Rep. Callahan Addresses Environment Committee Members on Bill Proposals

Hartford–The Environment Committee took action to advance several bills for further legislative action on March 24. State Representative Patrick Callahan (R-108) raised concerns about some of those proposals:

I introduced a bill this session to require the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to develop a comprehensive bear management program.  The concept is similar to HB 1148, which was voted on today prohibiting bird feeders and other unintentional feeding of potentially dangerous animals.  The proposal would have permitted the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to set up a lottery system for hunters to kill up to 50 black bears each year in Litchfield County, but there wasn’t enough support for that component among committee members.

SB 1149 would have eliminated the restrictions on Sunday hunting on public and private property, but also didn’t garner enough support in committee to advance to the Senate floor. While it’s only a handful of days, some people only have these handful of days to hunt and stock their freezer with organic meet. I hope we can continue this conversation and remove this antiquated Blue law.

There is a change to the vessel registration aquatic invasive species fee. HB 6811 decouples the fee from the boat registration process and removes two-tiered fee, based on residency, to comply with federal law.  The stamp would be $7 and valid for the calendar year its issued. Under this proposal, DEEP shall issue such stamp through the online Sportsmen Licensing system of the department. The fee brought in significantly more money from state residents than out-of-state residents, so if this bill ultimately becomes law DEEP will have to make up the money somewhere.