WASHINGTON, D.C.–The second half of 2020 is finally underway- and federal legislators appear to be working toward the renewal of the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund.
A version of the trust fund legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate on July 1 and would extend the sportfish conservation and habitat restoration mandate through 2024. The money was reportedly introduced in the upper mansion in the membership of the Senate Commerce Committee( Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, and Maria Cantwell, D-Washington ).
Members of the House of Representatives, meanwhile, introduced H.R. 2, known as the “Moving Forward Act; ” the bill was introduced on July 1. Included within the package for H.R. 2 is the Sport Fish Restoration and Recreational Boating Safety Act. The House proposal would also reauthorize the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund while also making administrative adjustments to improve the fund’s efficiency.
“The Sport Fish Restoration Program is one of the nation’s most important maintenance planneds, ” American Sportfishing Association Vice President of Government Affairs Mike Leonard said. “Since its entry into force in 1950, the Sport Fish Restoration program has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to fund fisheries maintenance and public be made available to aquatic sources, be provided to enable the nation’s 50 million recreational fishermen to enjoy time on the water.”
Funding for the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund is moved possible through a federal excise tax on recreational trawl rig, boat fuel tax and importation obediences. The money specifies $650 million every year for country wildlife agencies to pay for fisheries management, recovery activities and boating infrastructure, among other projects.
The Dingell-Johnson Act helped built the fund in 1950, with the creation of a federal excise tax on recreational angling equipment.
The American Sportfishing Association stated the resources of the fund, in combination with nation fishing license rewards and private donations, has infused more than $ 38 billion for conservation projects since 1951.
https://www.fishrapnews.com/features/congress-weighing-in-on-sport-fish-restoration-and-boating-trust-fund/