PHEASANT HUNTING LICENSE; EXTEND SUNSET        S.B. 238:

        SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL

        IN COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senate Bill 238 (as introduced 4-22-25)

Sponsor: Senator Kevin Daley

Committee: Natural Resources and Agriculture

 

Date Completed: 12-5-25

 

 

CONTENT

 

The bill would amend Part 435 (Hunting and Fishing Licensing) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to extend, from January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2031, the requirement that a person purchase an annual pheasant hunting license to hunt pheasants in the State and the way that license revenue is used.

 

Under the Act, an individual 18 years of age or older may not hunt pheasants without a current annual pheasant hunting license. The fee for a license is $25 and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) must deposit the fee collected for each license into the Pheasant Subaccount of the Game and Fish Protection Account. Except for requirements that certain amounts of the license fee be retained by an authorized seller or deposited into the Wildlife Resource Protection Fund, money in the Pheasant Subaccount must be spent on appropriation only for the costs associated with the purchase and release of live pheasants on State-owned land suitable for pheasants. Additionally, money in the Pheasant Subaccount on January 1, 2026, must be transferred to the Game and Fish Protection Account. The above provisions sunset on January 1, 2026.

 

The bill would extend the sunset to January 1, 2031, and would specify that the money in the subaccount on January 1, 2031, would be transferred to the Game and Fish Protection Account.

 

MCL 324.43525c

 

PREVIOUS LEGISLATION

(This section does not provide a comprehensive account of previous legislative efforts on this subject matter.)

 

The bill is a reintroduction of Senate Bill 803 from the 2023-2024 Legislative Session. Senate Bill 803 passed the Senate and was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation but saw no further action.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Currently an individual must have a special pheasant license to hunt pheasants on Hunting Access Program enrolled lands in the Upper Peninsula or on any State public land in the lower peninsula unless the individual is a) a pheasant hunter on private land; b) hunting on public land in the Upper Peninsula; c) hunting on a game hunting preserve; or d) is 17 years of age or younger. Generally, pheasant hunting season runs from late October to mid-November and from December to January depending on type and location. 

 

 

The Hunting Access Program allows private landowners to allow hunters access to their land. Landowners are given financial incentives, such as up to $25 per enrolled acre based on types of land and available hunting and management of wildlife on that land, among other things.¹

 

        Legislative Analyst: Eleni Lionas

 

FISCAL IMPACT

 

The bill would have a positive fiscal impact on the Department of Natural Resources. Over the last three fiscal years, pheasant hunting license fees have generated average revenues of $179,500 for the Pheasant Subaccount of the Game and Fish Protection Account. The bill would extend the sunset on these fees through January 1, 2031, and thus allow the fee to remain in place as well as retaining the Pheasant Subaccount. The bill would allow the existing restricted funding to remain in the subaccount rather than lapsing into the Game and Fish Protection Account, and over the next five years, the license fees in the bill would generate approximately $897,500 to benefit pheasant hunting in the State.

 

        Fiscal Analyst: Jonah Houtz

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