Capital busy as end of session nears

JUNEAU — Dozens of bills are flying through their final committee and landing on the House and Senate floors for approval in the waning days of the legislative session.

The heavy-hitting items covering budgets, energy and education remain on the table for further debate.

Bills not approved by Sunday expire with this, the second year of the two-year session.

But one item authored by Senate President Charlie Huggins, a Wasilla Republican, received final approval this week.

Senate Bill 190, introduced in February, will permit registered guide-outfitters to hire and pay specific unlicensed workers to handle numerous camp duties. Current statutes make it illegal for a registered guide-outfitter to pay unlicensed workers to perform tasks such as packing meat, hides and other gear.

That changed Wednesday night, when the House passed Huggins’ bill, 39-0. The Senate previously passed the bill, 19-0. It now awaits the governor’s signature.

“As you can imagine, it is difficult to find people who will work for free,” Huggins said in a prepared statement. “This law allows registered and master guides to have the opportunity to hire all the help required to put on a professionally based hunt for their clients while properly compensating their staff.”

Driving the argument was a study commissioned by the Alaska Professional Hunters Association and conducted by McDowell Group. The study noted that many throughout the state were unaware of the economic impact to the state’s treasury and economy guided hunting brings, and offered the following findings:

• Guided hunting accounts for more than 2,200 jobs and $35 million in labor income.

• The industry generates $78 million in economic activity.

•The state’s coffers receive nearly $2 million in fees covering hunting licenses and game tags.

• Operations provide $13 million in wages and guide income and another $12 million for goods and services outside the state’s urban areas.

• Guides provide non-monetary support to rural communities, such as donated meat, often tens of thousands of pounds worth.

Huggins said this bill helps build the industry’s current contribution to the state’s economy. It also creates an apprentice structure to allow unlicensed personnel to qualify for the “assistant guide” level in the industry.

“Guiding is hard, sometimes dangerous, work that requires on-the-job training,” Huggins said. “Packers loyally follow their competent guides, learning to size and identify trophy animals as well as skinning, field dressing, and salvaging meat and hides.

“This experience is valuable and necessary for preparing perspective guides for a future in the industry. I am happy this bill will also enable them to be properly compensated for their services.”

Another Wasilla lawmaker received legislative approval for her efforts to advance hunting in Alaska.

Rep. Lynn Gattis authored a bill to boost the governor’s licensing program. The bill increases the number of permits available from 19 to 42 and adds new species, to include black bear, goat and elk, to a list of permissible game. Proceeds from these licenses must fund the outdoor education, conservation and wildlife education projects approved by the Fish and Wildlife department.

“This bill is all about funding hunter education and ensuring that the department has enough money to adequately manage big-game species,” Gattis said.

Some major legislation remains in the works. Including:

• SB 138, the governor’s bill to advance a natural gas pipeline project, calls for the state having an equity stake in the project. The House Finance Committee is reviewing proposed amendments to the bill.

• HB 266, the state’s operating budget, is being worked on by a conference committee made up of three members each from the House and Senate. They will work out the differences between their respective versions.

• HB 278, the governor’s education bill, is being reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee. It’s a bill passed by the House but with great reservation, even from those voting yes.

• HB 384, a minimum wage bill, sits in the Senate Finance Committee after passing the House. The bill, if passed, would supplant a voter initiative scheduled for the August primary ballot.

• HB 385, Gov. Parnell’s bill to handle the state’s pension obligation plan, moved from the House Finance Committee, while the Senate Finance Committee works on its own version.

Lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn the 90-day session on Sunday, but may continue beyond that day, if necessary. Speculation remains rampant over when adjournment will come, as it always does this time of year.

Freelance reporter Steve Quinn is a veteran Alaska journalist who formerly covered state government for the Associated Press.