Committee advances CACR 15 to preserve right to hunt and fish; minority report ordered

The House Fish and Game Committee voted to advance CACR 15, a constitutional amendment that would enshrine a right to hunt, fish and harvest game and fish, moving the measure out of committee on an 8–6 vote.

Chairman Spillane, who led the session, said the amendment is designed to protect hunting- and fishing-license revenue streams and to make it harder for future legislatures to limit hunting and fishing without broader consensus. “All of the changes … none of that is in statute. None of that is codified by this constitutional amendment,” the chairman said, arguing the amendment preserves existing practice while making future changes more difficult without a supermajority.

Representative Harvey said she supports Fish and Game and recreational hunting but opposed advancing the amendment. She warned that enshrining the right in the constitution could produce expensive litigation and unintended consequences that would be difficult to correct except by another constitutional amendment. “If we make a mistake with this amendment, and that might not show up for 5 or 10 or 15 years, there is no way to correct that mistake except through another constitutional amendment,” she said, adding that litigation ultimately falls to taxpayers.

Representative Khan and other supporters framed the measure as a long-overdue protection for the state’s hunting and fishing traditions and for conservation funding. Khan thanked organizations that testified in prior hearings and described the amendment as the appropriate step to protect those uses for future generations.

The motion to recommend OTP (ought to pass) carried by a narrow margin. The chair said the measure would not go on consent and asked Representative Harvey to prepare a minority report; the committee set a deadline for the minority report by 3 p.m. today (with a latest acceptable deadline the end of the following day). The committee closed its executive session and will forward its report and any minority document as required by the calendar process.

What happens next: CACR 15 will move forward consistent with the committee’s report and accompanying paperwork; the amendment will need subsequent legislative steps to reach voters if it continues through the process.