that this phrase also occurred on page 1, lines 10 - 11. CO-CHAIR FEIGE moved [Conceptual Amendment 1] to Conceptual Amendment 2 to include the addition of "grandparents" wherever applicable. CO-CHAIR SADDLER said Conceptual Amendment 1 to Conceptual Amendment 2 would add "grandparent" as necessary throughout the bill to reflect the intent. There being no objection, Conceptual Amendment 1 to Conceptual Amendment 2 was adopted. There being no objection, Conceptual Amendment 2, as amended, was adopted. 2:24:25 PM CO-CHAIR FEIGE moved to report CSSB 77(RES), Version 28- LS0630\N, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI objected and pointed out that AS 16.05.407 used language different than the proposed bill for who must accompany a non-resident during the hunting of big game. He then withdrew his objection. There being no further objection, HCS CSSB 77(RES) was reported from the House Resources Standing Committee.