Senate Bill S6759

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6759

 TITLE OF BILL :
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an
amendment to the constitution, in relation to the right to hunt, trap
and fish


 PURPOSE :
This proposed constitutional amendment would provide within the New
York State Constitution for a right of the people to hunt, trap and
fish.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
A new Article Twenty would be added to the state constitution to
ensure the right of the law-abiding citizen to hunt, trap and fish
subject to reasonable regulation by the state.

 JUSTIFICATION :
The roots of hunting, fishing and trapping go deep into the soil of
our American experience. A way of life to Native Americans and
European settlers and sources of food and commerce, they have since
matured beyond their subsistence origins to become revered outdoor
pastimes enjoyed by 1.7 million New Yorkers and visitors for the
pleasure, challenge, companionship, food and additional income that
our outdoor sporting traditions provide.
              

New York's outdoor sporting traditions have a significant impact on
New York's economy as well. According to the 1996 National Survey of
Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation conducted by the
U.S. departments of Interior and Commerce, recreational anglers and
hunters spent more than $2.5 billion in pursuit of their pastimes in
New York in 1996. New York hunters and anglers annually spend millions
of dollars for goods and services provided by businesses located
throughout the state. Apart from the cost of their sporting licenses,
outdoorsmen's expenditures support jobs, generate sales and income
taxes, and are integral parts of the tourism industry. Hunters and
anglers come from all over the United States to fish legendary
Catskill and Adirondack streams and enjoy the thrill of the ruffed
grouse flushing in our many forests and state wildlife management
areas.

Sportsmen spend money for equipment, bait and tackle, hotels and
motels, restaurants, lodges and camps, grocery and hardware stores,
vehicles, boats, fuel and guide services. The survey found that these
expenditures and their associated economic impact supported 43,000
jobs and generated $100 million in state sales taxes and $32 million
in state income taxes in New York State in 1996.

New York has invested considerable sums of tax dollars in the acquisi-
tion of land for outdoor recreation, including canoeing, kayaking and
hiking, fishing rights, and hunting. Habitat restoration projects,
funded by the state, are designed in part to enhance fish spawning and
the proliferation of game species.

Because of the public dollars and license fees that have supported
game reintroductions and habitat improvements, the increasing
suburbanization of the state, continued loss of open and wild areas,
the distance between the population and our subsistence roots, and
their foundation in our culture and history, particularly in our rural
areas, the time honored and respected pastimes of hunting, fishing and
trapping should be recognized in our constitution as rights of the
people.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
New.
 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This amendment would take effect upon approval of the voters at a
general election succeeding the passage of such amendment by two
separately elected legislatures.