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104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2172

To provide for the appointment of a Special Master to meet with interested

parties in Alaska and make recommendations to the Governor of Alaska,

the Alaska State Legislature, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary

of the Interior, and the United States Congress on how to return management of fish and game resources to the State of Alaska and provide

for subsistence uses by Alaskans, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 30, 1996

Mr. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To provide for the appointment of a Special Master to meet

with interested parties in Alaska and make recommendations to the Governor of Alaska, the Alaska State Legislature, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of

the Interior, and the United States Congress on how

to return management of fish and game resources to

the State of Alaska and provide for subsistence uses

by Alaskans, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress finds that—
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1 (a) the State of Alaska received management

2 authority and responsibility for fish and game re3 sources in the State at the time of statehood;

4 (b) the Alaska constitution requires equal ac5 cess for all citizens of the state to these fish and

6 game resources;

7 (c) the State of Alaska developed statutes to

8 implement a rural subsistence priority;

9 (d) in 1980 Congress passed the Alaska Na10 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act providing

11 that the ‘‘taking on public lands of fish and wildlife

12 for nonwasteful subsistence uses shall be accorded

13 priority over the taking on such lands of fish and

14 wildlife for other purposes’’;

15 (e) in 1989 the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in

16 McDowell v. Alaska that the rural preference con17 tained in the State’s subsistence statute violated the

18 equal access provision of the Alaska Constitution

19 putting the State’s subsistence program out of com20 pliance with title VIII of ANILCA resulting in the

21 Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior assuming

22 subsistence management on the public lands in Alas23 ka;

24 (f) the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor

25 of Alaska are to be complimented on their several
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1 attempts to resolve the issue and return manage2 ment responsibilities of fish and game back to the

3 State; however, these efforts have not been success4 ful;

5 (g) there continues to remain an impasse that

6 is creating a divisive atmosphere in Alaska among

7 sport hunters, sport fishermen, commercial fisher8 men, Alaska Natives, as well as urban and rural

9 residents; and

10 (h) the Congress hereby declares that it is time11 ly and essential to conduct a review of Federal and

12 State policies and programs affecting subsistence in

13 order to identify specific actions that may be taken

14 by the United States and the State of Alaska to help

15 assure that a fair subsistence priority is provided to

16 the citizens of Alaska and that management author17 ity over fish and game resources is maintained by

18 the State of Alaska.

19 SEC. 2. APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL MASTER.

20 (a)(1) The President shall hereby appoint a Special

21 Master to mediate the issues involved in this impasse, and

22 (2) In making the appointment of the Special Master,

23 the President shall give careful consideration to rec24 ommendations submitted by the Governor of the State of
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1 Alaska and the president of the Alaska State Senate, and

2 the Speaker of the Alaska State House.

3 (b)(1) The principal office of the Special Master shall

4 be in the State of Alaska.

5 (2) The Special Master shall—

6 (A) review existing State and Federal laws re7 garding subsistence use in Alaska; and

8 (B) after consultation with all interested par9 ties, including, but not limited to, Alaska natives,

10 sport and commercial fishing interests, sport hunt11 ing groups, recreation groups, the Governor of Alas12 ka, the Alaska legislature, the Secretaries of Agri13 culture and the Interior, and the members of the

14 Alaska Congressional delegation, recommend specific

15 actions to the Congress and to the State of Alaska

16 including state statutory amendments, changes in

17 existing management structures, constitutional

18 amendments, and changes to title VIII of ANILCA,

19 that—

20 (i) assure the State of Alaska recovers and

21 retains management authority and responsibil22 ity for fish and game on all lands in Alaska;

23 and

24 (ii) provide for the continuation of the op25 portunity for subsistence uses by residents of
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1 Alaska, including both Natives and non-natives,

2 on the public lands and by Alaska Natives on

3 Native lands which is essential for Native phys4 ical, economic, traditional, and cultural exist5 ence and to non-native physical, economic, tra6 ditional, and social existence.

7 (c) Submit, by no later than the date that is six

8 months after appointment, a report on the recommenda9 tions developed under paragraph (2), to the Secretary, the

10 Congress, the Governor of the State of Alaska, and the

11 legislature of the State of Alaska, and make such report

12 available to the public.

13 (d) The Special Master shall have the power to pro14 cure, as authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United

15 States Code, temporary and intermittent services to the

16 same extent as is authorized by law for agencies in the

17 executive branch, but at rates not to exceed the daily

18 equivalent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay in

19 effect for grade GS–18 of such General Schedule.

20 (e) Service as a Special Master shall not be consid21 ered as service or employment bringing such individual

22 within the provisions of any Federal law relating to con23 flicts of interest or otherwise imposing restrictions, re24 quirements, or penalties in relation to the employment of

25 persons, the performance of services, or the payment or
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1 receipt of compensation in connection with claims, pro2 ceedings, or matters involving the United States. Service

3 as a Special Master, shall not be considered service in an

4 appointive or elective position in the Government for pur5 poses of section 8344 of title 5, United States Code, or

6 comparable provisions of Federal law.

7 (f)(1) The Special Master is authorized to—

8 (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at such

9 times,

10 (B) take such testimony,

11 (C) have such printing and binding done,

12 (D) enter into such contracts and other ar13 rangements,

14 (E) make such expenditures, and

15 (F) take such other actions, as the Special Mas16 ter may deem advisable.

17 (2) The Special Master is authorized to establish task

18 forces which include individuals appointed for the purpose

19 of gathering information on specific subjects identified by

20 the Special Master as requiring the knowledge and exper21 tise of such individuals. No compensation may be paid to

22 members of a task force solely for their service on the task

23 force, but the Special Master may authorize the reim24 bursement of members of a task force for travel and per

25 diem in lieu of subsistence expenses during the perform-
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1 ance of duties while away from the home, or regular place

2 of business, of the member, in accordance with subchapter

3 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. The Special

4 Master shall not authorize the appointment of personnel

5 to act as staff for the task force.

6 (3) The Special Master is authorized to accept gifts

7 of services, or funds and to expend funds derived from

8 sources other than the Federal Government, including the

9 State of Alaska, private nonprofit organizations, corpora10 tions, or foundations which are determined appropriate

11 and necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

12 (4) The Special Master is authorized to secure di13 rectly from any officer, department, agency, establish14 ment, or instrumentality of the Federal Government such

15 information as the Special Master may require for the pur16 pose of this section, and each such officer, department,

17 agency, establishment, or instrumentality is authorized

18 and directed to furnish, to the extent permitted by law,

19 such information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics di20 rectly to the Special Master, upon request.

21 (g) The provisions of the Federal Advisory Commit22 tee Act shall not apply to the Special Master established

23 under this section.

24 (h) Upon the request of the Special Master, the head

25 of any Federal department, agency, or instrumentality is
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1 authorized to make any of the facilities and services of

2 such department, agency, or instrumentality available to

3 the Special Master and detail any of the personnel of such

4 department, agency, or instrumentality to the commission,

5 on a nonreimbursable basis, to assist the Special Master

6 in carrying out its duties under this section.

7 (i) The Special Master may use the United States

8 mails in the same manner and under the same conditions

9 as other departments and agencies of the United States.

10 (j) The Special Master shall cease to exist on the date

11 that is one hundred and eighty days after the date on

12 which the Special Master submits the report required

13 under subsection (c)(5). All records, documents, and mate14 rials of the Special Master shall be transferred to the Na15 tional Archives and Records Administration on the date

16 on which the Special Master ceases to exist.

17 (k) There is authorized to be appropriated to the Spe18 cial Master $250,000 to provide for the salaries and ex19 penses to carry out the provisions of this section. Such

20 sum shall remain available, without fiscal year limitation,

21 until expended.

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