Annual Pheasant Hunt License

House Bill 4313 (Substitute S-1 as reported)
Sponsor: Representative Gary Howell
House Committee: Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation

Judiciary
Senate Committee: Natural Resources

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) to do the following:

  • --  Prohibit an individual 18 years of age or older from hunting pheasants without a current annual pheasant hunting license.

  • --  Establish a $25 fee for an annual pheasant hunting license.

  • --  Specify certain public and private in which an individual could hunt pheasant without an

    annual pheasant hunting license.

  • --  Allow a collector to purchase an annual pheasant hunting license if it were issued as a

    stamp without having to place it on a base license, but specify that a license issued in that

    manner would not be valid for hunting purposes.

  • --  Establish the pheasant subaccount within the Game and Fish Protection account.

  • --  Require 100% of each license fee to be deposited in the pheasant subaccount to be used

    only to release live pheasants on State-owned land suitable for pheasants.

  • --  Specify that the bill would be repealed effective January 1, 2026.

    MCL 324.43525c Legislative Analyst: Dana Adams

    FISCAL IMPACT

    The bill would have a positive fiscal impact on the Department of Natural Resources and no fiscal impact on local units of government. The bill would create the Pheasant Subaccount of the Game and Fish Protection Account and fund it through a $25 pheasant hunting license. One hundred percent of the funds in the Subaccount would have to be used to release live pheasants on State land that was suitable for pheasants. The amount of revenue that would be generated under the bill is unknown, but a Department of Natural Resources study conducted in 2019 estimated that about 23,200 hunters hunted pheasants in 2015. If all those hunters purchased a license, the revenue would be about $580,000 annually. However, the bill would exempt hunters on private land, private game preserves, or public land in the Upper Peninsula from the requirement to purchase a license, so the actual amount generated likely would be considerably less than that amount.

    Date Completed: 9-29-20 Fiscal Analyst: Josh Sefton

    floor\hb4313 Bill Analysis @ www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.

Greg Traviss