HB623: establishing a game management account in the fish and game fund and transferring certain other fish and game accounts into the game management account.

CHAPTER 220

HB 623-FN – FINAL VERSION

06Mar2007… 0194h

07Jun2007… 2038-eba

2007 SESSION

07-0456

10/04

HOUSE BILL 623-FN

AN ACT establishing a game management account in the fish and game fund and transferring certain other fish and game accounts into the game management account.

SPONSORS: Rep. Abbott, Rock 12; Rep. Chandler, Carr 1; Rep. Henson, Rock 13; Sen. Gallus, Dist 1

COMMITTEE: Fish and Game

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill establishes a game management account in the fish and game fund, removes separate accounts for moose, bear, wild turkey, and waterfowl stamps, licenses, applications, or permits, and transfers balances in those accounts into the game management account.

This bill is a request of the fish and game department.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

06Mar2007… 0194h

07Jun2007… 2038-eba

07-0456

10/04

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven

AN ACT establishing a game management account in the fish and game fund and transferring certain other fish and game accounts into the game management account.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

220:1 Legislative Findings and Purpose. Management of the state’s game resources is vital to their continued enjoyment by residents and non-residents. Professional management of game resources by the fish and game department which balances the desires of multiple interests thereby benefits the economy and quality of life in many ways. Hunters spend over $70,000,000 dollars annually pursuing game species. Many of these expenditures occur in small towns and provide a critical bridge for local economies between the summer and winter tourism seasons. Hunters and non-hunters alike spend close to $350,000,000 annually watching wildlife, including game species. The general court finds it is in the best interest of all our citizens to provide adequate resources for scientific and professional management of game resources in New Hampshire.

220:2 New Subparagraph; Application of Receipts. Amend RSA 6:12, I(b) by inserting after subparagraph (252) the following new subparagraph:

(253) Moneys deposited in the game management account established RSA 206:34-b.

220:3 New Section; Game Management Account. Amend RSA 206 by inserting after section 34-a the following new section:

206:34-b Game Management Account Established; Report

I. The state treasurer shall establish a separate nonlapsing account within the fish and game fund, to be known as the game management account. Each month the department shall determine the number of stamps, licenses, applications, or permits sold for moose, bear, turkey, and waterfowl and, for each, transfer $10 to the game management account. The moneys in this account shall be used exclusively for the implementation of a comprehensive population and habitat management program, including research and management, protection, education, and outreach for game as defined in RSA 207:1, IX, fur-bearing animals as defined in RSA 207:1, VIII, and migratory game birds as defined in RSA 209:5 to include waterfowl, snipe, and woodcock. Funds in the game management account are hereby continually appropriated for said purposes. Said funds shall be expended for the purposes of this section as determined by the executive director with approval of the commission.

II. The state treasurer shall segregate the moneys credited to the game management account and invest these funds to obtain the highest possible return on such investment until such funds are required to be expended exclusively for the purposes specified in paragraph I. Interest received on investments shall be credited to the account.

III. The executive director shall submit a report annually by October 1 to the chairpersons of the house and senate standing committees having jurisdiction over the fish and game department on the status of game populations in the state and a summary of expenditures made from the game management account.

220:4 Reference Removed; Fund Raising. Amend RSA 206:22-a, II(a) to read as follows:

II.(a) The fish and game department may promote, market or otherwise engage in fund raising activities for any special account including, but not limited to, [the waterfowl conservation program established in RSA 214:1-d,] the endangered and nongame species management programs established in RSA 212-A and RSA 212-B, respectively, and any other program intended to educate, protect, restore, enhance or promote department responsibilities.

220:5 Migratory Waterfowl Stamp; Account Removed. Amend RSA 214:1-d to read as follows:

214:1-d State Migratory Waterfowl Stamp Required.

I. No person shall at any time hunt, shoot, pursue, kill or take migratory waterfowl without first procuring, in addition to the applicable hunting license required by RSA 214 and the federal duck stamp required by RSA 209:6, a stamp to do so under RSA 214:9, XII, for the same period. The stamp must be signed across the face in a permanent manner with the applicant’s signature. A person under the age of 16 years may hunt, shoot, pursue, kill or take migratory waterfowl without such a stamp, provided that, while so doing, he is accompanied by an adult who has procured such a stamp. For the purpose of this section “migratory waterfowl” shall mean ducks, mergansers, coots, geese and brant.

II. [The state treasurer shall establish a separate nonlapsing account within the fish and game fund, to be known as the waterfowl conservation account, to which shall be credited all fees collected by the fish and game department from the sale and issuance of state migratory waterfowl stamps, all donations received under paragraph III, and all proceeds derived from the art created for the stamp under paragraph IV. The moneys in the account, from whatever source, shall be used exclusively in the state of New Hampshire for the following purposes and are hereby appropriated for said purposes:

(a) The development, management, preservation, conservation, restoration, acquisition, and maintenance of migratory waterfowl habitat, including the development of state wetlands and shores and designated waterfowl management marshes for maximum migratory waterfowl production, access to such areas, and acquisition of necessary barriers;

(b) The protection, conservation, and propagation of migratory waterfowl; and

(c) Up to 25 percent of the prior year’s gross waterfowl receipts shall be expended for the promotion of the state migratory waterfowl stamp and print.

III. The state treasurer is hereby authorized to accept donations into the waterfowl conservation account from sources other than the proceeds from the sale of the state migratory waterfowl stamps.

III-a. The state treasurer shall segregate the moneys credited to the waterfowl conservation account, established by RSA 214:1-d, II, and invest these funds to obtain the highest possible return on such investment until such funds are required to be expended exclusively for the purposes specified in RSA 214:1-d, II(a) through (c).

IV.(a)] The executive director, with the approval of the commission, shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to the form, design and manner of issuance of the state migratory waterfowl stamp, and may, with the approval of the commission, provide for the reproduction, sale, licensing and other disposal of art created for the stamp, provided that all money received by the fish and game department derived from the art shall be added to the [waterfowl conservation] game management account.

[(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a), in an effort to expedite the 1983 fall season issue of the first migratory waterfowl stamp, the New Hampshire fish and game commission and its executive director are hereby authorized to enter into a contract with Midwest Marketing of Sullivan, Illinois, to furnish stamps and to conduct sale of prints of the art in order to generate income for the waterfowl conservation account. The contractual agreement shall allow the New Hampshire fish and game commission and its executive director to establish a fee schedule for Midwest Marketing based on the amount of sales completed by the company for the New Hampshire fish and game department.

(c)] The art for the stamp may be selected through an art contest which shall be regulated by the executive director with the approval of the commission.

[V. The funds in the waterfowl conservation account shall be expended for the purposes stated in paragraph II(a)-(c) as determined by the executive director with the approval of the commission. Before the executive director and the commission approve any expenditure of funds from the account, the fish and game department shall analyze the proposed project and provide the executive director and the commission with recommendations as to the project’s usefulness and feasibility.

VI. The executive director and the commission shall submit to the general court at each regular session a detailed report with sufficient information to be fully understood by the general court and the public summarizing the receipts and disbursements from the waterfowl conservation account and the public benefits derived from the disbursements from it. This report shall also be available to the public after its submission to the general court.]

[VII.] III. Any person who violates any provision of this section or RSA 214:9, XII, or any rule adopted under this section, shall be guilty of a violation, and shall be guilty of a separate offense for each migratory waterfowl bird taken.

220:6 Accounts Transferred. All moneys existing in the moose management fund, the bear management fund, the wild turkey account, and the waterfowl conservation account as of January 1, 2008 shall be transferred to the game management account established in RSA 206:34-b as inserted by this act.

220:7 Repeal. The following are repealed:

I. RSA 6:12, I(b)(159), relative to the bear management fund.

II. RSA 6:12, I(b)(161), relative to the moose management fund.

III. RSA 6:12, I(b)(165), relative to the waterfowl conservation account.

IV. RSA 6:12, I(b)(181), relative to the wild turkey account.

V. RSA 206:9-b, relative to annual reports on moose and bear management funds.

VI. RSA 206:35-b, relative to wild turkey license or permit revenues.

VII. RSA 208:1-a, III and IV, relative to the moose management fund and program.

VIII. RSA 208:2, II, relative to the executive director’s report on the status of the deer herd.

IX. RSA 208:24, IV, relative to the black bear management fund and program.

220:8 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2008.

Approved: June 25, 2007

Effective: January 1, 2008