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Subcommittee advances phased fee increases for hunting and fishing; ocean endorsement creates marine fund
Summary
House Bill 23‑42 would raise recreational and commercial hunting and angling fees in three increments over six years and establish a new ocean endorsement to fund marine fisheries enhancement; the Ways and Means Natural Resources Subcommittee moved the bill to full committee with a due‑pass recommendation.
The Ways and Means Natural Resources Subcommittee advanced House Bill 23‑42 on May 28, a bill that increases a range of recreational and commercial hunting and angling license, permit and tag fees incrementally over six years and creates a new marine fisheries enhancement fund funded by an ocean endorsement.
Katie, a Legislative Fiscal Office staff member, told the panel that the fee increases are phased with effective dates of Jan. 1, 2026; Jan. 1, 2028; and Jan. 1, 2030, and that the agency estimates the endorsement will generate about $890,000 during the 2025–27 biennium. She said the department completed “significant public engagement” beginning in early 2024 and incorporated stakeholder feedback into the measure.
Why it matters: the fee bill is a companion to the ODFW appropriation (House Bill 5,009) and supplies an estimated $18.1 million in other funds revenue during the 2025–27 biennium to support core agency operations in the budget recommendation.
Key points
- The LFO estimate in the appropriation discussion ties $18.1 million in other funds revenue to passage of the fee bill for the 2025–27 biennium; the inland fisheries division is estimated to receive about $8.7 million of that amount.
- The ocean endorsement is a new optional endorsement designed to provide dedicated revenue to “promote and enhance marine fisheries and marine conservation,” and the LFO estimated $890,000 for the 2025–27 biennium from that endorsement.
- The department’s presentation and the LFO noted the increases use a phased approach similar to prior fee rollouts; the department’s last multi‑year approach began with legislation approved in 2015 and fully took effect in 2020.
Discussion and dissent
During the work session Representative Evans flagged concern about the magnitude of increases for hunting and angling fees and asked the record to reflect that the increases could reach 12–20% in some cases. No formal amendment or objection was recorded in the transcript; the subcommittee moved the bill to the full committee with a due‑pass recommendation.
Ending
House Bill 23‑42 will go to the full Ways and Means committee; the department and the LFO said the appropriation bill assumes passage of the fee bill and estimated the revenue used in the budget recommendation accordingly.
