This year, Governor Paterson pushed through a state budget which included increased sporting license fees. The fee increases include raising the age in which seniors qualify for a Senior Sportsman License, creating a fee for licenses which were previously free, and raising the cost of many licenses that the Department of Environmental Conservation provides. As New York continues to battle this fiscal crisis, the need for a balanced budget is crucial, but raising taxes and fees are not the answer and will only serve to further burden residents all over the state.
Although I did not support these fee increases, hunting and fishing are both popular pastimes here in the 117th Assembly District and I would be doing my constituents a disservice if I did not make sure that they are aware of what licenses will be going up. The cost of a regular sportsman license will go from $37 to $47 per year. The qualifying age for a Senior Sportsman License is being raised from 65 to 70 years old. This means that after September 30, 2009, hunters aged 65 to 69 will no longer be recognized as senior sportsmen and, therefore, will pay the regular $47 annual license fee rather than the annual Senior Sportsman fee of $5.
I am encouraging hunters 65 and older throughout the Mohawk Valley area to purchase a Senior Lifetime Sportsman License which costs a one-time fee of $50. Even though this license is a few dollars more than the annual license, it will save you money in the long run. The Senior Lifetime Sportsman License is only available for seniors through September 30. After that date, the Senior Lifetime License fee increases to $75 and hunters between the ages of 65 and 69 will not have the chance to buy another lifetime license until the age of 70 and, instead, will have to pay the annual $47 fee.
To learn more about this lifetime license or about the sportsman fee increases, please visit www.dec.ny.gov or call me at one of my two district offices at (315) 866-1632 or (518) 762-6486.