Executive Director's Report

June 23, 2009

While summer time is typically a slow time for those who work in the governmental affairs business in Tallahassee, the 2010 general election cycle of fund raising has kicked into high gear. In addition to the normal cycle of every state representative and half of the state senate being up for election, we now look forward to every state cabinet seat being up for grabs. This is due to US Senator Mel Martinez's announcement that he will not seek re-election and Governor Crist's decision to jump into the US Senate race. With that move by Crist, CFO Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum have jumped into the Governor's race, and term limits are forcing Ag Commissioner Charlie Bronson to step down. Needless to say, the candidates are in full fund raising mode and the phone lines and fax machines are working overtime in Tallahassee.

Since Session ended during the 2nd week of May, we have also watched a slow parade of bills that passed the legislature make their way to the Governor's Office, where he has 15 days upon receipt to take action. The major pieces of legislation affecting the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have all been signed by Governor Crist. Equally important is the fact that several bad bills that we lobbied against never made it out of the legislature, or even to the chamber floors, for votes.

On the positive side, the Governor approved House Bill 1423, by Rep. Baxter Troutman and Senate Bill 1742, by Sen. Carey Baker.

HB 1423 is an omnibus bill dealing with numerous provisions affecting FWCC. Among the many changes are three areas that stand out for hunters. First, the bill increases fees for waterfowl, wild turkey, special use and management area permits. The bill also creates a permit requirement for deer and management area use for non-hunting and non-fishing recreational activities. Finally, the legislation directs FWC to use up to 10 percent of proceeds from specified permits and fees to promote hunting and sport fishing activities with an emphasis on youth participation.

SB 1742 deals mainly with invasive plant control, as it shifts the program from the DEP to the FWCC. However, the bill also includes a provision which creates a $7.50 annual resident shoreline fishing license and provides certain exemptions from the license. The need for creating this license was based upon a decision by the federal government to impose such a license, at a proposed fee in excess of $30, if states did not have such shoreline licenses in place. While many legislators were resistant to the idea of removing this exemption, in the end they decided it was better for the state of Florida to control its shoreline program vs. the federal government.

As previously mentioned, legislation that would have had devastating affects, had it passed, on those hunters who use dogs, died in committee in the Senate. Senate Bill 2002 was a bill relating to commercial dog breeding. While the underlying intent of the bill (to address bad puppy mill operators) was seemingly okay, the bill was written in such a way that it would have affected many of the persons and organizations who use hounds for sporting purposes. Further, the bill was promoted by the Humane Society of the United States, and anything they have their fingerprints on should be looked at with a particularly sharp eye. If passed, this bill would have required those persons who kennel dogs to make sure the kennels never got below temperatures in the 50s or higher than temperatures in the 80s!! Just imagine, many of us spend countless nights in hunting camps where the temperatures inside fall much lower than the 50s, and many of our fishing camps are a heck of a lot hotter than the 80s, especially this time of year. Many organizations worked behind the scenes to help kill this legislation, but we must remain vigilant. Our friends at the National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses reported that puppy mill legislation was filed in many states this past legislative season, and they expect the legislation to keep popping up. We have our work cut out for us in a long fight against the Humane Society of the United States.

To wrap up this report, I also want to inform everyone of news coming out of the FWCC last week. At the quarterly FWCC Commission meeting, Director Ken Haddad announced his pending retirement, effective in December of this year. Upon hearing this news, the Commission immediately moved to appoint Nick Wiley as the new director, effective upon Ken officially leaving the agency. Ken has done wonderful job with the agency during his tenure. While he has fought cuts to his budget, based upon the downturn in sales tax revenues, the agency has nevertheless carried out its mission well. He will be missed in retirement, but I know he will now be able to enjoy more time on the water and in the woods, so we wish him well. Taking over will be a good friend to many of us, Nick Wiley. For the first time in many, many years, a true hunter will be taking over the help of the department. Nick was brought up in the agency working on the "game" side of the field, and I believe this will help those of us who have a passion for hunting. Nick is a great listener and a fair-minded person who I know will lead the agency well. It is my honor to call Nick a friend and I know we all wish him well.

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Legislative Recap: 2006

Executive Director's Report: November 28, 2005

Executive Director's Report: October 28, 2005