MILITARY HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES

THE APPARENT PROBLEM:

The Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) permits regularly enlisted or commissioned member of the armed forces who was a resident of the state at the time of enlistment or has maintained a residence in the state, and who is stationed outside of the state, to obtain a hunting or fishing license (if not distributed on the basis of a lottery) for $1 and the presentation of leave papers. According to the Department of Natural Resources, these licenses are valid for a period not exceeding two weeks during the appropriate season and during a time as designated by the individual, and may be obtained only from DNR Operations Service Centers.

According to committee testimony, there have been incidents where members of the military have been denied the reduced license fee because they had presented documentation other than actual leave papers. As such, legislation has been introduced that would allow members of the military to provide other forms of documentation when obtaining a hunting or fishing license.

THE CONTENT OF THE BILL:

The bill would amend the NREPA to permit a regularly enlisted or commissioned member of the armed forces to present duty papers, military orders, or other evidence acceptable to the Department of Natural Resources that verifies that he or she is stationed outside of the state, in order to obtain a special hunting or fishing license at the reduced cost of $1. In addition, the bill would make the special license available to members of the reserve forces who are called into federal active duty, and who meet the same eligibility requirements as other regularly enlisted or commissioned persons.

MCL 324.43536a

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

The Senate Fiscal Agency notes that between fiscal year 1996-97 and fiscal year 2000-01, there were 2,006 military hunting and fishing licenses purchased, and that as of March 27, 2003, 1,328 reservists from Michigan were called for active duty. The fiscal impact of the bill would depend on the number and type of additional military-reduced rate licenses for which reservists applied. (3-31-03)

ARGUMENTS:

For:

Quite often, the military leave documentation provided to members of the military varies according to an individual's rank. As such, there are many members of the military who are not provided with actual leave papers. In this instance, those individuals would not be able to obtain the special military hunting and fishing license. Absent the proper documentation, the individual would have to pay, for instance, a license fee of $14 for a resident deer firearm license rather than the special license fee of $1. The additional fees that would have to be paid could prove to be cost prohibitive for the individual.

Further, the bill would provide the DNR with the necessary flexibility in determining what constitutes proper documentation. This may be beneficial in those instances when an individual does not have the proper documentation on their person and retrieving the documentation would be onerous.

In addition, the bill extends the military-reduced license to include members of the reserve component who are called into federal active duty. This simply serves as a small token of gratitude for the men and

women who bravely fought for the country, and treats them equally with their regularly enlisted or commissioned colleagues.

Analyst: M. Wolf

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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.