Senators Debate Washington Fish-Hunt License Fee Increase Before Narrowly Passing It
A bill that would hike the cost of most Washington fishing and hunting licenses by 38 percent narrowly passed out of the Senate today.
With a 25-24 roll-call vote, Substitute Senate Bill 5583 now moves over to the House of Representatives for consideration. If passed there and signed by Governor Bob Ferguson, the increases would go into effect July 1, 2025.
Five Democrats joined all Republican senators in voting against the bill, which would also allow the Fish and Wildlife Commission to create license surcharges “to fund compensation, central service and other operating costs approved by the Legislature,” per a legislative staff report. An amendment from Senator Shelly Short (R-Colville) that attempted to strip that element out of the bill – “those decisions ought to rest with the legislature,” she argued –wasn’t adopted.
Speaking in favor of the increase, Senator Marko Liaas (D-Mukilteo), pointed to tens of millions of visitors to the million acres of WDFW-managed lands, both wildlife areas and water access sites.
“The way that WDFW, our fish and wildlife agency, is able to do this work is with the fees that come in from recreational users, both recreational fishing and hunting licenses,” Liaas stated. “These fee revenues fund things like maintaining that habitat that perpetuates our wildlife and fish and shellfish for future generations. It also helps operate hatcheries that produce healthy fish that benefit all of us. It also pays for the important enforcement activity to ensure that the tens of thousands of calls that WDFW receives for service from poaching to other public safety issue, there’s somebody on the other line to take action on that. These are all supported by the fees that we’re talking about here today.”
“Our hunting and fishing license permit fees haven’t been adjusted in quite some time – over a decade. The costs of these fees aren’t keeping up with the cost of caring for Washington’s wild and scenic places. This bill proposes to make an inflationary adjustment. It’s a big adjustment, but inflation has been significant over the last 15 years to keep up with those costs.”
Speaking to Senator Short’s proposed tweak, Liaas continued, “And as the amendment alluded, it also charts a sustainable path forward. Now, I want to applaud the chair of the Ways and Means Committee for making sustainability of our state budget a core priority this year. This (bill) provides the authority for the commission when directed by the legislature in future years to make sure that these fees continue to support the critical activities.
“It also makes an important policy shift. When you buy a fishing license in Washington, when you turn 70, you qualify for a senior discount. For whatever reason, across time, hunting licenses haven’t had that same discount applied. So as we make these adjustments, we’re going to ensure that older Washingtonians that want to access hunting opportunities have a chance to do that, recognizing fixed incomes for our older Washingtonians at a discount.”
“I called my most important hunting constituent, my dad – actually, I saw him at dinner on Sunday – and I asked him about this. He’s not quite 70, so he was excited to hear that he will get a discounted [hunting] license soon, and he was excited to hear that we’re looking at this. When we chatted through the fee increase – nobody likes paying more, and my dad’s very thrifty; I’ve tried to inherit a little bit of that from him – but when we talked about the cost and benefit and understanding that the fees pay for critical work around our state, I think like a lot of us, my dad reluctantly admitted that this was a prudent course forward,” said Liaas.
“We need to take care of these wild places in our state. This allows us to do that, and unfortunately for the deer in Senator Short’s district, my dad is going to continue to engage in recreational hunting in this state, and we’ll pay these fees just like all of us in Washington,” Liass stated.
It was very refreshing to hear Senator Liaas’s recognition of the power of sportsman funding – some on the Fish and Wildlife Commission poo-poo it – and which was confirmed by Senator Short, though she rose against the bill.
“The things that the gentleman who previously spoke are all correct. We see the need to make sure that the department can do the work it does. However, families are struggling. A lot of people in my district, Mr. President [Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck], they’re subsistence hunters. This is the meat that they put in their freezers. And if it were the only thing that we were looking at this session as a measure of making sure that (WDFW) had what they needed to continue to do the good work that the gentleman alluded to, that might be a different thing,” she said.
“There are a number of issues and fees and taxes and other things that are going to be discussed in this chamber throughout the remainder of session. And people have kind of just said, ‘Time out, please.’ They’re struggling. And these are important things for our communities. Hunting and fishing, all across the state, it’s really part of our custom and culture, Mr. President.”
“But I think with other things that are also affecting the work of (WDFW), with the commission – which I hope is going to get better – a lot of people just look at that and wonder if they have a voice. And so on one hand, the voice is in question, and on the other hand, they know the need. But it’s just at the timing that we have it, I don’t think it’s a good one,” Short said.
Senator Ron Muzzall (R-Whidbey Island) said he was looking at a $400 bill for his fishing and hunting paperwork come April 1 and the start of the license year, and said there was an “inequity” between that bill and who pays for WDFW lands and all of Liaas’s visitors.
“(The) inequity of this, when we start thinking about the number of hunters and fishers who are out there buying licenses and the visitors to these same properties, as the good gentlemen referred to, I sometimes wonder about that. Whether it’s bird watchers on Fir Island at the Department of Fish and Wildlife, whether it’s mountain bikers in the Okanagan on the wildlife area there, they don’t pay for these properties. We do. And very little of our general funds go into support fish and wildlife,” said Muzzall.
“Now when it comes to opportunities, this year’s cutbacks will reduce the Western Washington pheasant numbers by half; $350,000 coming out of that budget will cut it by half. It’s nice that we’re giving a break to those over 70. My concern, Mr. President, are those under 20, the next generation as we look to have outdoorsmen to support this. As we continue to limit the opportunities and we drive up the price, less and less of those will be enjoying the outdoors,” he said.
“And there’s an odd fact in there, Mr. President, things that lose value become less important. When we look at the outdoor spaces that have been preserved by outdoorsmen, we get through Ducks Unlimited or Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation or whatever, we’re looking at a declining number of youth who are enjoying that. Why is that? Some of it’s opportunity, but some of it is pure and simple cost. This bill, so it may be needed by the Game Department, is not needed by the outdoorsmen in this state who struggle to find value in the money that they’re paying for reducing opportunities,” Muzzall said.
Senator Kevin Wagoner (R-Sedro-Woolley) said he now mostly hunts in Montana due to costs in Washington and better opportunities across state lines.
“Let’s not raise these prices anymore. I would love to see them lowered. I think we would sell many more licenses and make up the balance,” Wagoner said.
And Senator Mark Schoesler (R-Ritzville) said giving the Fish and Wildlife Commission surcharge authority on prices would cause more hunters and anglers not to buy licenses.
With no further comments for or against the bill, Heck called for a roll call and it came down to the very last vote, Senator Liz Lovelett (D-Anacortes), who had to be called on several times before casting an aye and breaking the tie.
The license increase proposal came out of nowhere this past winter, not long after state bean counters identified large projected budget deficits.
While not requested by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as part of the agency’s wish list to state lawmakers, SSB 5583 would be the first license increase since 2011 and would raise $19.3 million every two years.
A fiscal note attached to the bill states it would probably also lead to an 11 percent dropoff in license sales and an estimated $350,000 decline in disbursements from the partially license-tied federal Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Act disbursements.
Revenues from the bill factor into Senate and House budget writers’ recently released 2025-27 operating budget proposals.
Correction: The initial version of this blog incorrectly stated that the bill’s surcharge authority granted to the commission by the legislature included for inflation due to a misreading of a nonpartisan legislative report. The latest bill report for the substitute bill states, “Authorizes the Fish and Wildlife Commission to adopt a surcharge on all license fees to fund compensation, central service and other operating costs approved by the Legislature.”
About Author
