House committee backs Senate Bill 800 to let Fish and Boat Commission shift funds; amendment to elect commissioners fails

The House Game and Fisheries Committee on Monday agreed to report Senate Bill 800, which would allow revenue in the Pennsylvania Fish Fund to be used for programs benefiting boaters and for revenue in the Boat Fund to be used for programs benefiting anglers so long as the expenditures "benefit the original intent of the respective funds." The committee rejected an amendment that would have altered how commissioners are selected for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Chair Kulick convened the committee and called up Senate Bill 800, sponsored by Senator Rothman, which would amend Title 30 (Fish) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to permit limited cross-use of the fish and boat funds. "If we could use boat fund dollars to benefit the walleye fishery as long as it's also benefiting the boaters, that's a great example of what we're talking about," said Tim Schaeffer, director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, describing examples such as Lake Erie's walleye fishery.

The committee considered amendment A01545, offered by Representative Maloney, which would have provided for election of Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission commissioners by anglers and boaters preceding their selection by the governor. Maloney asked members for an affirmative vote. The amendment failed on a roll call. Chair Kulick and several members voted "no," while Representative Maloney and several others voted "yes." The transcript did not specify a complete roll-call tally for every named member.

Following the failed amendment, Schaeffer described the commission's two statutorily created funds and said flexibility could help avoid raising fees. "We identified a way that we could avoid doing that, we think, for at least three years, if we had some flexibility in how we use the fish fund and the boat fund dollars," he said. Schaeffer also said the bill includes a reporting provision and pledged annual transparency: "We were happy to have a provision put into Senate Bill 800 that would require us to report on any funds that were expended from one fund for the other… and we'll do that to you guys annually, if not before."

Representative Hohenstein praised the commission's operational work and law-enforcement role, noting officers' involvement in safety and rescue operations on waterways such as the Delaware River. Representative Haddock said the amendment was motivated by financial concerns and cited federal funding streams commonly used in fisheries and boating programs, asking that those funds be respected and accounted for in a transparent manner, referring to the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson programs.

There was no negative vote recorded when the committee moved to report the bill without the amendment; the chair announced the measure would be reported from committee without amendment. No further formal actions on the bill were taken during the brief meeting. The committee discussion was limited to the bill's funding flexibility, transparency reporting and the failed commissioner-selection amendment.