NATURAL RESOURCES Week of April 2

SF 2317—Combination Hunting and Fishing Licenses
FLOOR ACTION:

SF 2317 establishes new combination licenses for hunting and fishing. The new licenses allow an individual to purchase a three-year hunting license, a three-year fishing license or a combination hunting and fishing license. These combination licenses would represent a savings over the standard annual hunting or fishing license. The bill also allows a fisher the opportunity to pay $10 for a third fishing line. Current law restricts fishers to no more than two lines. The bill also combines the existing wildlife habitat fee into the cost of a hunting license that requires the purchase of the wildlife habitat fee. This will save the license buyer a $2 administrative fee that they would have had to pay on the purchase of a separate wildlife habitat fee.

The Senate adopted two floor amendments during debate. The first amendment added language from SF 130, which had passed the Senate unanimously last session. The amendment allows a youth under the age of 16 to accompany a parent, guardian or approved adult who is legally hunting raccoons without the youth having to purchase a fur harvester license, provided that the youth is not hunting and does not use or carry a firearm or other weapon. The second amendment delayed the effective date of the legislation until January 1, 2013, to allow the Department of Natural Resources time to update their electronic licensing system to reflect the changes in the bill.

On this passage, the Senate adopted a House amendment that created a new one-day, one-location fur dealers’ license for non-residents for $250. This change will likely increase the number of fur dealers at events in the state because the current $500 one-year license has been cited as a barrier to participation by dealers who may only participate in one meet in the state. [4/4: 45-1 (Hancock “no”; Bertrand, Horn, Houser, Kapucian excused)]