A proposed House Bill sponsored by Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources could change fees for fishermen across the state. The impact of this legislation extends beyond Marylanders to include non-residents.
Delegate of District 37B, Tom Hutchinson, feels there is a deeper motive for the proposed bill. “$5 to $12, just on their sport fishing license. Historically, senior citizens were exempt from paying a stamp trout, and now they are required to pay a stamp trout, which is going to be $20.”
House Bill 40 has delegate Hutchinson concerned. “So many seniors apply for the stamp trout, which is freshwater fishing, and so now we’re seeing an increase going from $5 to $32. I believe think is excessive and unnecessary.”
According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the increased fees would support existing non-tidal fishery and management efforts under a state fund. However, Hutchinson deems the potential change unnecessary and excessive. He suspects the real reason for the bill, is because the state is trying to fight the $3 billion deficit.
“I see this as a way for them to look at any avenue to help resolve the deficit. It’s not that this money will stay in the fund, it is allocated for, and it will likely be siphoned over to help pay for the overall deficit in the general fund.”
Hutchinson said the proposal would damper tourism if passed.
“Our non-resident fees are going from $30 to $55 to the annual base on an annual basis, but more strikingly, if you want to visit Dorchester County or Talbot County, you’re going from $7 to $45 for just a seven-day license.”
Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources sent WMDT a statement,
“The fee recommendations came out of a workgroup that represents our freshwater angling constituencies. The goal of the workgroup was to recommend fair and reasonable adjustments. These recommendations were directly incorporated into HB0040 and SB0258. We encourage people to visit our Inland Fisheries Website for more information.”
The bill passed its second reading yesterday, which means it only has one more hurdle before being passed into the Senate for consideration.
It's been a while since the price of fishing licenses went up, and after four years of Bidenflation, I'm not shocked the money doesn't go a far as it used to. I also suspect the younger generation is losing interest in fishing in favor of surfing the internet, and that too is cutting into their revenues. Also, Maryland has a well known propensity for taking money allocated for one purpose and allotting it to another.
I always buy the boat license, which has been $50 a pop for years. I wonder how much more they'll ask for that.
The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Casual up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.
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