Hunting, Fishing License Changes Spurned By Louisiana House

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The House is shooting down a proposal to redesign Louisiana's recreational hunting and fishing licensing system.

The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries proposes to consolidate its licenses, to cut the number from 117 types of recreational hunting and fishing permits to 39.

But what is being billed as a regulatory streamlining initiative also would raise fees on some people, depending on the type of license category a hunter or angler purchases.

The fee hikes have drawn criticism.

Rep. Jerome "Zee" Zeringue, the Houma Republican sponsoring the bill , lessened the increases, to raise about $6.6 million annually, down from $10 million.

But he still couldn't drum up the two-thirds support needed to pass the measure.

Lawmakers voted 54-27 for the bill. It needed 70 votes.

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House Bill 687: www.legis.la.gov