Sep. 21, 2016
In May, we devoted a column to legislation that would affect the price of hunting and fishing licenses. I want to take time to let you know where these bills stand.
The state Senate overwhelmingly passed
Senate Bills 1166 and
1168 in June. These pieces of legislation would permit the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) to set their own license fees. Currently, hunting and fishing license costs and fees are established, and can only be changed, by legislative action.
This past week, the House Game and Fisheries Committee, which I chair, voted these two bills. An attempt to table them until the 2017-18 session was defeated with bipartisan support. This issue has been sufficiently vetted and stakeholders on both sides have had their say. It is time to keep the legislative “ball” rolling forward.
Senate Bills 1166 and 1168 both passed with bipartisan support and may now be considered in the House, which will hopefully happen soon. It is important to note Senate Bill 1166 includes the creation of the following new licenses: senior nonresident hunting; senior nonresident furtaking; senior nonresident hunting and furtaking; ultimate outdoorsman combination license, including bear, archery, muzzleloader, furtaker, migratory game bird and special wild turkey for both resident and nonresident hunters.
That being said, the crux of the bills deals with license fees. Opponents often frame this as a tax increase. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is a cost involved with managing the resources associated with hunting and fishing. Since both the PGC and PFBC do not receiving state funding (unlike neighboring states), our commissions are basically supported by the cost of the licenses purchased by hunters and anglers.
The system, as it would change under these bills, is not without checks and balances. Prior to authorizing the commissions to establish fees for hunting and fishing licenses, the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) would be required to prepare a financial analysis of all sources of revenue received and all expenditures. That would include LBFC’s most recent performance audit of the PGC (PFBC is already audited every three years).
There would be time for public comment and a required public hearing. The bills also do not remove the Legislature from the process. The House and Senate Game and Fisheries committees would have the ability to vote a concurrent resolution recommending disapproval of the fee change. That resolution would go to the governor’s desk, giving him or her a final say.
Both bills include a three-year sunset provision stipulating that the commissions’ ability to establish fees for hunting and furtaking licenses would expire on July 15, 2019. Any changes they make to license fees up to that point would remain in effect.
Commonwealth sportsmen are pretty fortunate. When compared to other states, the fees they pay to hunt and fish are among the lowest in the country. The last time hunting license prices were raised was 1999. The last fishing license increase occurred in 2005.
In a survey conducted on our website, nearly two-third of the respondents favored an increase in the cost of a hunting license and more than half of them were in favor of an increase in the cost of a fishing license. When asked where they stood on allowing the PGC and PFBC to set those fees, supporters and opponents were split fairly evenly.
Some sportsmen and women will not trust the commissions to set the fees. I do, because I believe setting them too high would essentially mean cutting their own lifeline with an eventual severe decline in license sales. Again, there are numerous safeguards in place to prevent egregious actions by either agency.
As I mentioned in May, “things cost money” is something we often tell our children AND adults, and this is one of those cases. The PGC vows to manage Pennsylvania’s wild birds, wild mammals, and their habitats for current and future generations. The PFBC pledge is to protect, conserve and enhance the Commonwealth’s aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities. Opposed to or in favor of increased license fees, you have to agree these commissions must be properly funded if they are to carry out their mission statements.
Representative Keith Gillespie
47th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137
slittle@pahousegop.com
RepGillespie.com