A look at the major legislative issues affecting sportsmen
A lot has taken place in Albany this past week. The legislative session closed with a frenzy of activity on June 21. Here are updates of what has happened in the sportsmen’s arena. The major legislative issues we looked at in the first half of 2012 :
Microstamping
Assembly bill A1175B passed by a vote of 85-60. While this is not good news, there are some good things to report about it. First, if you follow this attempt at passing this lousy piece of legislation, you will note that each time it passes the Assembly, less and less votes are PRO-microstamping. This is a sure sign that our legislators in the Assembly are seeing the light that this is a useless, costly, back-door approach at removing more guns from lawful owners. One day the Assembly will vote it down! The good news is, in my conversation with Senator Seward’s Chief of Staff, Duncan Davie, he reiterated to me that the Senate will not even let this bill get out of committee. So, we should not just sit back on this, we must be vigilant and keep a watchful eye on this anti-gun legislation.
Crossbows
Although it was not what we were pushing for, A10583A and S7705A have passed the Assembly and Senate and now go on to Gov. Cuomo for signing. The NY Crossbow Coalition was opposed to these bills in their original form due to the language that eliminated early bear and muzzleloading seasons, and worse yet, the youth pheasant and waterfowl hunts. The amended versions will allow for the continued use of crossbows for big game during the firearms and late muzzleloading seasons only through 2014.
Since NYCC was not able to get the Ryan bill (A9682) to the floor, there is value in having the current crossbow bill extended and not having it expire. One of the problems in Albany is if the current law expires, then there is no current standing to work from. We would need to begin from scratch and all the hard work and momentum we achieved this year could be lost.
I have heard from numerous members from both parties, in both houses that they plan on bringing this back in the 2013 legislative session and not wait until 2014. Many that voted in favor of this bill did so to keep the crossbow alive, not because they believe it is in the seasons where it belongs. Please, before you confront any legislator on this issue, ask why they voted as they did and what their position is on future crossbow legislation. I was asked by several what stance to take, and I explained to them that “we should not vote for this bill as it was originally drafted.”
Conservation Fund
Many are aware from my columns that specific language in the state budget which allowed the state to raid the conservation fund would put it in jeopardy of losing our federal funding, aka Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Fund monies. For the calendar year, it stood at $10.1 million, and over the fiscal year could reach over $20 million. This past Friday was the deadline that the US Fish and Wildlife Service gave to the Cuomo Administration to change the language or lose the money.
Should the DEC lose the funding, it would surely mean the closing of the pheasant farm, closing of fish hatcheries and layoffs in the department that are already at critically low levels. The Conservation Fund runs at about $50 million, with monies coming from the two federal funds and sporting license sales. With about one-third of the money based on the P/R & D/J funds, I have no idea where money would come from if we lost $20 million that is specifically earmarked for the Conservation Fund and comes from an 11 percent excise tax on hunting and fishing equipment purchases.
As of 5:45 p.m., Friday, June 21 the only correspondence I had gotten regarding what the legislature was doing to keep the funding came from Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo. In an email, she stated, we’re being told that “the enacted budget does not assume the transfer of any fish and wildlife fund to balance the state budget or to otherwise offset state spending. If needed, the Division of Budget should be able to work cooperatively with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that federal committments to NY’s fish and wildlife conservation efforts are in no way diminished.”
She also said, “I think we will be ok. We’ll keep a very close eye on this to make sure no gaps exist.”
To me, it looks like Albany knows it screwed up very bad on this and the word is mum about getting it fixed. I will bet once it is straightened out that a lot of folks are going to come out of the woodwork letting us know what a good job they did in securing our funding. Watch and see!
On a local note, fisherman Connor Edwards pulled in a massive brown trout from the Chenango River in the Town of Sherburne on June 14. Connor, who lives in North Norwich, was fishing at dusk with his friend Kerry VanAlthius. They were after pike and walleye using spinnerbaits and on Connor’s first cast he hooked into and landed a 26 3/4,” 7 lb. 5 oz. brown trout.
A little farther west, my friend Rich Davenport sent me a photo of his best catch. Rich was trolling a worm harness rig for walleye in Chautauqua Lake when he hooked into a monster musky. Rich’s fish was 50” and weighed 33 pounds on the nose. Those are two great catches, especially when they were not the targeted species. Congratulations guys!
To comment or contact Franke regarding this article, contact him at george—franke@yahoo.com.
Microstamping
Assembly bill A1175B passed by a vote of 85-60. While this is not good news, there are some good things to report about it. First, if you follow this attempt at passing this lousy piece of legislation, you will note that each time it passes the Assembly, less and less votes are PRO-microstamping. This is a sure sign that our legislators in the Assembly are seeing the light that this is a useless, costly, back-door approach at removing more guns from lawful owners. One day the Assembly will vote it down! The good news is, in my conversation with Senator Seward’s Chief of Staff, Duncan Davie, he reiterated to me that the Senate will not even let this bill get out of committee. So, we should not just sit back on this, we must be vigilant and keep a watchful eye on this anti-gun legislation.
Crossbows
Although it was not what we were pushing for, A10583A and S7705A have passed the Assembly and Senate and now go on to Gov. Cuomo for signing. The NY Crossbow Coalition was opposed to these bills in their original form due to the language that eliminated early bear and muzzleloading seasons, and worse yet, the youth pheasant and waterfowl hunts. The amended versions will allow for the continued use of crossbows for big game during the firearms and late muzzleloading seasons only through 2014.
Since NYCC was not able to get the Ryan bill (A9682) to the floor, there is value in having the current crossbow bill extended and not having it expire. One of the problems in Albany is if the current law expires, then there is no current standing to work from. We would need to begin from scratch and all the hard work and momentum we achieved this year could be lost.
I have heard from numerous members from both parties, in both houses that they plan on bringing this back in the 2013 legislative session and not wait until 2014. Many that voted in favor of this bill did so to keep the crossbow alive, not because they believe it is in the seasons where it belongs. Please, before you confront any legislator on this issue, ask why they voted as they did and what their position is on future crossbow legislation. I was asked by several what stance to take, and I explained to them that “we should not vote for this bill as it was originally drafted.”
Conservation Fund
Many are aware from my columns that specific language in the state budget which allowed the state to raid the conservation fund would put it in jeopardy of losing our federal funding, aka Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Fund monies. For the calendar year, it stood at $10.1 million, and over the fiscal year could reach over $20 million. This past Friday was the deadline that the US Fish and Wildlife Service gave to the Cuomo Administration to change the language or lose the money.
Should the DEC lose the funding, it would surely mean the closing of the pheasant farm, closing of fish hatcheries and layoffs in the department that are already at critically low levels. The Conservation Fund runs at about $50 million, with monies coming from the two federal funds and sporting license sales. With about one-third of the money based on the P/R & D/J funds, I have no idea where money would come from if we lost $20 million that is specifically earmarked for the Conservation Fund and comes from an 11 percent excise tax on hunting and fishing equipment purchases.
As of 5:45 p.m., Friday, June 21 the only correspondence I had gotten regarding what the legislature was doing to keep the funding came from Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo. In an email, she stated, we’re being told that “the enacted budget does not assume the transfer of any fish and wildlife fund to balance the state budget or to otherwise offset state spending. If needed, the Division of Budget should be able to work cooperatively with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that federal committments to NY’s fish and wildlife conservation efforts are in no way diminished.”
She also said, “I think we will be ok. We’ll keep a very close eye on this to make sure no gaps exist.”
To me, it looks like Albany knows it screwed up very bad on this and the word is mum about getting it fixed. I will bet once it is straightened out that a lot of folks are going to come out of the woodwork letting us know what a good job they did in securing our funding. Watch and see!
On a local note, fisherman Connor Edwards pulled in a massive brown trout from the Chenango River in the Town of Sherburne on June 14. Connor, who lives in North Norwich, was fishing at dusk with his friend Kerry VanAlthius. They were after pike and walleye using spinnerbaits and on Connor’s first cast he hooked into and landed a 26 3/4,” 7 lb. 5 oz. brown trout.
A little farther west, my friend Rich Davenport sent me a photo of his best catch. Rich was trolling a worm harness rig for walleye in Chautauqua Lake when he hooked into a monster musky. Rich’s fish was 50” and weighed 33 pounds on the nose. Those are two great catches, especially when they were not the targeted species. Congratulations guys!
To comment or contact Franke regarding this article, contact him at george—franke@yahoo.com.
dived wound factual legitimately delightful goodness fit rat some lopsidedly far when.
Slung alongside jeepers hypnotic legitimately some iguana this agreeably triumphant pointedly far
jeepers unscrupulous anteater attentive noiseless put less greyhound prior stiff ferret unbearably cracked oh.
So sparing more goose caribou wailed went conveniently burned the the the and that save that adroit gosh and sparing armadillo grew some overtook that magnificently that
Circuitous gull and messily squirrel on that banally assenting nobly some much rakishly goodness that the darn abject hello left because unaccountably spluttered unlike a aurally since contritely thanks