81(R) HB 2321 - House Committee Report version

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 81ST LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


April 21, 2009

TO:	Honorable Mark Homer, Chair, House Committee on Culture, Recreation & Tourism

FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	HB2321 by Homer (Relating to lifetime licenses for hunting and fishing.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB2321, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: an impact of $0 through the biennium ending August 31, 2011.

The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.

The bill would amend the Parks and Wildlife Code to allow a non-resident who was born in Texas to purchase a lifetime non-resident hunting and/or fishing license at the same price as a resident. The bill would authorize an increase in the fee for the lifetime hunting license, as well as the fee for the lifetime fishing license from $300 to $800. The bill would authorize an increase in the combination hunting and fishing license from $500 to $1500.The bill would take effect September 1, 2009.

General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Year	Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2010	$0
2011	$0
2012	$0
2013	$0
2014	$0

All Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Year	Probable Revenue Gain from Lifetime Lic Endow Acct 544	Probable Revenue (Loss) from Game,Fish,Water Safety Ac 9
2010	$616,000	($114,526)
2011	$0	($114,526)
2012	$0	($114,526)
2013	$0	($114,526)
2014	$0	($114,526)

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), one-time gain in revenue of $616,000 to the General Revenue-Dedicated Lifetime License Endowment Fund No. 544 in fiscal year 2010 would be offset by revenue loss to the General Revenue-Dedicated Game, Fish and Water Safety Account No. 9 of $114,526 in fiscal year 2010 and each year thereafter. These estimates are based on fiscal year 2008 sales of non-resident hunting and fishing licenses.

TPWD indicates in fiscal year 2008 there were approximately 28,938 non-resident hunting licenses sold, and approximately 48,093 non-resident fishing licenses sold (representing freshwater, saltwater, and all-water licenses). TPWD estimates that approximately 1 percent of these non-residents are Texas born and would choose to purchase the lifetime license representing a population of 289 hunters and 481 fishermen.

Assuming the lifetime license represents a one-time purchase (as opposed to annual fees for the traditional non-resident hunting and fishing licenses), this analysis assumes all of these 770 non-residents would purchase the lifetime license in fiscal year 2010. The bill would authorize a resident lifetime hunting license fee of $800 and a resident lifetime fishing license of $800. This would represent a gross revenue gain of approximately $616,000 ($800 multiplied by 289 hunters + $800 multiplied by 481 fishermen) in the Lifetime License Endowment Fund in fiscal year 2010. TPWD also offers a combo lifetime license with a proposed fee increase from $500 to $1500; however, this was excluded from this estimate because TPWD does not offer a non-resident combo license, so no reasonable estimate of the population could be made. At $300 for a non-resident hunting license and an average of $57.85 for a fishing license (average between freshwater, saltwater, and all-water licenses) this represents a revenue loss of $114,526 (289 hunters multiplied by $300 + 481 fishermen multiplied by $57.85) each fiscal year from 2010-2015.

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.