The U.S. Senate recently passed its major transportation bill, commonly known as SAFETEA (S. 1072), including provisions that would reauthorize the Sport Fish Restoration Act, or Wallop-Breaux, for another 6 years and recover tens of millions of dollars in these excise tax investments.
"Getting our interests addressed in this major Senate transportation bill is a huge victory for sportfishing and boating, " said Mike Nussman, President and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association and Chair of the American League of Anglers and Boaters, a coalition of 32 organizations representing sportfishing and boating interests.
The Senate legislative measure adopted all the major amendments advocated by the American League of Anglers and Boaters, matching similar measures pending in the House of Representatives. Formally called the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2004, the Senate bill also included changes to tax levels on certain sportfishing products.
The Senate measure adopted these recommendations from the American League of Anglers and Boaters:
- Provides an additional $110 million each year for fishing and boating programs by re-directing the full amount of the motorboat and small engine fuel taxes from the U.S. Treasury General Fund to the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund (Wallop-Breaux Fund),
- Continues funding for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, enabling an additional $60 million for the Water Works Wonders Campaign to promote fishing and boating participation,
- Increases state funding for boating safety, and
- Ensures equitable distribution of funding between fishing and boating programs.
Other amendments included in the bill put a cap on the tax on fishing rods at $10; reduced the tax on portable, aerated bait buckets from 10 percent to 3 percent; and removed the tax on fish flashers using LED technology.
The Wallop-Breaux law's reauthorization pathway has been more complicated this year than in past years, requiring the American League of Anglers and Boaters to work with 6 different House and Senate Committees, with the full Senate vote the most significant step thus far in the process. ASA and many partners also have been working to recover $110 million annually in motorboat fuel excise taxes and channel them to sportfishing and boating programs as the Sport Fish Restoration Act intended. Several years ago, Congress voted to funnel a portion of these revenues to the U.S. Treasury General Fund to cover federal budget shortfalls.
Wallop-Breaux monies and fishing license sales revenue account for the majority of funding for state fisheries management and access programs for anglers and boaters. The Wallop-Breaux Fund currently provides approximately $450 million per year for fisheries management and research; fishing and boating access facilities such as docks, piers, and boat ramps; and education and safety programs for anglers and boaters.
The American Sportfishing Association is the sportfishing industry's trade association, uniting more than 600 members of the sportfishing and boating industries with state fish and wildlife agencies, federal land and water management agencies, conservation organizations, angler advocacy groups, and outdoor journalists. The American Sportfishing Association safeguards and promotes the enduring social, economic, and conservation values of sportfishing.