Update R.I. Saltwater Fishing License

[BasicPatrick]

This proposal is even worse then is being stated here. What is the matching money that comes from the feds being spent on now. My guess is it is being used to collect the data required for a state to have its own license. There is no way in hell that at $3 or $4 per person and no federal money RI will be able to pay for its own data collection. A state could in theory fail to collect the data in an ongoing year but the next year the state will have to figure out how to meet the data requirement OR let the feds take over the licensing for that state.

Yes, some state have no charge for their license but those states use their budgets to collect the data and deliver much less angler services than states that have a reasonable fee driving income into their system.

My point to the legislature from RI is who is gonna pay the bill in two years. The answer to that question should be part of the discussion around his proposal.

The more I hear about what other states are doing the more grateful I am for the way we handled this issue in MA. .... It may be the one thing our state government has done right in twenty years.

[Roger]

Originally Posted by BasicPatrick

There is no way in hell that at $3 or $4 per person and no federal money RI will be able to pay for its own data collection.

Don't worry, the price was based on actual quotes from private contractors. IIRC, the actual quote was less than $3 per person. I'm surprised it's that much since the only data is related to who bought a license.

Statistical data regarding catches, etc are not the state's responsibility.

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by BasicPatrick

This proposal is even worse then is being stated here. What is the matching money that comes from the feds being spent on now. My guess is it is being used to collect the data required for a state to have its own license. There is no way in hell that at $3 or $4 per person and no federal money RI will be able to pay for its own data collection. A state could in theory fail to collect the data in an ongoing year but the next year the state will have to figure out how to meet the data requirement OR let the feds take over the licensing for that state.

Yes, some state have no charge for their license but those states use their budgets to collect the data and deliver much less angler services than states that have a reasonable fee driving income into their system.

My point to the legislature from RI is who is gonna pay the bill in two years. The answer to that question should be part of the discussion around his proposal.

The more I hear about what other states are doing the more grateful I am for the way we handled this issue in MA. .... It may be the one thing our state government has done right in twenty years.

Come on Pat, you should know better. The only data the state has to collect is the name, address and telephone number of the registrant. It never has to be updated. Any high school kid could design a database to capture three fields of data that never needs to be updated. Many states along the coast provide anglers with a registry free of charge.