BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                          SB 369 (Evans)
          
          Hearing Date: 05/02/2011        Amended: As introduced
          Consultant: Brendan McCarthy    Policy Vote: NR&W 5-2
          
















































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          BILL SUMMARY: SB 369 extends until 2015 the sunset of several 
          code sections governing the commercial harvest of Dungeness 
          crab, including a section imposing a regulatory fee on 
          commercial Dungeness crab fishing vessels.
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                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2011-12      2012-13       2013-14     Fund
           
          Fee revenues                      ($170)      ($170)    Special 
          *

          Enforcement                       Minor costs           Special 
          *

          * Fish and Game Preservation Fund.
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          STAFF COMMENTS: 
          
          Current law places certain restrictions on the timing and 
          methods of harvest allowed for commercial harvesting of 
          Dungeness crab in coastal waters of the state. Specifically, the 
          Director of Fish and Game is authorized to delay the opening of 
          Dungeness crab season under certain circumstances and the law 
          limits the taking of Dungeness crab during such a delay. The law 
          specifies the criteria for obtaining a commercial Dungeness crab 
          vessel permit and requires such a permit to land Dungeness crab. 
          Current law imposes a fee on commercial vessels engaged in the 
          harvesting of Dungeness crab. These code sections sunset on 
          April 1, 2012.

          SB 369 extends the sunset date for these provisions regulating 
          Dungeness crab harvest to 2015. 

          By extending the sunset date of the Department of Fish and 
          Game's authority to impose a fee, the bill will result in 
          additional fee revenues of about $170,000 per year.

          By extending the sunset of several provisions of law governing 
          the commercial harvest of Dungeness crab, the bill may impose 
          some enforcement costs on the Department. However, there are 








          SB 369 (Evans)
          Page 3


          general requirements on the commercial harvest of Dungeness crab 
          not addressed by this bill that still must be enforced by the 
          Department. The extension of the specific requirements in this 
          bill is not likely to significantly increase the Department's 
          overall cost to enforce commercial harvesting laws and 
          regulations.

          SB 1093 (Wiggins, 2010) sought to implement several 
          recommendations for the regulation of the harvest of Dungeness 
          crab, as proposed by a Dungeness Crab Task Force. That bill died 
          on the Senate floor.