So Where is the $$$ Going?

[ivanputski]

general fund!!! You didnt reeeeally think they went through all this trouble to implement this just so you could have a better quality of fishing did you??? Someone just realized that there were tens of thousands of fishermen out there doing something for free

[OLD GOAT]

I wish we could find a way to hold the money in escrow to see that projects receive the money rather than just blowing it.

[FishermanTim]

We are talking Massachusetts right?
If so, don't hold your breath waiting for a answer, let alone an intelligent one!
If you ask someone a direct question that only requires a simple direct answer like "Yes" or "No" or "the $$ went here..." and you get a stammering fool answer with a lot of "umms", "ahhs" and "Let me check with someone else" then yu can bet your arse that the money went into someone's pocket or went to fund some "wet dream" project that just so happens to be on their property!

Short story: they stole our money and blew it on themselves!!!!!

[BasicPatrick]

Originally Posted by OLD GOAT

I wish we could find a way to hold the money in escrow to see that projects receive the money rather than just blowing it.

We do...It's called the MA Recreational fishing Development Fund.

[JohnnySaxatilis]

Originally Posted by ivanputski

general fund!!! You didnt reeeeally think they went through all this trouble to implement this just so you could have a better quality of fishing did you??? Someone just realized that there were tens of thousands of fishermen out there doing something for free

bingo

[macojoe]

Yep and this is why I will not and have not bought one!! I have my commercial and just fish for what is open.I have said it before if they get rid of commercial fishing in the 3 mile limit,to protect the inshore fishery, so we can catch something when we go out i will give up commercial fishing and gladly buy a permit!!

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by ivanputski

general fund!!! You didnt reeeeally think they went through all this trouble to implement this just so you could have a better quality of fishing did you??? Someone just realized that there were tens of thousands of fishermen out there doing something for free

Originally Posted by JohnnySaxatilis

bingo

Actually, it doesn't go to the general fund. And that may be why the EP aren't getting any of the funds yet. The federal legislation that required licensing/registration specifically prohibits co-mingling license revenues with any other state funds. States are required to keep those funds in a dedicated account, under penalty of forfeiting their matching funds that they get from the Wallop-Breaux federal excise tax on fishing goods. If the state's EPs get paid out of the same fund as, say, the State Police, and state corrections officers, the license fees can't go to them, even though "enforcement" is an allowed use of the funds under federal law. The legislature has to act to enable DMF to send a portion of the license fees directly to the EP, if they get paid out of the general fund.

Since I don't know for sure whether EP funding comes out of the general fund, or from the overall F&W revenues taken in, I can't say for certain whether this catch-22 is why they're not getting the proceeds that are supposed to go towards enforcement. But, unlike many here, I have done my homework on the licensing law, and I know that the proceeds aren't going into the general fund. And in fact, over the years, not a single cent of FW and hunting/sportsmen licenses has ever gone into the general fund. By law those proceeds are kept in a dedicated fund, and any governor who has tried to glom onto them has been shot down by the courts. Mitt was the last one who tried it.

[likwid]

Originally Posted by Mike P

But, unlike many here, I have done my homework on the licensing law, and I know that the proceeds aren't going into the general fund.

How DARE you pollute a BS thread with facts?!

[jredfly]

Originally Posted by likwid

How DARE you pollute a BS thread with facts?!

Too friekin funny!!!