BILL NUMBER:A9240

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to establish the period of validity for certain
fishing licenses

PURPOSE: The purpose of this legislation is to extend the expiration
date of saltwater fishing licenses purchased in 2009 to December 31,
2010.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section one states that any recreational marine
fishing licenses that were or are issued prior to January 1, 2010
shall be valid until December 31, 2010. Section two contains the
effective date.

JUSTIFICATION: This legislation will extend the validity of salt water
fishing licenses purchased during the last three months of 2009 until
December 31st 2010. Individuals wishing to fish in the marine district
were required to purchase the new salt water fishing license that
began on October 1st of 2009 and will expire on December 31st 2009. It
was intended that the start-up date for the new saltwater fishing
license would be January 2010. This legislation will correct this
situation by extending the expiration date for licenses purchased
during 2009 to December 31st 2010.

In 2006, President Bush signed into law a re-authorization of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The law
              

contained a provision requiring the creation of a federal registry
program for recreational saltwater anglers, including the registration
of individuals (identification and contact information) and fishing
vessels.

The federal law mandates that beginning in 2010, all anglers fishing
in coastal waters must register with the federal government. The lees
for the proposed National Marine Fisheries Services Saltwater Angler
Registry, which will impact states that do not implement their own
saltwater license, range from $15 to $25. Revenues from this registry
would go into federal coffers and would not be directed toward marine
resource management.

The Magnuson-Stevens act further provided that anglers in a state
could be exempted from registration under the federal program if the
information from a state program is suitable for the completion of
federal marine recreational fisheries statistical surveys, or for
evaluating the effects of proposed conservation and management
measures for marine recreational fisheries.

The federal Wallop-Breaux Sport Fishing Restoration Act provides
funding to states to support fishing activities. The funding formula
is based on a state's land and water area and the number of sporting
licenses sold. The funding formula also requires the adequacy of
license fees to be certified, with inadequate license fees resulting
in the elimination of those licenses from the formula. States which
provide free or subsidized licenses would lose federal funding. For
SFY 2008-09, New York received $6 million in Wallop-Breaux funding.

The 2009-10 state budget created a New York State recreational marine
fishing license priced below the cost of the federal registry and


requiring all funds collected as a result of sale of the licenses to
be directed to the Marine Account in the Conservation Fund. In
accordance with State Finance Law, monies in this account may only be
spent for the care, management, protection and enlargement of marine
fish and shellfish resources.

This legislation would clarify the intent of the legislature regarding
the start date for the sale of licenses and undo the unintended and
inequitable current situation of requiring the payment of the full
year price for a mere three month license.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.