New Budget Immediately Repeals NY Saltwater Fishing Fee
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- Published: Monday, 04 April 2011 17:03
- Written by Jim Hutchinson, Jr
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Contact: Jim Hutchinson, Jr. / 888-564-6732 For Immediate Release
NY SALTWATER ANGLERS DO NO NOT NEED A LICENSE TO FISH!
Question Answered As New Budget Immediately Repeals Saltwater Fishing Fee
New York's saltwater anglers are officially off the hook with regard to paying a fee to fish!
Governor
Andrew Cuomo's new $132.5 billion budget passed before the April 1
deadline immediately repeals the saltwater fishing license and replaces
it with a free registry coordinated through the state Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC). Swapping out a fee-based saltwater
fishing license with a free registry should allow New York to retain its
federal registry exemption, thereby allowing state anglers to avoid
having to pay a $15 federal fee to fish. As part of the Environmental
Conservation budget bill, the registry will be no cost to anglers for at
least the next two years. According to state Senator Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), an agreement secured through leaders from the senate, assembly and governor's office last week helped pave the way for the repeal, which includes a full refund of the lifetime license fee ($150), no reduction to the balance of the Conservation Fund and an additional $1.9 million in General Fund support for Marine Bureau operations. Also effective immediately, party and charter boat captains no longer have to buy a $400 annual saltwater license to cover their passengers.
Sen. Zeldin, who helped spearhead senate efforts to repeal the saltwater user fee, also said the DEC's Marine Bureau will not be responsible for paying for jobs for which it assumed responsibility in 2009, and added that full compliance with the federal saltwater fishing registry requirements means New Yorkers will not have to purchase any separate registrations.
"This is a piece of legislation that is very important to the needs of my district," Zeldin told NewsLI.com. "I would like to thank not only my senate and assembly colleagues who spent hours listening to me and working with me, but I would also like to thank the thousands of fishermen, including the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), who called, wrote, faxed and signed our petition," stated Senator Zeldin.
In February, Senator Zeldin introduced a bill (S3638) to repeal the saltwater fishing license fee, and has been working the halls of the Capitol ever since to bring a broad coalition together to fight for its repeal. The budget agreement finalized by Governor Cuomo's approved budget now sets the Conservation Fund balance at $22.2 million as of today, with a projected balance totaling more than $38 million in the fund as of April 1, 2012.
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