SENATE BILL NO. 22 "An Act repealing the termination date for the intensive management hunting license surcharge." 9:05:48 AM SENATOR JOSH REVAK, SPONSOR, JUNEAU (via teleconference), discussed the Sponsor Statement: Hunting is a staple of Alaskan culture and essential to the lives of many Alaskans. It is of the utmost importance that the wildlife populations be carefully maintained throughout our state so that future generations can continue to provide food for their families and carry on this great Alaskan tradition. To fulfill this genuine need for conservation, wildlife populations must be monitored to prevent over-hunting and to promote vibrant, healthy, and sustainable wildlife populations. In 1994, the legislature initiated an "Intensive Management Program" overseen by the Board of Game which uses careful observation and scientific analysis to manage Alaska's game populations. Since then, if a population drops below what is required to meet the needs of Alaskans and remain healthy, intensive management (IM) begins with an investigation into the causes of the low population numbers; whether there is a habitat concern, predator population shift, spread of disease, etc. From here, the Board of Game develops policies to meet the identified challenges and maintain sustainable wildlife populations across Alaska. Originally funded with general budget appropriations, hunters supported a bill in 2016 which placed a surcharge ($10 for residents and $30 for nonresidents) on hunting licenses that lets the users directly fund the sustainability efforts of the IM program. Since its passage, an average of $4 million has been raised every year by the surcharge and matched federal grants and the hunting community and industry continues to be in full support. Currently, the IM surcharge has a sunset date which will repeal it and jeopardize the ability of the Board of Game to carry out effective intensive management projects. SB 22 seeks to permanently repeal that sunset date and allow the IM program to continue their sustainability efforts for the wildlife populations that are such an important food source for Alaskans. With the passage of SB 22, the IM program will not have to rely on the availability of more state appropriations or further federal funding as it did before 2016. Ultimately, careful stewardship of Alaska's wildlife resource is what will maintain Alaska's longstanding connection to hunting for generations to come and SB 22 directly supports that mission. 9:07:16 AM EMMA TORKELSON, STAFF, SENATOR JOSH REVAK, continued to address the legislation. Senator Hoffman queried the other category of exemption, besides the elderly. Ms. Torkelson replied that hunters that qualified for an income-based hunting license were exempt from the surcharge. 9:10:28 AM Senator Hoffman remarked that there were several people in rural Alaska that were heavily dependent on hunting to supplement their food source. He wondered whether there would be an acceptance for an exempt status for subsistence hunters. Senator Revak replied that he would entertain and examination of an amendment. He explained that the intent of the bill was increase populations in areas specifically used for subsistent hunting. Senator Hoffman surmised that the intent of the bill was to "add" to general funds, rather than supplant the funds to continue the management of the resource. Senator Revak replied in the affirmative. Senator Hoffman was glad to see that the funds could be used to turnaround and issue, and wished the department had the same philosophy. Senator Olson wondered whether deer, caribou, and moose were the only animals covered by the legislation. Ms. Torkelson deferred to the commissioner of Department of Fish and Game (DFG). Senator Olson specifically wondered whether there was an inclusion of muskox. Senator Olson wondered whether the user groups included the big game hunters from out of state. Senator Revak replied that anyone who bought a tag that did not fall under the exemptions would be contributing to the fund, including the out of state hunters. 9:15:45 AM Co-Chair Stedman asked for an outline of the geographic dispersion of the revenue generation. Co-Chair Bishop wondered whether he would be classified as "elderly." Senator Revak replied in the affirmative. Senator Hoffman wondered whether there could be a staggered surcharge for instate versus out of state hunters. Senator Revak replied that he did not want to complicated the bill and leave funds on the table, but was open to suggestions. Ms. Torkelson furthered that currently, in statute, the surcharge for residents was $10, and the surcharge for out of state residents was $30. Therefore, there was already a difference. Senator Hoffman wondered if there was a difference for intensive management. Ms. Torkelson replied that she could not speak to intensive management. Senator Hoffman stated that he had been in charge of the DFG budget for over 20 years, so he was "well aware of that fact." 9:19:57 AM DOUG VINCENT-LANG, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME, explained that the intensive management (IM) law allowed for DFG to identify moose, caribou, and deer populations that were an especially important food source. Therefore, determining that populations remained large enough to provide food security for Alaskans through an adequate and sustained harvest. He stated that DFG's IM law was funded from a series of capital budgets. He remarked that hunters became concerned about the future of IM when the capital funds ran out. Co-Chair Stedman stressed that there were not dedicated funds, because of the word, "designated" in the constitution. He wanted to hear about the potential offset with other general funds. Commissioner Vincent-Lang replied that the surcharge would go into the Fish and Game Fund, which was the only "dedicated" fund in the state. 9:26:06 AM Co-Chair Stedman felt that the federal government should follow the state's hunting closures in the wintertime. Commissioner Vincent-Lang agreed. Senator Wielechowski asked for an explanation of the federal match. Commissioner Vincent-Lang replied that the money could be used to match the federal funds three to one. He stated that most of the money would be used for research assessing populations of moose, caribou, and deer, and their predator populations. He stated that a portion of the funds was also used without match to conduct the predator control. Senator Wielechowski wondered whether there was a low income exemption for the surcharge. Commissioner Vincent-Lang replied that everyone in Alaska is a subsistence user, unlike under federal law. Therefore, anyone considered "low income" would only pay five dollars. Co-Chair Bishop surmised that some of the money be used for ariel surveys. Commissioner Vincent-Lang agreed. Senator Hoffman wondered what other funds DFG referred to when "this will also free up other funds." Commissioner Vincent-Lang replied that if there were no surcharge, the department would need to dip into the Fish and Game Fund to conduct ongoing activities in the department. 9:31:00 AM Senator Hoffman felt that if, for some reason, the legislation sunsets, there should be an examination of general funds for matching. Co-Chair Stedman wondered whether any funds had been left on the table through the federal government. Commissioner Vincent-Lang remarked that it had been an issue for a few years, so they were trying to reconcile that issue. He stressed that there could be an issue of leaving money on the table without the legislation. Co-Chair Stedman queried the dollars and years that the money was lost. Commissioner Vincent-Lang agreed to provide that information. 9:34:46 AM Co-Chair Bishop OPENED public testimony. 9:35:15 AM JOHN STURGEON, SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL, ALASKA CHAPTER, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), spoke in support of the legislation, and felt that the program should not sunset. 9:36:43 AM AL BARRETTE, SELF, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), testified in support of the bill. He shared that he had seen increases in some of the game populations because of the program. He offered that the bill could be amended, to add to the fee of a hunting license permanently. Co-Chair Bishop CLOSED public testimony. SB 22 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. 9:38:19 AM AT EASE 9:40:32 AM RECONVENED