Carlson v. State, Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission

OPINION

COMPTON, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

This is the second appeal from a class action challenging the State of Alaska’s practice of charging nonresident commercial fishers licensing and limited entry permit fees which are three times greater than the fees charged resident commercial fishers. The class is comprised of “all persons who participated in one or more Alaska commercial fisheries at any time who paid non-resident assessments to the State for commercial or gear licenses or permits.” Carlson v. State, 798 P.2d 1269, 1270 (Alaska 1990) (Carlson I). In this appeal the class challenges the…