Pennsylvania Game News - June 2016 - 42

License-fee bill would be lasting fix
Game Commission urges hunters and trappers to support Senate Bill 1166.
Legislation that would enable the
Pennsylvania Game Commission to set
fees for hunting and furtaker licenses
unanimously was voted out of committee
in March, days after it was introduced.
Senate Bill 1166 was introduced
March 18, and on March 23 the Senate
Game and Fisheries Committee unanimously moved the bill out of committee.
It would need to pass by majority votes in
the Senate, then the House of Representatives, before it could be signed into law
by the governor.
Game Commission Executive Director
R. Matthew Hough said Senate Bill 1166
would serve to ensure wildlife conservation in Pennsylvania is adequately funded,
both now and in the future.
"It's no secret the Game Commission is
in financial crisis," Hough said. "It's been
more than 17 years since there's been a
license-fee increase in Pennsylvania, and
in the past year, we've laid off staff, ended
agreements with several limited-term employees and opted to forego recruitment
of a new class of wildlife conservation
officers, even though there already are
vacant positions waiting to be filled.
"All of these measures have their
consequences," Hough said. "Simply put,
inadequate funding for wildlife conservation means less can be accomplished for
Pennsylvanians and wildlife."
Hunters and trappers have demonstrated clear support for a license-fee increase, with most of the major sportsmen's
organizations with statewide membership
formally supporting an increase.
Hough said the proposed legislation,
which allows for timely and incremen42

HUNTERS CAN HELP
Hunters are urged to contact their elected
representatives, make clear their support
for Senate Bill 1166, and help make this new
funding structure a reality.

tal license-fee increases, would put an
end to the fiscal roller-coaster rides the
Game Commission, hunter and trappers
must take when decades pass without an
adjustment for inflation.
"When fees aren't adjusted to account
for rising inflationary expenses, it's like
kicking the can down the road, and you
end up with an increase that comes all at
once," Hough said. "Nobody wants that.
"We are at a point now where our next
license-fee increase will need to be large
enough to help us catch up, after 17 years
without one," Hough said. "But Senate
Bill 1166 would give us the authority
to make that stitch in time and, when
necessary, approve a smaller increase that
allows our operations to continue, and our
mission to continue being carried out.
"Those smaller increases are going to
be easier to accept for all who pay them
- myself included," Hough said.
Hough said if the Game Commission is
given authority to set license fees, no decision to increase fees will be made without
considering the effects higher prices will
have on license buyers. When license
fees increase, license sales usually see a
modest decline. He said the legislation
would motivate the agency to set prices
that are affordable to the highest number
of hunters and trappers.
"Senate Bill 1166 is exactly what
Pennsylvania needs," Hough said. "We

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - June 2016