LDWF legislative roundup

June 8, 2024 Joe Curtis Fishing, Newsletters, Outdoor Updates

Garrett reviews new laws, regulations with Commission

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) brought 14 bills in front of the legislature and 12 were passed or awaiting signatures, this past session. Cole Garrett, LDWF general counsel, reported to Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission at their regular monthly meeting on June 6 on bills. Several commissioners did not attend the meeting in person, but participated via Zoom. Commissioner Nathan Wall had trouble communicating due to a poor internet connection.

Eighteen million dollar budget

Garrett began his talk by telling commissioners the agency was able to receive $18 million in general fund money through various budget bills. Ten million dollars was for various operations of the agency, and $7.5 million was for capital outlay money.

  • HB 296 “recreated” the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. This particular piece of legislature does this every five years and examines the efficiency of the state agency.
  • HB 400 dealt with lifetime licenses and was sent to the governor on June 3. It established a $1,000 infant license for nonresidents.
  • HB 795 provided revenue for reductions from discounted hunting and fishing licenses. “What this says is that in the future, any discounted licenses that the legislature makes, we present to them what fiscal impact is, and they offset it with general fund money,” Garrett said.
  • HB-559 allocates waterfowl licenses to the Duck Stamp fund.

“Basically, all revenue derived from waterfowl licenses is now going to be dedicated into that fund,” Garrett said. Currently, $10 from each waterfowl license is allocated. For a Louisiana resident it is $12; non-resident is $50; and five day is $35. This increases Duck Stamp revenue by $375,000 annually. The bill goes into effect on August 1.

  • HB 382 is a bill that cleans up hunting license’s language from a previous bill. This bill repeals provisions requiring “big game” license for bobcat and repeals provisions establishing primitive firearms. The bill goes into effect August 1.
  • HB 543 separates recreational license fees from additional promotion fees, and establishes an escrow account for Louisiana Charter Boat Association. This bill goes into effect August 1.

Bear changes

  • HB 684 establishes a bear hunting license which will be $25.

“Only the legislature can establish licenses and fees,” Garrett said. “This also removes the prohibition on baiting bears.”

The bill was sent to the governor on May 24.

  • HB 802 allows tracking dogs to use on a leash or GPS collar and allows for the use of a handgun. This bill goes into effect August 1. HB 349 was referred to House Natural Resources. It would have allowed unlicensed hunters to take feral hogs, coyotes, armadillos, nutria and beaver.
  • SB 69 was deferred in Senate Natural Resources. It would have prohibited the take of “jakes” with a beard less than six inches.
  • HB 854 / HCR 9 establishes a wildlife rescuer program.

“The authors of these bills indicated that they believe there was a lack of wildlife rehabilitators,” Garrett said. This bill would allow for temporary possession of certain species and provide for extended possession by permit. It will be effective June 20.

  • SB 493 failed vote in the Senate Transportation. It would have prohibited regulations restricting airboats on public waterways.

“These vessels can be loud and disruptive,” Garrett said. “They can get to other areas where other vehicles cannot.” Garrett spoke on this bill to the legislature. “There are people who have private holdings within WMAs that are not able to access their camps,” Garrett said. “There are people who launch at public boat ramps that would traverse through WMA to get to an otherwise public waterway. Recognizing those two issues, I said we would certainly look at that. It is not our intent to keep people from accessing their private property or traversing otherwise public waterways.”

  • HB 661 requires all charter captains to have a commercial marine insurance policy and establish a $1,000 fine for first offense convictions. It was sent to the governor May 24.
  • SB 211 makes permissible to have filleted fish on the water when traversing to or from remote camps only accessible by boat. The current law establishes fillet fish limits that correspond to old size limits for trout and redfish. It goes into effect August 1.
  • HB 409 deals with the harassment of hunters and fishermen. This bill establishes the violation of hunting harassment on all lands and waters managed by the state. “This bill expands it to all property of the state (not just WMAs),” Garrett said. It goes into effect August 1.
  • HB 532 was reported favorable from the House Natural Resources Committee but was not scheduled on the Floor. It stated any animal seized that is illegal to possess is immediately forfeited and has no property rights.
  • SB 127 would allow for the utilization for drone observation of wildlife and recovery. It was reported favorably from the Senate Natural Resources Committee but was not scheduled for the Floor. “This is a federal prohibition,” Garrett said. “This is the Areal Hunting Act that would prohibit that.”

This bill would be problematic for dually commissioned agents due to the federal regulations. “This bill certainly got the conversation started,” Garrett said.

Imported seafood bills

  • HB 429 was sent to the governor on June 3 and prohibits the use of imported seafood in schools.
  • HB 684 was deferred in House Health and Welfare. It would have prohibited the sale of certain farm-raised shrimp such as foreign-raised shrimp. The foreign-raised shrimp to be legal must comply with federal and state food safety standards under this bill.
  • HB 676 was enrolled and establishes a wholesale/retail dealer license endorsement for anyone dealing with imported seafood. It created a $300 license fee. From the fee, 90 percent of revenue will be deposited in the import safety fund and 10 percent will be retained for enforcement.
  • HB 748 was also enrolled and increased the commercial seafood permit which was $100. In 2025 it will increase to $300; 2026 – $500; 2027 – $750; 2028 and beyond – $1,000. The Lt. Governor’s office will be in charge of collecting the fee.
  • SB 40 modernized the Seafood Safety Task Force (SSTF) and adjusted the composition of the SSTF.
  • SB 166 dealt with the labeling and marketing of seafood. The bill governs misleading packaging and marketing along with requiring all agencies and schools to use domestic seafood. It requires regulations to warn customers of safety concerns associated with imported seafood and requires disclaimer at restaurants serving foreign seafood. This bill goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025.
  • HCR 9/10 imposed a quota or tariff on imported seafood and compelled FDA to test and inspect imported seafood.