From: http://www.azgfd.gov/temp/fee_cap.shtml

Senate Bill 1365

Hunting and fishing fee cap

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is asking the Arizona Legislature to approve new price caps for fishing and hunting licenses, stamps and hunt permit-tag fees.

Department revenues must increase because in recent years, income has declined while expenses have risen. Like a business, the department cannot maintain its current level of service while running a deficit.

The department receives no General Fund revenues. Licenses, stamps and tag fees are a significant source of our revenue and are the foundation of a formula used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine Arizona’s share of federal sport fish and wildlife funds for wildlife management.

The cost of a hunting or fishing license will not automatically increase if fee caps are raised. The Arizona Game and Fish Commission will still be required to hold public meetings and follow the rulemaking process in order to increase fees.

Update: May 13, 2005
The Arizona Senate yesterday approved the final version of Senate Bill 1365 by a vote of 20-8. The hunting and fishing fee cap bill has been forwarded to Gov. Janet Napolitano for her consideration.

A complete listing of all proposed fee caps for hunting and fishing licenses and tags is available at: http://www.azgfd.gov/temp/documents/FeecapchartrevisedforWeb3_28_05.pdf

Senate Bill 1365 is available at: http://www.azleg.state.az.us/legtext/47leg/1r/bills/sb1365p%2Epdf

This article from the Arizona Republic explains some more details (http://www.azcentral.com/travel/arizona/outdoors/articles/0512outmain0512.html).

Bill puts premium on deer, elk permits

DeWayne Smith
Special for The Republic
May. 12, 2005 12:00 AM

The Arizona Legislature has approved increases in the amounts the Arizona Game and Fish Department may charge for fishing and hunting licenses.

If Gov. Janet Napolitano signs Senate Bill 1365 into law, the Game and Fish Commission would be able to raise permit-tag fees beginning in 2006 and license fees in 2007.

The Commission is required to hold public meetings and follow rule-making protocol before making any changes.

The language of the bill calls for establishing "regular" and "premium" deer and elk hunting permits. Premium permits would be limited to no more than 5 percent of the total deer and elk permits statewide.

Hunters drawing and paying for premium permits may, for example, be allowed to hunt antlered deer north of the Colorado River and hunt elk during the prized bull-only seasons.

"The premium hunt plan is the same idea a company uses in pricing its goods," said Hays Gilstrap, chairman of the Game and Fish Commission. "The difference is similar to buying a car equipped with the basics compared to purchasing one with a lot of extras. You pay more for the extras."

Fees may increase by no more than 50 percent in the first year, so the maximum fees the Commission could propose for resident tags in 2006 would be $29.25 for deer and $117 for elk.

The caps on non-resident fees would rise substantially, from $125.50 to $325 and $1,200 for regular and premium deer tags and from $400 to $775 and $3,200 for elk tags.

Gilstrap cited increased fuel costs - agency vehicles drive 4.5 million miles a year - as one of the factors necessitating increased revenue. The Legislature approved the current fee caps eight years ago. Game and Fish does not receive state funds, and monies from stamp, license, permit and tag fees are factored into a formula that determines federal funding.

Many youth fees remain the same under this legislation, which introduces new family licenses that would allow a second adult to purchase a license at 80 percent of the regular fee and would license juniors for a nominal set fee.

So we can look forward to a higher license fee in 2007 just to enter the draw. Great.

I do not mind when a state raises the fees some. But it needs to be in line with other states, and should be in a fair proportion to resident fees.

Is it just coincidence, or are the floodgates starting to open with the passage of Reid's bill? Non-resident discrimination will rise to new heights thanks to congress giving the states a free pass to do whatever they wish with non-resident management. Welcome to the realm of $5,000 sheep tags. Any guesses as to which state will be the first to charge this amount?

Update: May 17, 2005

An overlooked consequence of the license fee increase bill will require new lifetime hunting and fishing license fees to go into effect immediately upon the signature of the Governor, or when the bill is filed into law.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is prepared to implement these new fees upon the Governor’s signature. It is likely that the Governor will sign the bill before Wednesday, May 25. If the bill is not signed or vetoed by the Governor by May 25, the bill will be filed into law and the fees will become effective on that date.

Because the fee increase bill will cause a net increase in state revenues it is mandated by the state constitution to become effective immediately on the signature of the Governor. The lifetime license fees are defined in statute (ARS 17-335.01) and are not set through rulemaking.

The statute requires the Commission to offer lifetime licenses at fees calculated based on a formula using the maximum fee prescribed for the respective annual license. Thus, lifetime license fees will increase based on the new fee caps.

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Note that an old vs. new fee table accompanied the above update but I cannot figure out how to post it here without turning it into a jumbled mess. You may view it at: http://www.azgfd.gov/temp/fee_cap.shtml

quote:

Welcome to the realm of $5,000 sheep tags. Any guesses as to which state will be the first to charge this amount?

My guess is either AZ or UT. What ticks me off is when every state starts charging non-res over $100 just to apply! I would probably pay $5000 for a sheep tag but by the time I draw one I will be spending $1000 a year just to apply!

Yes it seems like I am spending more and more each year on the draws. Maybe about $750 a year for non resident licenes and fees.

Update: May 20, 2005
Governor Janet Napolitano signed Senate Bill 1365.

John,

You got me curious so I went and crunched some numbers. Boy, was that a mistake! For just myself to enter the draws in 12 states (CA, OR, WA, ID, NV, AZ, UT, NM, CO, WY, MT and ND), in 2005, I paid out $506.79 in "Other Costs" which include postage, application fees, preference point fees, etc. I also paid out $500 in license fees (and I don't have to buy the California non-resident license as I am a lifetime hunting license holder there, if I did have to buy it that would add another $115.75). And this does NOT include any tag fees. This equates to $1,006.79 of non-recoverable outlay to be in the draws in 2005. I am not even going to mention the dollars that get spent on various raffles for hunts / tags. Of course, this is not just to apply for sheep tags (but the bulk of it is) as I also apply for species other than sheep in a few of these states.

This sure is getting discouraging. I don't know how many more years I can handle of this $1000 for basically NO realistic chance at drawing a tag. I think its time to get out of this and save that $1000 a year for a hunt that can be bought. Those asian sheep/goats are looking pretty inviting right now!