Why it Matters: During recent legislative sessions, several states have proposed bills that would offer certain demographics free or discounted hunting and fishing licenses. While these bills are largely well intended, they carry often overlooked consequences that negatively impact the funding for the state fish and wildlife agencies. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) was active across the Great Plains providing testimony, and recommended amendments on several bills that looked to offer free and discounted licenses.
Highlights:
- Free and discounted licenses are often offered to veterans, active-duty military, and elderly individuals.
- Legislation offering free and discounted licenses is typically driven by good intentions, but many carry unintended consequences that can negatively impact the state fish and wildlife agencies.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation provided testimony on several bills across the Great Plains highlighting the impact free and discounted licenses have and provided proposed amendments to reimburse the state fish and wildlife agencies from the state general fund.
With sessions across the Great Plains wrapped up for 2024, now is a great time to look back on a legislative trend that the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation has been tracking in recent years: Efforts to provide certain user groups with free and discounted hunting and fishing licenses. These bills often look to reward active-duty military members and veterans. While these demographics are certainly very deserving of our collective recognition and support, free and discounted licenses can have negative impacts on funding for the state fish and wildlife agency that must also be considered.
During the 2024 legislative session, Iowa introduced House File 2505 (HF 2505) which would have allowed for veterans to obtain hunting, fishing, or trapping licenses free of charge. Nebraska similarly introduced Legislative Bills 826 (LB 826) and 1036 (LB 1036). LB 826 would have provided nonresident veterans with discounted hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses while LB 1036 would have provided a free hunting, fishing, and trapping license to resident veterans, and active-duty military members.
While these bills were well intended, they would have negatively impacted the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) funding and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s (NGPC) funding, respectively. State fish and wildlife agencies, like the DNR and NGPC, rely on the sale of these hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses for their conservation efforts. The loss in revenue from discounted licenses is obvious, the larger concerns are the loss from no-cost licenses and the state agency’s ability to claim their portion of revenue through the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Acts. To avoid losing revenue, CSF offered amendments to include language that would reimburse the state agencies for the sale of the license from the state general fund so the agencies can continue their conservation efforts. These efforts will undoubtedly continue to crop up across the nation, and CSF will continue to advocate for compromises that safeguard the American System of Conservation Funding, and the outdoor opportunities that this system supports.
