All quiet, so far, on the legislative front
January 27, 2012
Well, it’s that time of year again. The legislators are back in St. Paul and the legislative session began last Tuesday. Many of us prefer to just hunt and fish and not think about politics and policies, but the reality is that many of the laws and rules – and the decisions – that affect us as hunters will be made during the next several months.
Being that we’re just a few days in, nothing major has happened yet. (The first hearings of the environment committees in the House and Senate consisted of discussion about a state wolf-hunting season.)
But there are a few things we’re watching.
The Minnesota Waterfowl Association is supporting an increase to the costs of hunting and fishing licenses. It’s been more than a decade since they were increased last, so it’s high time to do something about that.
The DNR first proposed the fee increases last year, but they didn’t really get anywhere at the Legislature. We’re hoping this year is different, and both environment committee chairs – Bill Ingebrigtsen in the Senate and Denny McNamara in the House – have signaled their support. Ingebrigtsen, in fact, said he would even sponsor the bill.
Why the need for a license fee increase? The revenues from licenses are deposited in the Game and Fish Fund, which pays for the vast majority of our fish and wildlife management in Minnesota. That fund is projected to be depleted by the beginning of July in 2013. That can’t occur, so absent license-fee increases, we’ll be looking at pretty deep cuts to pretty important programs.
MWA also is monitoring the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council recommendations, which should appear as a piece of legislation in coming weeks. We would like to see the Legislature pass the package as recommended by the council. The Legislature has abided by that in each of the previous three sessions, but each year – and this year is no exception – it seems lawmakers are more and more tempted to fiddle with them.
Finally, we want to make sure the Legacy Amendment doesn’t get repealed. There is legislation that would do just that, so we’re monitoring that to ensure it doesn’t go anywhere.
That’s about it on the legislative front for now. We’ll talk again next week, and we hope to see everyone at the annual MWA Waterfowl Symposium, which is slated for Saturday, Feb. 4 in Bloomington. Check our website for more information.
