Sen. Melanie Sojourner recently submitted a bill to abolish resident hunting and fishing licenses and fees. She rationalizes the proposal by saying hunting and fishing is a God-given right that residents should not have to pay to do. I am not sure the distinction with non-residents except they do not vote in Mississippi.

God-given or not, the voters of Mississippi did vote to approve a constitutional amendment making hunting and fishing a right. I guess that elevated these sporting activities to a level equal to other rights, such as free speech, assembly, equal rights, voting, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, etc. None of these rights require a license as opposed to a privilege, such as driving, that does require a license. So, to be consistent, maybe resident (and perhaps non-resident) hunting and fishing licenses and associated fees should be abolished.

However, making up for the loss of revenue for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks might prove to be more difficult than Sen. Sojourner reported. She claims the abolishment of resident hunting and fishing license fees would result in the loss of only $570,000, an amount that could be made up with greater departmental efficiencies and/or some additional revenue from the state general fund. I am not confident that her reported revenue loss is accurate.

The MDWFP reported resident license sales of $6.4 million in their FY12 Annual Report. That is a big difference between the $570,000 reported by Sen. Sojourner.

It should also be understood that considerable federal funding to states is tied to license sales.

Federal excise taxes on hunting and fishing supplies are allocated to states based on the number of hunting and fishing license sold in that state. In 2012, the federal government proposed to send the MDWFP more than $9.2 million. Resident licenses represented 70 percent of the nearly 500,000 hunting and fishing licenses sold in Mississippi in 2012. If the formula is simply applied, abolishment of those licenses could result in the loss of another $6 million in funding for the department.

Together, the resident license sales and associated federal excise tax payments represent nearly $12 million for the MDWFP. It is a substantial sum of money to be made up through departmental efficiencies and the general fund.

It makes the question of requiring a license to participate in a God-given right a difficult one. Sen. Sojourner might give this proposal a second thought if she supports the conservation of fish and wildlife resources in Mississippi.

 

Will Stevens

Natchez resident