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Committee hears bill to lower senior hunting and fishing license age from 66 to 65
Summary
The House Natural Resources Committee held a first hearing on House Bill 64, sponsored by Representatives Thomas and Dieter, which would move the start of existing senior license discounts from age 66 to 65; fiscal analysis and formal ODNR numbers were not yet available.
The House Natural Resources Committee held a first hearing on House Bill 64 on Oct. 12, 2025, after Representatives Ben Dieter and Thomas introduced the measure to move existing senior discounts for hunting and fishing licenses from age 66 to 65.
Supporters told the committee the change would align the license-discount age with other senior benefits and encourage outdoor activity among older Ohioans. Representative Dieter said the law’s current age—66—dates to 1913 and described the bill as a simple parity fix: “If you don't have an answer for a policy, you change the policy then to fix the question,” he said.
The bill’s sponsors described the price effect for individuals: in the testimony record, the sponsor said fishing license costs would change “from 25 down to 10” and that regular adult hunting costs would move “from 19 to 10.” The committee did not take a vote; sponsors and committee members said the fiscal analysis will follow and that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) would need to confirm statewide cost implications.
Ranking Member Rogers asked specifically whether ODNR had been consulted. Representative Dieter said informal conversations had occurred but that a formal fiscal analysis had not yet been completed. Later in the hearing, Director Mary Mertz told committee members that a one-year reduction in the senior-discount threshold had been estimated to cost roughly $250,000 to $300,000 a year; she said ODNR would not formally oppose the measure but that the agency would provide the official fiscal analysis to the committee.
Committee members asked no further substantive questions and the hearing concluded. No vote or committee amendment was recorded; the bill will advance through the committee process pending the formal fiscal analysis and any subsequent steps by the sponsors.
Votes at this meeting relevant to this item were procedural: the committee approved the minutes of its prior meeting “without objection” at the start of the session, and no formal action was taken on House Bill 64 during this first hearing.
