Gov. Mike Dunleavy allowed three bills to become law last week without his signature, creating two fishing-related laws and one that updates the rules governing accountants in the state.
Under the Alaska constitution, a governor may sign a bill into law, veto it, or allow it to become law by taking no action on it after it is transmitted to him by the Legislature.
House Bill 31, from Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, eliminates a state law that required fishing boats to register with the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles every three years. Now, any boat that’s actively in use fishing and registered with the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard will not have to also register with the DMV.
In a written statement, Stutes said the DMV registration — passed by the Legislature in 2018 — turned out to be excessive, particularly in rural Alaska.
“A lot of these communities don’t even have a DMV. Alaska’s commercial fishing industry is facing historically challenging times, and I’m glad we could implement this small step to make getting started for the year a little easier,” she said in the statement.
The second fishing-related bill was House Bill 116, which allows commercial fishing cooperatives to act like insurance without being regulated like insurance.
In some cases, fishing boat owners create pools of money to act as insurance funds to pay liability and damage claims themselves, bypassing the high rates charged by insurance companies.
Three pools already exist in Alaska but are organized under Washington state law because Alaska did not permit them. The new law enables pools under Alaska law, encouraging a cheaper alternative to traditional insurance.
House Bill 121, which also became law this week, lowers the training requirement for new accountants if they can substitute experience for classroom time. It also aligns some state accounting laws with model legislation used in other states.