Political games could doom game-fish bill

Alleged budget deal could kill bill that would make redfish, speckled trout and stripers game fish.

North Carolina Sportsman has learned House Bill 353, which would give game-fish status to red drum, spotted seatrout and striped bass, may not receive a hearing or be put to a vote at the current session of the North Carolina General Assembly. The bill, which earlier seemed to have veto-proof support, is an apparent victim of the budget battle between the Republican-controlled legislature and Democrat Gov. Beverly Perdue.

The problem is that some of the five Democrats who crossed the aisle to vote for the 2011 Repubican-crafted budget bill may have done so in exchange for Republicans dropping HB 353.

“A lot of politics is going on (to delay a public hearing and House vote on HB 353),” said Jim Hardin, CCA-NC president and compliance officer for Grady White Boats of Greenville.

The House, which currently has HB 353 in its Commerce and Job Development Committee, didn’t have a veto-proof majority against a Perdue budget veto even though the House is dominated by Republicans. A three-fifths majority (72 votes) is needed to override the governor’s veto in the House.

Enough House Democrats allegedly support HB 353 to make it veto-proof if comes to a vote.

Perdue has threatened to veto the budget bill, which has passed the House (with five Democrat swing votes) and currently is being studied in the Senate, if it’s not to her liking.

Perdue also opposes HB 353.

On the Senate side, the count is 31 Republicans and 19 Democrats, a veto-proof majority. Only 30 votes are needed to make a Senate bill veto proof.

Although HB 353 is a bill that has bi-partisan support, it apparently has taken a backseat to budget concerns by Republicans.

A legislative source said a preliminary count showed a veto-proof 80 House votes for HB 353. However, the source said he believed Democrat House members from eastern North Carolina districts may have traded votes for the Republican budget in exchange for a promise to keep HB 353 sequestered in the Committee on Commerce and Job Development this session.

“The problem is not available (pro) votes (for HB 353) on the House floor; it was the budget bill,” the source said. “It’s highly likely a compromise was reached with five Democrats to ensure their votes for the House budget bill to make it veto proof.

“Of course, nobody’s going to talk about that.”

Democrat representatives reportedly voting for the proposed 2011 House budget in exchange for Republicans dropping HB 353 included William Brisson (Bladen/Cumberland), James Crawford (Granville/Vance), Dewey Hill (Brunswick/Columbus), Bill Owens (Camden/Currituck/Pasquotank/Tyrrell) and Tim Spear (Chowan/Hyde/Dare/Washington).

While Hill is a co-sponsor of HB 353 and unlikely to have traded his vote to halt the bill, Spear chaired the committee that bottled up last year’s game-fish bill (HB 918) and kept it from reaching the House floor for a vote.

The Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina has been the bill’s spear-carrier during this legislative session, although the bill also has support from the Coastal Fisheries Reform Group and the North Carolina Camouflage Coalition, a division of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation.

These groups ascribe their support to fact that only 2 percent of the commercial fishing annual catch involves redfish and seatrout, recreational fishing generates $1.6 billion in revenue for the state while commercial fishing generates $80 million, tourism would increase along with jobs, and illegal and wasteful catches of these fish by nets would decline.

And Hardin said he still holds out hope that the political games will fail to keep HB 353 from being heard.

“… I believe the bill will be heard eventually,” he said. “It could be in this session of the legislature or later. A lot of the flow and timing of bills depends on things (CCA-NC) has no control over.”

However, the reported deal for the five Democratic swing votes on the budget bill has changed the equation.

“Because the landscape has changed so dramatically at the legislature, it’s sort of like trying to get somewhere and you discover a lot of hidden firewalls and other obstacles,” Hardin said. “But I still think there’s a strong possibility it will be heard.”

If the Senate reports a budget bill to Perdue before June 9 and she approves the bill, the way could be clear for a hearing on HB 353 in the House before the June 9 “crossover” deadline, sources said.

This “crossover” deadline for HB 353 to be moved from the 60-member House Committee on Commerce and Jobs is June 9. If the bill receives a public hearing before that date and is subsequently voted out of the committee to the House floor, it would be discussed, and then voted upon and sent to the Senate.

However, if the crossover to the Senate doesn’t occur by June 9, the bill will be dead for this session and for the legislature’s short session that would begin next May.

If HB 353 moves to the Senate and isn’t acted upon during the current “long” session, it still could be voted upon during the May 2012 short session.

While certain procedures could be used to make the bill crossover proof, which would mean the bill would not require a public hearing before June 9, none of those procedures have taken place yet.

Hardin, who has been involved with federal legislation in the past, said the process sometimes takes seven or eight years, even for legislation supported by a majority of citizens.

“I’m used to slow, lethargic movement on (governmental) bills, although the general public doesn’t usually understand this process and doesn’t have much patience with it,” he said. “I want to make clear (HB 353) isn’t dead, although there are rumors out there that it is.

“I know we have strong support among legislators for this bill. We just need to be patient and let the process occur.”

NorthCarolinaSportsman.com users are encouraged to contact their representatives and demand action on HB 353.

To find and contact your representative, visit the North Carolina Camo Coalition’s Legislative Action Page and enter your address or zip code.