The portfolios of hunters and fishermen would take a hit under a bill by the passage of the Washington Legislative Assembly.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Marko Lias, D-EDMONDS, authorized the Senate last week and was heard on Thursday at the Chamber Credit Committee. It would increase costs for almost all hunting and fishing permits by around 38%.
Resident combination fishing permits would drop from around $ 46 to around $ 63. A resident deer and wapitic license would drop from $ 85 to $ 103. The non-residents would find themselves paying north of $ 500 just for a deer license.
He would also give the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission to add supplements at the expense every two years, and he would modify the way in which license money is distributed to the accounts for lukewarm water fishing and the improvement of the pheasant.
Supporters see it as a measure that gives Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Closing Funding in the face of budgetary problems on a state scale. But some hunters and fishermen have been critical, saying that the increase is too at the same time.
The costs of hunting and fishing permits finance the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. If signed, the bill would increase these costs for the first time since 2011.
In a press release, LIAS said that this means that the costs had not followed “the increase in the costs of taking charge of wild and picturesque places that make Washington the jewel of the Northwest.
“As sons and grandson of hunters and fishermen, I understand the impacts that this adjustment will have, but we must take care of our land and waters,” said Lias.
Legislative personnel estimate that the bill would increase $ 19.5 million every two years. This would not lead to a clear increase in the agency’s budget, said Dan Jones legislative personnel during a hearing on Thursday, but would rather distance part of the burden of the financing of the agency far from the general state fund.
This was a target for the legislators of this session while they are looking for ways to manage the state’s budget deficit.
Brian Henderson, a long -standing resident of Washington who spoke at the hearing of the Credit Committee on the Chamber on Thursday, said that the bill would be difficult for families who had trouble joining both ends, in particular in parallel with the increases offered to discover the costs of success and land taxes.
“They are an attack on our most vulnerable residents,” said Henderson.
Dan Wilson, co -president based in Spokane for Backcountry hunters and fishermen, said his group would have been happier with the bill if he has increased in the increase rather than forcing hunters to eat 38% at the same time.
He also pointed out that many hunters are concerned about how WDFW and Fish and Wildlife Commission manage fauna.
“This bill increases the costs on a constituency that is already feeling more and more private in wildlife management,” said Wilson.
He also said that they recognized that there was a need to increase income for WDFW in the face of budget cuts on the state level.
“WDFW needs sustainable funding,” said Wilson. “Costs have exceeded income and inaction will deepen the budget cuts.”
Nello Picinich, from the Coastal Conservation Association, said that his group understood that an increase is probably inevitable, but that they also believe that it would be preferable to consider the increase of more than a few years. He also argued that the Legislative Assembly should not give the commission’s power to add supplements to license fees.
No speaker in Reunion has experienced total support for the bill, but two WDFW officials have signed online as supporters, as well as Northwest conservation representatives and Methow Valley Citizens Council.
Trout Unlimited also supports the bill. Alexei Calambokidis, the head of the state organization of the state of the state of Washington, said in an interview after the hearing that the increase in costs could help isolate WDFW of the state budgetary crisis.
The bill will not prevent budget cuts, he said, but the cuts may not be so deep if license income increased.
He also said the increases were simply late. Inflation means that everything WDFW has become more expensive, but hunters and fishermen have been paying the same prices for more than a decade.
“It seems to be a strong increase, but these costs have not changed since (2011),” said Calambokidis. “It’s really just a leap.”
