Senate Bill 518, which would have brought a 12-month license to all anglers in the state of California, has been killed for 2018. This is the second time in 2 years that a measure introducing a modern approach to a 12-month license has failed.
State Sen. Tom Berryhill (R) of Twain Harte was the author of SB 518, and was the one who ultimately withdrew the bill from consideration, and never made it to the floor for a vote.
The California Sportfishing League had been a big supporter of SB518 until an increase in fees was introduced with the bill.
Currently, California annual sportfishing licenses are purchased by anglers based off of a calendar year, starting in January and ending in December. And fees are not adjusted based on which month an annual license had been purchased in.
There’s been a steady decline in fishing license sales in California and has one of the costliest annual license in the U.S. And despite having one of the nation’s longest coastlines and thousands of rivers and lakes, the U.S. Census reports that only 4.3% of California adults fish, which ranks last per capita among all 50 states.
