House wants to hand off setting fishing, hunting fees to appointed panel

DES MOINES - In a nod to political realities, the House voted Tuesday to give the Natural Resource Commission the authority to set hunting and fishing license fees.

Representatives approved House File 631 that shifts responsibility for setting the fees to the board appointed by the governor.

'First of all, it becomes a political issue,” said floor manager Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake. Most of the fees haven't been raised since 2003 - some since 1999 - 'because nobody wants to raise the fees in the Legislature,” he said.

Wills made a point of saying the bill, approved 92-6, does not include any fee increases. However, the Department of Natural Resources is looking at increases to generate revenue it says is needed to maintain the state fish and game fund.

'So we're saying, 'OK, DNR, you're the professionals. Your understanding of the budget is better than ours because you live it every day,'” Wills said.

Lawmakers still will have oversight because the fees enacted by the Natural Resource Commission will not go into effect for a year. That would allow lawmakers to nullify or modify them, he said.

The bill must win Senate approval before it could become law.

Lawmakers also approved Senate File 274, by a 95-3 margin, to require the Department of Education to adopt computer science education standards and convene a computer science education work group; require the Board of Educational Examiners to establish computer science instructor endorsements and authorizations; and establish a computer science professional development incentive fund.

The computer science incentive fund would encourage schools to put 'more and continued effort and emphasis on computer science for K-12 students,” said Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls. The bill will build on momentum for improving computer science education 'to get us up to where we think we should be.”

However, Rep. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, was critical of the bill because it did not include any money for the fund. It will help only those districts that have the resources to invest in computer science education, she said.

Districts can use grants or donations to fund their efforts.

'That's a shift,” Winckler said, calling it 'the beginning of funding education only if someone else pays.”

The changes in how fishing and hunting fees are set is 'long overdue, according to Rep. Scott Ourth, D-Ackworth. He has been contacted by hundreds of people, he said, including members of hunting and fishing groups who want fees increased to support the fish and wildlife fund.

'Some of my redneck hunting buddies are a little bit opposed to this, but every sportsmen's group in Iowa has written to me and stands with this bill,” said Rep. Terry Baxter, R-Garner.

As a result of HF 631 passage, Wills said fishing and hunting licenses will not increase as much as the DNR earlier proposed. It had called for a 32 percent increase to raise $8.8 million.

Instead, the DNR, he said, will seek an overall increase of about 17 percent. A $19 fishing license would increase to $21, for example.

The DNR 'has to request a lot of money to put a big bubble in there to operate for years because they know they won't get another increase for a while,” Wills said.

However, his bill directs the commission to review fees at least once every three years. That way, Wills said, more modest increases can be approved when needed.

The DNR, he said, will seek an overall increase of about 17 percent. A $19 fishing license would increase to $21, for example.

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