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Sponsor withdraws bill to exempt private ponds from fishing-license rules after agency concerns
Summary
Senate Bill 112, which would have allowed landowners to fish without a state license and limited Department of Fish and Wildlife regulation of private ponds, was discussed at length but the sponsor voluntarily withdrew the bill to pursue more work with the agency.
Senate Bill 112, a proposal to permit private landowners and their invitees to fish on private lakes without a Kentucky fishing license, drew extended debate at a meeting of the Senate Natural Resources Committee before the sponsor withdrew the measure to continue negotiations.
Sponsor Senator Boswell framed the bill as a property-rights measure, arguing that landowners should not have to purchase a state fishing license to fish on water they own. “The most basic of rights, I think, in the state of Kentucky are a person's rights to be able to fish on their own property without having to have a fishing license,” Boswell said during the committee discussion.
Commissioner Rich Storm of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources disputed the sponsor's framing and raised enforcement, revenue and invasive-species concerns. Storm said license sales support stocking, boat ramps and habitat programs and enable the state to secure federal grants through the Dingell-Johnson Act. “When we sell a fishing license, it empowers the states through the Dingell Johnson Act to acquire federal grants as well,” Storm said, and he described programs funded by license revenue, including stocking 4.5 million fish statewide and operating hatcheries and fishing access facilities.
Committee members also discussed alternatives and exemptions that already exist. Members noted that people 16 and under may fish for free and that pay-lake permits already allow events without individual license requirements. Senator Boswell said his bill included language preserving state authority to regulate invasive species in private ponds.
After extended discussion and follow-up offers to work with agency staff, Boswell voluntarily withdrew the bill for further work with the department. The transcript records no committee vote on SB 112.
