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Senate committee approves amended bill to create single youth lifetime hunting-and-fishing license, raises fee to $500
Summary
The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted to pass House Bill 20-28 as amended, creating a single youth lifetime combination hunting-and-fishing license category (age 15 and under) with a $500 fee, adding discounted senior passes and changing the bill's effective date to Jan. 1, 2025.
The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources voted to pass House Bill 20-28 favorably as amended, adopting changes that create a single youth lifetime hunting-and-fishing license category for those 15 years of age and younger and set the lifetime fee at $500.
The bill, described to the committee by Revisor Lawrence, "would require the Department of Wildlife and Parks to offer discounted resident senior combination hunting and fishing passes to residents of the state who are 65 years of age or older and it would also remove the expiration date for the Kansas kids lifetime combination hunting and fishing licenses," Lawrence said.
Committee members debated amendments that consolidated two existing youth categories into a single category, set the maximum fee for a youth lifetime license and adjusted the effective date. Senator Shane introduced the amendment that first proposed a single youth category "that goes up to the age of 15 or 15 and under." A substitute amendment offered by Senator Reichman changed the proposed fee from $400 to $500; the committee adopted the $500 figure by voice vote. A later motion to lower the youth threshold to age 7 was withdrawn after debate.
Several senators urged caution about long-term fiscal effects on the Department of Wildlife and Parks, which the committee heard is largely fee-supported. "I worry about ... how that's gonna affect us 20 years from now," Senator Fagg said, noting concerns that a lifetime-license program could reduce annual fee revenue used to operate parks and wildlife programs. Senator Francisco and Senator Ware recorded "no" votes during the final passage; the committee adopted the bill as amended by voice vote.
The committee also adopted a technical amendment changing the bill's effective date from July 1, 2020, to Jan. 1, 2025, to allow additional discussions with the House.
No fiscal note on the youth-license amendment was available at the time of the committee meeting, and multiple members urged further review by the Department of Wildlife and Parks before finalizing long-term policy changes. The committee chair moved the bill out favorably; Senator Beaulieu made the motion to pass the bill out favorably as amended, seconded by Senator Shane, and the motion passed by voice vote. Senator Francisco asked to be recorded as voting no; Senator Ware was also recorded as no. Additional "no" votes were noted as to be recorded.
The committee returned the bill to further legislative processing as amended; no implementation timetable beyond the amended effective date was enacted in committee.
The committee discussion focused on the program design (single youth tier and fee), fiscal uncertainty from reduced recurring fee revenue, and the department's role in administering discounted senior passes.
