ANNUAL PHEASANT HUNTING LICENSE H.B. 4313 (S-1):
SUMMARY OF SUBSTITUTE BILL
IN COMMITTEE
House Bill 4313 (Substitute S-1)
Sponsor: Representative Gary Howell
House Committee: Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation
Judiciary
Senate Committee: Natural Resources
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) to do the following:
-- Prohibit an individual 18 years of age or older from hunting pheasants without a current annual pheasant hunting license.
-- Establish a $25 fee for an annual pheasant hunting license.
-- Specify certain circumstances in which an individual could hunt pheasant without an annual pheasant hunting license.
-- Allow a collector to purchase an annual pheasant hunting license if it were issued as a stamp without having to place it on a base license, but specify that a license issued in that manner would not be valid for hunting purposes.
-- Establish the pheasant subaccount within the Game and Fish Protection account.
-- Require 100% of each license fee to be deposited in the pheasant subaccount to be used only to release live pheasants on State-owned land suitable for pheasants.
-- Specify that the bill would be repealed effective January 1, 2026.
Currently, an individual is required to have a base license to hunt small game. Under the bill, an individual 18 years of age or older would be prohibited from hunting pheasants without a current annual pheasant hunting license. The hunting license requirement would be in addition to the requirement for a base license. The fee for the pheasant hunting license would be $25.
The following individuals would not have to obtain an annual pheasant hunting license: a) an individual hunting pheasants only at a game bird hunting preserve licensed under Part 417 (Game Bird Hunting Preserves); b) hunting pheasants on private land, except for individuals hunting on land enrolled in the hunt access program; or c) hunting pheasants on public land in the Upper Peninsula.
If the license were issued as a stamp, a pheasant hunting license would have to be affixed to the base license of the individual and signed across the face of the stamp by the license holder. A collector could purchase a pheasant hunting license, if it were issued as a stamp, without having to place it on a base license, signed across its face, or provide proof of competency under Section 43520 of the Act. However, this license would not be valid for hunting pheasants.
(Section 43520 of NREPA prohibits authorized sellers of hunting licenses to issue a license to an individual born after January 1, 1960, unless that individual presents proof of previous hunting experience in the form a hunting license issued by Michigan, another state, a province of Canada, or another country. If that individual cannot provide proof of experience or a certification of a completion of training in hunter safety, the seller could issue a hunting license if the applicant submits a signed affidavit stating that he or she has either had previous hunting experience or taken a hunter safety course.)
From the $25 fee collected for each license, the DNR would have to deposit 100% of each license fee in the pheasant subaccount of the Game and Fish Protection account.
The pheasant subaccount would be created in the Game and Fish Protection account. The State Treasurer could receive money or other assets from any source for deposit into the subaccount. The Treasurer would direct the investment of the subaccount and would credit to the subaccount any interest and earning from subaccount investments. Money in the subaccount at the close of the fiscal year would remain in the subaccount and would not lapse to the Game and Fish Protection account or the General Fund. Money in the subaccount on January 1, 2026, would be transferred to the Game and Fish Protection account. The DNR would be the administrator of the subaccount for auditing purposes. The DNR would have to spend money from the subaccount, upon appropriation, only to release live pheasants on State-owned land suitable for pheasants.
The bill specifies that it would be repealed effective January 1, 2026.
Proposed MCL 324.43525c Legislative Analyst: Dana Adams
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have a positive fiscal impact on the Department of Natural Resources and no fiscal impact on local units of government. The bill would create the Pheasant Subaccount of the Game and Fish Protection Account and fund it through a $25 pheasant hunting license. One hundred percent of the funds in the Subaccount would have to be used to release live pheasants on State land that was suitable for pheasants. The amount of revenue that would be generated under the bill is unknown, but a DNR study conducted in 2019 estimated that about 23,200 hunters hunted pheasants in 2015. If all those hunters purchased a license, the revenue would be about $580,000 annually. However, the bill would exempt hunters on private land, private game preserves, or public land in the Upper Peninsula from the requirement to purchase a license, so the actual amount generated likely would be considerably less than that amount.
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.