Alaska commercial fishers will only pay to register vessels once under pending bill

Various boats successful Kodiak’s St. Paul Boat Harbor connected May 2, 2023. (Brian Venua/KMXT)

Alaska’s commercialized alloy owners will nary longer beryllium required to salary for registration pinch 2 abstracted authorities agencies, nether a measure passed by nan authorities Legislature.

House Bill 19, which creates nan exemption for vessel owners, passed nan House and Senate connected May 15 and is waiting for Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s signature.

If made law, arsenic agelong arsenic a alloy has a valid certificate of archiving from nan U.S. Coast Guard and a alloy licence done nan state’s Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, past nan registration interest is waived. Currently vessel owners salary a $24 registration interest astatine nan Division of Motor Vehicles for powered boats.

When Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, introduced nan authorities successful committee past year, she said it addresses excess licensing fees from nan DMV. She said that definite authorities laws created much hindrances for commercialized fishers successful Alaska and she wants to region nan duplication.

“Senate Bill 92 added duplicative authorities registration request connected commercialized fishermen, overwhelmed DMV offices, and near group wondering why these vessels should person to registry pinch 2 different authorities agencies and supply nan aforesaid information,” Stutes told nan House Special Committee connected Fisheries.

Prior to nan transition of Senate Bill 92 successful 2018, commercialized vessels that were documented pinch nan U.S. Coast Guard were exempt from registration pinch nan DMV. Stutes first proposed nan interest exemption successful January 2023.

The CFEC maintains a database of progressive commercialized sportfishing vessels successful nan state. It requires an $8 interest for vessel owners to renew their commercialized license. The caller rule will judge that interest successful lieu of nan DMV’s fee, which is $24 for a three-year licence registration. According to a legislative adjutant for Stutes, Matt Gruening, nan CFEC will waive nan $8 interest for owners who are already paid up connected their registration pinch nan DMV.

Gruening told legislators that alloy registration fees will still beryllium utilized to salary for marine-related programs, moreover if nan DMV is not collecting those fees.

“They’re (vessel owners) still paying their measurement towards boating information programs done nan (Department of Natural Resources),” Gruening said. “There’s nan Kids Don’t Float Program…about $300,000 annually goes into nan Kids Don’t Float Program and that is national lucifer to support that programme going, and nan remainder goes into nan derelict alloy money aft they salary for nan licensing fees for nan program.”

Aside from getting free of nan DMV fee, nan measure besides changes rules for the state’s derelict alloy prevention programme fund. The money allows nan authorities to reimburse authorities agencies and municipalities for removing derelict vessels, specifically from waters of nan authorities and authorities aliases municipal property.

Now, if a authorities agency aliases municipality sells a derelict alloy past nan proceeds will spell to nan proprietor unless nan proprietor cannot beryllium found, successful which lawsuit it will spell into the derelict alloy prevention programme fund.

The politician tin motion House Bill 19, cull it aliases fto it go rule automatically without taking action.