PUC S.B. 201 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS STATE RECREATIONAL RESOURCES S.B. 201 By: Harris (Glaze) 5-1-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND State law generally requires a fishing license for adults to fish in the state. People with a valid Texas fishing license must also obtain a special stamp to fish for certain species such as red fish and freshwater rainbow trout. The additional stamp allows the Parks and Wildlife Department to better manage particular resources and provides additional revenue for the management program. A similar program is in place for hunting with the dove and turkey stamp process. The revenue from all hunting and fishing licenses, stamps, tags and several other types of license sold through Texas Parks and Wildlife are deposited, by law, into the Game, Fish and Water Safety Account within the General Revenue Fund. Revenue in that account may be appropriated to the Department for a wide variety of duties related to hunting, fishing and water safety. State law directs the Department to use the proceeds of most species stamps and tags to activities related to the management of the species. For example, state law directs Parks and Wildlife to use the revenue from the turkey stamp for turkey management programs, revenue from the saltwater tag for saltwater sportfish management programs, and so on. However, the current law provides that freshwater trout stamp sale net receipts may be spent for any purpose authorized by Section 11.033, Parks and Wildlife Code, relating to use of the Game, Fish and Water Safety Account. PURPOSE As proposed, S.B. 201 authorizes freshwater trout stamp sale net receipts to be spent only for the purchase, rearing, and stocking of freshwater trout in this state. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 43.505(b), Parks and Wildlife Code, to authorize stamp sale net receipts to be spent only for the purchase, rearing, and stocking of freshwater trout in this state instead of for any purposes authorized by Section 11.033, Parks and Wildlife Code, relating to use of the Game, Fish, and Water Safety Account. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1997. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.