January 21, 2025

Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Reintroduces One of CSF’s Top Priorities in the Old Dominion State

Article Contact: Kaleigh Leager,

Why It Matters: Each year, legislators across the country introduce well-meaning legislation that provides free and discounted hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses for certain qualified individuals/groups. However, these initiatives have the potential to have negative impacts on the state’s fish and wildlife agency’s budget. To prevent the loss of sportsmen-generated dollars for conservation funding, Virginia Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair, Del. Buddy Fowler, has introduced House Bill 2523 (HB 2523).

Highlights:         

HB 2523 picks up on the good work of former Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair, Del. James Edmunds, who sponsored House Bill 2470 (HB 2470) in the last legislature. HB 2470 passed the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, but never received a vote in the House Committee on Appropriations. This legislation is necessary in preventing the further loss of sportsmen-generated dollars for conservation funding by requiring reimbursements to the state fish and wildlife agencies from the general funds for any free and discounted licenses. It is important to note that this legislation is not retroactive and would only apply to any free/discounted licenses passed after HB 2523’s effective date (July 1, 2025). CSF is working to introduce similar legislation in other states across the nation, including the nearby states of Delaware, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

State agencies are primarily funded by sportsmen and women generated dollars (license fees) along with federal match dollars through the Pittman-Robertson (PR) and Dingell-Johnson (DJ) Acts. The PR and DJ Acts are two American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF) cornerstones that authorize federal funding for state fish and wildlife agencies to manage and restore wildlife resources and their habitats. The distribution of these funds is formula-based and dependent on state size and the number of paid hunting and fishing license holders per state. This means that states who distribute free, and in some cases discounted licenses, are losing funds both from the initial revenue of license sales, as well as from funds that would be appropriated under PR and DJ.

The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation looks forward to continuing its work with the VA Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucuses to protect and promote sportsmen and women’s initiatives. Sportsmen and women are the boots-on-the-ground conservationists, and it is imperative that legislators continue to work on behalf of this vast constituency.

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