PRINTER'S NO. 1236
No. 193 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY HALUSKA, GODSHALL, BELFANTI, BEYER, BIANCUCCI, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, CAUSER, DeLUCA, FABRIZIO, FLECK, GEIST, GEORGE, GERGELY, GOODMAN, HANNA, HARRIS, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY, W. KELLER, KOTIK, MILLARD, MOUL, PEIFER, PRESTON, RAPP, READSHAW, REICHLEY, SIPTROTH, SONNEY, STABACK, STERN, SURRA, VULAKOVICH, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD, YUDICHAK, EVERETT, PAYNE, MAHONEY, GIBBONS AND BOYD, APRIL 13, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON GAME AND FISHERIES, APRIL 13, 2007
A RESOLUTION 1 Directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study 2 the fiscal impact of future increased value of the assets of 3 the Pennsylvania Game Commission in relation to the cost of 4 licenses issued by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. 5 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Game Commission is funded through a 6 combination of sources entirely supported by hunters and 7 trappers and assets procured with license dollars; and 8 WHEREAS, Those sources include hunting and furtaker license 9 sales, State game land timber, natural gas, oil and mineral 10 revenues and a Federal excise tax on sporting arms and 11 ammunition; and 12 WHEREAS, The commission does not receive General Fund 13 appropriations; and 14 WHEREAS, More than half of the commission's annual revenue 15 comes from license sales, which is a relatively fixed income 16 source; and
1 WHEREAS, License fees cannot be increased without approval of 2 the General Assembly, and fee increases historically come about 3 every ten years; and 4 WHEREAS, Each year the Game Fund receives about 16% of its 5 operating budget through royalty payments from its many mineral, 6 oil and gas leases and timber operations on State game lands, 7 and such payments help to fund numerous projects and programs, 8 including land acquisition and habitat improvement, while 9 keeping the cost of a Pennsylvania hunting or furtaking license 10 reasonable; therefore be it 11 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee 12 be directed to study how much revenue the Pennsylvania Game 13 Commission has lost through a decline in Pennsylvania hunting 14 license sales over the past two years; and be it further 15 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee 16 be directed to study the fiscal impact of future increased value 17 of timber, natural gas, oil and mineral revenues generated by 18 assets controlled by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and how 19 increased revenues can be used to offset funding obligations now 20 met through the purchasing of Pennsylvania hunting licenses; and 21 be it further 22 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee 23 submit a report summarizing the study to the General Assembly by 24 December 31, 2007. C20L82SFL/20070H0193R1236 - 2 -