HOUSE BILL REPORT

SHB 2576

As Amended by the Senate

BYHouse Committee on Fisheries & Wildlife (originally sponsored by Representatives R. King, S. Wilson, Bowman, Haugen and Jacobsen; by request of Department of Wildlife)

Updating and revising certain statutes regarding the department of wildlife.

House Committe on Fisheries & Wildlife

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (9)

      Signed by Representatives R. King, Chair; Morris, Vice Chair; S. Wilson, Ranking Republican Member; Basich, Bowman, Brooks, Smith, Spanel and Vekich.

House Staff:Pamela Madson (786-7310)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 6, 1990

BACKGROUND:

The Department of Wildlife is requesting changes in two areas of the wildlife code:  (1) licenses, tags, stamps, and permits; and (2) reports that were required before January 1, 1990.

LICENSES, TAGS, STAMPS AND PERMITS:  A person who hunts or fishes for game animals or game fish in Washington State, must first obtain a hunting or fishing license.  Various additional licenses, permits, stamps, or tags are required depending on the animal, fish, or bird being taken.

When hunting for certain wild animals (deer, elk, bear, cougar, sheep, mountain goat, moose, and wild turkey), a hunter must also obtain a separate transport tag and supplemental stamp.  No fee is charged for the transport tag, but various fees are charged for the supplemental stamps depending on the animal.  Both transport tags and supplemental stamps expire on March 31 following the date of issuance.

Game bird hunters must have additional stamps or licenses to hunt for certain game birds.  Upland game birds and migratory waterfowl require stamps.  Hunting with hounds requires a stamp, and hunting with falcons requires a license.  Expiration dates of the stamps and licenses vary.

Punchcards are required for steelhead fishing and hunting of upland game birds (quail, partridge, and pheasant).

STATUTORY REPORTS:  When the Legislature changed the funding source for the Department of Game and renamed it the Department of Wildlife, it required reports on agency management, wildlife and wildlife recreational needs, and hunting and fishing licenses.  All reports were due to the Legislature by June 31, 1989, and have been delivered by the Wildlife Commission.

The Legislature established the Joint Select Committee on Endangered Species with a report due to the Legislature in 1987.

SUMMARY:

All supplemental stamps and punchcards for hunting game birds are eliminated except the migratory waterfowl stamp. Game bird stamps become permits and the upland game bird permit is divided into an Eastern Washington permit ($8) and a Western Washington permit ($15).  The hound permit, upland game bird permits, and the raptor license expire on January 1 after the date issued.  The expiration date on migratory water fowl stamps remains March 31 after the date of issue.

All supplemental stamps for hunting game animals are eliminated and the charges formerly associated with the stamps now apply to transport tags.

The steelhead punchcard is renamed the catch record card.

The following statutory reports are deleted:

(a)  Analysis of management of Department of Wildlife due November 1, 1987;

(b)  Wildlife and wildlife recreational needs assessment by the Wildlife Commission due October 1, 1988;

(c)  Analysis of hunting and fishing licenses due June 30, 1989; and

(d)  Joint Select Committee on Threatened and Endangered Species due 1987 legislative session.

EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENTS:  A juvenile under the age of 15 may purchase a steelhead catch record card for $5 allowing the juvenile to catch 5 steelhead.  (A catch record card normally costs $15 allowing the catch of 15 steelhead.  If the card is returned by a certain date, the next card only costs $10.)

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Lee Smith, Department of Wildlife.

House Committee - Testified Against:      No one.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The statutes refer to stamps for some game animals and game birds, and hunting with hounds.  In fact, stamps have not been used. The punchcard nomenclature for steelhead is changed to a catch record card to make it consistent with Department of Fisheries nomenclature and will allow for more coordination in efforts to combine license documents in the future.  The use of upland bird stamps has developed into a practice of issuing stamps to Eastern Washington hunters for $8 and issuing punchcards to Western Washington hunters for $15.  The lower price in Eastern Washington reflects the fact that bird production on the east side of the state is primarily natural production and less expensive than the game farm production of Western Washington.  The proposed legislation does not change current practice in terms of fees.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None.

VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      Yeas 96; Excused 2

Excused:    Representatives Gallagher, Miller