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Fisherman in state can expect to see some increased fees
Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle
April 13, 2003
Bay Area fishermen will get a double whammy on license fees if Gov. Gray Davis has his way.
A new proposal would create a $5 stamp required for the Bay Area's 750,000 anglers fishing the ocean, bay or Delta. It could be required at lakes as well.
At the same time, the state fishing license would be raised $2, to $31.25.
That means a base resident license in the Bay Area would cost $36.25, by far the most in the nation. Behind the scenes, there also is consideration for adding a trout stamp, perhaps also $5, to pay for hatchery operations.
"We haven't resolved all of the differences," said Perry Herrgesell, chief of the Central Valley Bay-Delta Branch of the Department of Fish and Game. He said several meetings are scheduled in the near future to shape details of the proposal. For now, Herrgesell said, he doubted the stamp would be required for fishing at Bay Area lakes.
As part of the governor's budget, the proposal would have to be finalized by the state's budget deadline of July 1 and would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2004.
Reaction to the proposals was quick and furious from sportfishing leaders.
"The DFG has buried the stamp in the governor's budget," said John Beuttler of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. "This seems to be an end run designed to evade the public debate that should occur regarding this form of taxation."
The money from the stamp would not be earmarked to be spent in the Bay Area,
Beuttler said, but would be swallowed in the DFG's amorphous general fund budget, where nothing can be traced.
"What do you expect?" said Keith Fraser, founding president of United Anglers of California. "You've got an incognito director who was appointed by a governor who likes to put his buddies on the state payroll."
The proposal is embedded in SB53 and AB100.
Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle
April 13, 2003
Bay Area fishermen will get a double whammy on license fees if Gov. Gray Davis has his way.
A new proposal would create a $5 stamp required for the Bay Area's 750,000 anglers fishing the ocean, bay or Delta. It could be required at lakes as well.
At the same time, the state fishing license would be raised $2, to $31.25.
That means a base resident license in the Bay Area would cost $36.25, by far the most in the nation. Behind the scenes, there also is consideration for adding a trout stamp, perhaps also $5, to pay for hatchery operations.
"We haven't resolved all of the differences," said Perry Herrgesell, chief of the Central Valley Bay-Delta Branch of the Department of Fish and Game. He said several meetings are scheduled in the near future to shape details of the proposal. For now, Herrgesell said, he doubted the stamp would be required for fishing at Bay Area lakes.
As part of the governor's budget, the proposal would have to be finalized by the state's budget deadline of July 1 and would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2004.
Reaction to the proposals was quick and furious from sportfishing leaders.
"The DFG has buried the stamp in the governor's budget," said John Beuttler of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. "This seems to be an end run designed to evade the public debate that should occur regarding this form of taxation."
The money from the stamp would not be earmarked to be spent in the Bay Area,
Beuttler said, but would be swallowed in the DFG's amorphous general fund budget, where nothing can be traced.
"What do you expect?" said Keith Fraser, founding president of United Anglers of California. "You've got an incognito director who was appointed by a governor who likes to put his buddies on the state payroll."
The proposal is embedded in SB53 and AB100.
