Honorable Ryan Guillen, Chair, House Committee on Culture, Recreation & Tourism
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1979 by Phelan (relating to a bag limit exemption for certain participants in certain fishing tournaments in Chambers, Jefferson, Galveston, Hardin, Newton, and Orange Counties; authorizing a fee.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Parks and Wildlife Code relating to bag limits in fishing tournaments held on the southern stretches of the Sabine or Neches River, in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, or in the Gulf of Mexico adjacent to certain counties. The bill would allow a participant in a tournament that only includes competitors in high school or college to count a largemouth bass that is smaller than the legal limit by two inches or less towards the daily bag limit. The bill would require such a fish to be released after weighing. Tournament organizers would be required to complete an application provided by the Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and pay a fee of $500 to receive an exemption permit.
Based on information provided by TPWD, the bill could result in minimal revenue gain to the Game, Fish, and Water Safety Account No. 9.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality, 802 Parks and Wildlife Department