WILDLIFE MGMT. PUBLIC ED. SUBACCOUNT                                             H.B. 4993 (S-1):

                                                                                                      FLOOR SUMMARY

House Bill 4993 (Substitute S-1 as reported by the Committee of the Whole)

Sponsor:  Representative Jon Bumstead

House Committee:  Natural Resources

Senate Committee:  Natural Resources, Environment and Great Lakes

CONTENT

The bill would amend Part 435 (Hunting and Fishing Licensing) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to do the following:

-- Create the "Michigan Wildlife Management Public Education Subaccount" within the Game and Fish Protection Fund, and create the Michigan Wildlife Council.

-- Require the Council to spend Subaccount money to develop and implement, in conjunction with a third-party marketing or advertising agency, a media-based public information program to promote the role of sportsmen and sportswomen in wildlife conservation and to educate the public about hunting, fishing, and the taking of game.

-- Require the Council to give the Legislature a semiannual report on the program and related expenditures, and prepare an operational plan within 120 days after the Council's first meeting and by April 30 in subsequent years.

-- Require an extra dollar that will be added to particular hunting and fishing license fees for marketing, education, and outreach activities beginning March 1, 2014, to be deposited in the proposed Subaccount.

The bill would take effect 90 days after it was enacted.

MCL 324.43532a et al.                                                   Legislative Analyst:  Julie Cassidy

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have a neutral fiscal impact on the Department of Natural Resources and no fiscal impact on local units of government.  Under the bill, revenue generated from a $1 surcharge levied on hunting and fishing licenses under the new hunting and fishing license fee structure enacted earlier in 2013 would be directed to the proposed Michigan Wildlife Management Public Education Subaccount.  It is expected that approximately $1.6 million will be collected annually from these surcharges.  Statute currently requires this revenue to be spent on marketing, education, and outreach activities, but since the surcharge will not take effect until March 1, 2014, the changes in the bill would have no practical fiscal impact on the DNR as that revenue has yet to be collected.

Date Completed:  12-12-13                                                    Fiscal Analyst:  Josh Sefton

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.