Michigan Senate budget backs mandatory $10 recreation passports
Lansing — The Michigan Senate approved a budget plan Wednesday that featured about $84 million in new revenue from proposed increases in fees on hunting, fishing and boating and from making $10 recreation passports a mandatory part of registering a vehicle.
The new dollars were featured in the Democratic-controlled Senate's $636 million budget bill for the Department of Natural Resources for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1. Separate bills to enact the policy changes would have to be approved by the Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate and signed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for the fee hikes and recreation passport policies to become law.
However, the changes' inclusion in the budget proposal was a sign of the Senate's interest in them. And some of the measures have the backing of both Sen. John Cherry, D-Flint, who leads the Senate's Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Sen. Jon Bumstead, R-North Muskegon, the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee.
In an interview Wednesday, Cherry said there was a national trend in the number of hunting and fishing licenses being purchased going downward over the years.
"When you have that downward trend, a shrinking revenue source, at the same time the cost of fish food and infrastructure is going up, it's a challenging situation," Cherry said.
Cherry said he and Bumstead spent about three months developing their plan to find additional funding for the Department of Natural Resources. He called the proposal a "pretty good initial product" that will be refined as it moves through the legislative process.
The natural resources budget bill passed the Senate in a vote of 19-16. Bumstead voted in support with 18 Democrats. The other Republicans in attendance, including Sen. Lana Theis, R-Brighton, voted no.
"Government shouldn't keep squeezing hardworking Michigan families," Theis said of the proposed fee increases before the vote.
The Michigan Senate Republicans' X account labeled the fee increases a "summer tax."
"They voted to hike your car registration by another $10 and increase the cost of hunting, fishing and boating licenses," the Senate Republicans wrote of their Democratic counterparts.
Currently, Michigan residents have the option of purchasing a $14 recreation passport when they renew their vehicle license plate registration. The passport allows them to get into state parks and avoid admission costs.
Whitmer had proposed changing the recreation passport program from the current opt-in offering to an opt-out. The governor's team said the recommended opt-out change would spur $17.2 million in additional revenue.
About 36% of Michigan vehicle owners currently choose to pay for the recreation passport, according to the governor's office.
The Senate took a different route, proposing to decrease the recreation passport fee to $10 and requiring all vehicle owners to pay it. The Senate plan would produce about $43.5 million in additional revenue, according to the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency.
"Parks are a public good," Cherry argued. "And everybody is getting value from them. Quite frankly, we want to incentivize people to use them more."
Cherry and Bumstead introduced policy bills on May 1 to implement the recreation passport changes. They haven't yet had a committee hearing in the Senate.
Likewise, they also introduced policy bills on the hunting and fishing license changes. The proposals would generate $28.8 million in revenue next year, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency.
According to the bills, a combination hunting and fishing license for a Michigan resident would rise from $75 to $100, and the fee for a Michigan resident all-species fishing license would increase from $25 to $30. A 24-hour fishing license for a Michigan resident would go from $10 to $15.
The license prices would also be tied to the rate of inflation going forward. And the bill would allow for a $5 general surcharge on licenses.
A May 2 statement on the bills from the Michigan United Conservation Clubs said the organization "supports long-term, sustainable funding solutions for the Department of Natural Resources that ensure the continued protection and enhancement of our natural resources, fish and wildlife populations and access to outdoor recreation."
The Senate Democrats included in their budget an $11.9 million boost in revenue from a "boating fee increase," according to the Senate Fiscal Agency. Cherry said the details of that boating proposal were still being worked out.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan Senate budget backs mandatory $10 recreation passports