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April 3, 2006
Volume 4, Issue 12
Pro-Sportsmen Legislation is on the Rise in State Legislatures
The introduction and passage of legislation to strengthen and increase access and opportunities for sportsmen and women is on the rise in state legislatures. The first three months of the 2006 legislative session have seen more than 150 NASC supported sportsmen bills have been introduced across the states, with 22 bills moving towards the governor’s desks. With the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses serving as the hub, the impact of sharing ideas, modeling legislation and having open and easy access of communication among state caucuses is proving to be a successful formula that yields results.
No Net Loss of State Hunting Lands
Legislation to protect public hunting lands, commonly referred to as “no net loss” legislation, requires a state to inventory its public hunting lands annually. Should public hunting land be closed, the same number of acres would be opened so at to maintain current levels of huntable public land. The Mississippi caucus was the first to pass it in 2006, with caucuses in Florida, Louisiana and Washington also working towards passage. Sportsmen lawmakers in New Hampshire and West Virginia have moved similar bills to protect public land access. Arkansas, Maryland and Oregon passed “no net loss” legislation in 2005.
Expanding Sunday Hunting Opportunities
Twelve states have considered expanding – or in some cases, allowing for the first time – Sunday hunting opportunities. The Virginia sportsmen’s caucus sent a proposal to the governor to allow more Sunday hunting availability. Caucuses have also taken the lead on this issue in Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Other states that are acting on such bills include Massachusetts, Maine, North Carolina, New Jersey, South Carolina and West Virginia.
Internet Hunting Ban
As word spread in late 2004 and early 2005 that a Texas ranch was offering hunting via the internet, sportsmen around the country quickly decried it as anything remotely related to their favorite pastime. It also outraged sportsmen lawmakers who saw the practice of killing game through a computer with an internet connection as a threat to the fair chase ethic of true hunting. Though many states banned the practice in 2005, several are bringing it up as an issue in 2006, including caucuses in Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Nebraska. The measure has been passed by caucuses in Maryland, New Mexico and Mississippi this year. Additionally, legislators in Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey and South Carolina have taken up the cause to protect hunting ethics.
New Hunter Recruitment Legislation
State caucuses have been active in promoting legislation that will allow more young people and new hunters to take to the field. Bills have been introduced to create opportunities for special youth-only hunting days, apprentice hunting licenses and reducing the minimum ages of hunters.
Eighteen sportsmen’s caucuses have been working to pass initiatives to benefit young hunters this year. Sportsmen legislators from California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington have all moved some form of legislation that will allow more youth to take to the field. Caucuses in Idaho, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia have all passed some version of youth hunting legislation this year. Officials in Alabama and Wisconsin have also introduced related legislation.
Funding for State Fish and Game Agencies
Funding for state wildlife management agencies and programs can be up for grabs during contentious budget debates, especially when tax revenues slow. Hunters and anglers have always understood the importance of protecting habitat and supporting wildlife programs. In order to guarantee these programs important to sportsmen are maintained, legislatures have considered many different proposals to create funding measures dedicated to conservation. Sportsmen’s caucuses in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee are all considering varied funding measures. Alaska, Montana and New Hampshire lawmakers are also taking a look at the issue.
Hunters Feeding the Hungry
Sportsmen have long been known as the first conservationists – looking beyond the individual and toward the greater good. In that spirit, sportsmen legislators have rallied behind efforts to raise awareness of and funds to support programs allowing hunters to donate game meat to feed the hungry. So far in 2006, sportsmen’s caucuses in Minnesota and Virginia have taken steps to promote the programs with Kentucky legislators actually passing the measure.
This rapid increase in activity and success are the NASC mission at work – protecting and advancing sportsmen’s rights in the halls of state government.
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