The Alaska House of Representatives has passed legislation that would tighten residency requirements for Alaskans purchasing resident hunting and fishing licenses, a change supporters say would close loopholes that allow people who spend limited time in the state to access resident-only benefits.
House Bill (HB) 93 would require Alaskans to be physically present in the state for at least 180 days each year to qualify for resident hunting and fishing licenses, according to reporting by Alaska Public Media. Resident licenses generally cost less and provide higher bag limits than nonresident licenses. Under the current state law, a resident must maintain a home in Alaska for 12 consecutive months, not claim residency elsewhere, and intend to remain in the state. However, the law does not require individuals to actually live in Alaska for most of the year, a gap that bill sponsor Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, said has created significant enforcement challenges.
“The last point means that we allow someone who rents a room in a home from friends, or someone who has a liveaboard boat that's on a trailer but actually is in the state for less than a month — less than two months, potentially less than a week — to hunt and fish and enjoy the higher bag limits that are reserved for residents who are here year-round, shoveling snow, volunteering in their communities and putting their kids in our schools,” Himschoot told Alaska Public Media.
The bill would closely align license eligibility with Permanent Fund dividend standards, though exemptions would remain for military servicemembers, students, and others who are allowed to be outside the state while maintaining dividend eligibility. In some cases, individuals who do not qualify for dividends could still receive resident licenses. New residents, for example, would be eligible for resident hunting and fishing licenses 12 months after arriving in Alaska, even though dividend rules generally require residency for an entire calendar year.
People who do not meet the new residency threshold would still be able to purchase nonresident licenses.
Law enforcement officials have raised concerns about the current definition of residency. The deputy director of the Alaska Wildlife Troopers told lawmakers in 2024 that the existing statute makes it difficult to prosecute violations, whereas fraudulent dividend applications are easier to pursue. “The problem is that our enforcement officers don't have the right tools,” said Rep. Donna Mears, D-Anchorage.
While the bill received support from local governments, tribes, and fish and game advisory committees statewide, 12 House Republicans opposed it, arguing it could exclude some Alaskans who spend time out of state for work or personal reasons.
Despite those concerns, the bills passed with a bipartisan two-thirds majority and now heads to the Senate, which approved a similar measure last year.
“An Alaskan is and always will be an Alaskan,” Himschoot said. “But if you live outside Alaska… we ask you to please hunt, fish, and trap as a nonresident,”
