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Senate Backs Stevens' Fish Permit Fee Bill
HB 194 Allows Maximum Charges to Outside Fishermen

(JUNEAU) -Non-residents fishing commercially in Alaska will pay higher but more legally defensible permit fees than residents, under legislation the Alaska Senate passed unanimously today.

House Bill 194, sponsored by Rep. Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak), addresses a situation that has exposed the state to $22.5 million in potential liability in a 1982 class-action lawsuit, Carlson v. Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, in which non-resident fishermen claimed Alaska's higher non-resident fees violated federal constitutional protections of interstate workers.

"Over the years we've had a policy of charging out-of-state fishermen three times more than in-state fishermen, and the courts have told us we can no longer do that," Stevens said. "What this bill does is get us to the point where we can charge the most we can legally according to the courts, instead of an arbitrary 3-to-1 ratio."

In a June 2000 ruling on the Carlson case, the Alaska Superior Court approved only two of the six categories of expenditures the state has used in calculating the fees: direct operating expenses, such as the salaries of state employees; and overhead expenses, such as the costs of building maintenance. The six disallowed categories are: general government expenses such as highways and schools; capitol costs, such as ports and harbors; loan subsidies provided to state fish hatcheries; and revenues the state gave up by allowing private fishermen to benefit from the state-owned fisheries resources.

The state is appealing that court decision, and hopes to win approval of most or all of those categories. While passage of HB 194 will have no direct impact on the resolution of the Carlson case, it does replace the state's 3-to-1 formula with language that lets the state charge the maximum differential allowed by law, Stevens said. While that differential would be based initially on the two allowed categories, it would increase if and when court allowed any of the remaining four.

"This bill will not only halt the growth of the state's liability in the Carlson case, but also puts into place a legally defensible formula to make non-residents contribute their fair share toward the expenses the state incurs in supporting the nation's most vibrant commercial fishing industry."

HB 194 moves next to the governor.

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