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Committee backs $20 veterans hunting-and-fishing combo license
Summary
The House Ways and Means Committee reported Senate Bill 69 favorably after sponsors said the $20 annual combo license for honorably discharged veterans would support veteran recruitment efforts and carry a modest fiscal note the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries calls a "worst case" estimate.
Senate Bill 69, which would let honorably discharged Louisiana residents buy a reduced-cost combo hunting and fishing license for $20 annually, was reported favorably by the House Committee on Ways and Means on Monday.
Supporters told the committee the measure is intended as both a gesture to veterans and a recruitment tool for the state. "SB 69 proposes to extend a reduced cost combo hunting and fishing license of $20 annually to all honorably discharged veterans residing in Louisiana," sponsor Senator Myers said. "This department legislation supports the mission of the current administration's initiative known as the BOOT, which is focused on recruiting, retaining, and returning veterans and military families to Louisiana."
The committee heard agency witnesses explain the bill's fiscal estimate and how offsets might reduce its cost. Cole Garrett, general counsel for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said the department's fiscal note — about $1,600,000 annually — is a "worst case scenario." Garrett said the department does not currently capture veteran-specific license purchases and that shifting purchasers toward the $100 Sportsman's Paradise combo (which under the bill would become a discounted $20 option for eligible veterans) could allow the department to draw down about $51 per combo in federal funds. "We don't capture information on veterans who buy licenses right now because there's not a license offered," Garrett said. "So what we're looking at here is...a worst case scenario. I don't anticipate it being as drastic as the fiscal note."
Andrew Ward, founder of the BOOT program and the Acadiana Veterans Alliance, told the committee the program has helped recruit veterans to the state and that a $20 license would make Louisiana more attractive to people who hunt and fish. "The headline reads, Sportsman's Paradise is the place for you to come live, hunt, bring your family, fish, and we're gonna thank you for that service with this bill," Ward said.
Committee members asked about funding sources and whether the discount would tap the state general fund. Garrett and Senator Myers said the license program is fee‑based and that the discounted fee would be handled within the agency's conservation operating fund rather than the state's general fund; Garrett reiterated the department's expectation that federal reimbursements tied to the combo license will reduce net cost. Committee members also asked whether the bill included a sunset; Garrett said it does not.
Representative Fornham moved to report the bill favorably. With no objections, committee Chair Emerson announced SB 69 would be reported favorably to the full House.
SB 69 now heads to the next legislative steps with the committee's recommendation.
