FISCAL NOTE

House Bill 156 as introduced authorizes the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to issue multiple new “disabled U.S. military veteran’s appreciation” resident lifetime hunting, freshwater fishing, saltwater fishing, and combination licenses with fees ranging from $25 to $60, as shown below, dependent on the age of the applicant, the level of disability of the applicant and the type of license purchased. This bill also provides that these fees may be adjusted periodically based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), as is currently provided by law for certain other hunting and fishing licenses.

This bill would increase receipts to the Alabama Game and Fish Endowment Fund and the Marine Resources Endowment Fund, while correspondingly decreasing receipts to the Game and Fish Fund and the Marine Resources Fund, by an undetermined amount dependent on the number of licenses purchased and the amount of the license, as provided below:

License Type	Number of Annual Licenses Issued in License Year 2020	Current Disabled Veteran Annual License Fee	Current Standard Lifetime License Fees	New Disabled Veteran Lifetime License Fee
Hunting – 50% or more (40% or more for new lifetime licenses pursuant to this bill) physically disabled military veteran, less than 50 years old		$14.60	$593.95	$60.00
Hunting – 50% or more (40% or more for new lifetime licenses pursant to this bill) physically disabled military veteran, 50 years old or older	703	$14.60	$356.75	$30.00
Hunting – 100% service connected permanently and totally disabled military veteran, less than 50 years old		$3.15	$593.95	$45
Hunting – 100% service connected permanently and totally disabled military veteran, 50 years old or older	851	$3.15	$356.75	$25
Freshwater fishing – disabled military veterans, less than 50 years old		$3.15	$297.45	$45
Freshwater fishing – disabled military veterans, 50 years old or older	505	$3.15	$178.75	$25
Saltwater fishing – disabled military veterans, less than 50 years old		$3.15	$416.05	$45
Saltwater fishing – disabled military veterans, 50 years old or older	2215	$3.15	$297.45	$25

Further, this bill requires each applicant seeking a license to pay an issuance fee of $1.10, which is also subject to the periodic CPI adjustment. Current law provides that this fee may be retained by the judge of probate, issuing officer, or other authorized license agent.