Sticky Fingers---Dern State Gov.
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2003 4:33 pm
Did any of you guys happen to read the article in the Clarion Liberal last week about the MSDWFP and the State Tres. office? If I understand it right, the legislature is thinking about allowing the State Tres. to dip into the MSDWFP Licensing Fee account. This is the account that helps fund the MSDWFP. If any money is taken out of this account, the Federal Program will hold out from giving funds to our state dept. of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks---in the amount of @ $8,000,000. This according to the MSDWFP would be detrimental. Did I read this correctly? If so, we need to get on the horn to our Reps and Sens and make sure that this doesn't happen. The MSDWFP is funded by outdoorsmen not regular taxpayers, the state shouldn't be able to take "our" contributions and fund their deficits!
Below is a copy of the article from the CL
July 6, 2003
MDWFP: If license fund tapped, fed $$$ lost
By Bobby Cleveland
bcleveland@clarionledger.com
Mississippi wildlife officials are concerned about losing federal matching funds if a new law allows the State Treasurer to tap into its license fee revenue.
Under House Bill 1667, passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor in April, the State Treasurer is directed to take money from the funds of different state agencies to create a Budget Contingency Fund to give the state flexibility during lean economic times.
It is the opinion of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks that the license fee fund is exempted by language included in Section 3 of H.B. 1667.
However, Mike Lucius, director of support services for the agency, said he has received notice that those funds are being considered.
"I was told verbally by the Treasurer's office that they were looking at three of our accounts, and one of those was No. 3460, which is our license fee account," Lucius said Monday.
A spokesperson in the Treasurer's office Monday could not confirm any accounts that were being considered, but did say that affected agencies would have the right to protest specific accounts.
"I would hope there would be room for dialogue, yes," the spokesperson said. "The Treasurer's office really has no way of telling which funds are exempt as we conduct preliminary looks down the lists."
The spokesperson also said the Treasurer's office would not be taking any funds from special accounts during the first quarter of the fiscal year, which started Tuesday.
Under Sections 1 and 2 of the new law, it is stipulated that several specific accounts will be tapped for certain amounts. Under Section 3, the Treasurer is directed to take up to $54 million from unspecified special funds of state agencies. Several special funds are exempted by definition, including "special-source funds that are used to match federal funds."
Hunting and fishing license fees should qualify as special-source funding, Lucius said because they are generated solely by sportsmen.
"And, they are certainly matched by federal funding," he said.
License fee revenue and the matching federal funds are the sole financial support for the wildlife and fisheries programs of the wildlife agency. While other agency programs do, wildlife and fisheries receive no funding from the state's general fund.
Surveys by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service indicate that hunting, fishing and other wildlife-related activities generate a combined $1 billion annual industry in Mississippi, taxable at 7 percent or higher.
"Under federal law," Lucius said, "if $1 of license fee money is used by a state for any other purpose than game and fish programs, that state is subject to lose 100 percent of its federal matching funds."
The state has averaged about $6 million per year in federal funds, records show.
If the license fee fund is tapped by the Treasurer for other uses, like the Budget Contingency Fund, Mississippi's wildlife and fisheries programs could lose a total of $8 million.
"The limit they are allowed to take from any special fund under this bill is 25 percent of the average monthly balance of that fund," Lucius said. "Our license fee account's monthly balance averages about $8 million a month."
If the state taps it for 25 percent of that amount, or $2 million, and the agency then loses its matching federal funding, the total lost quickly jumps to $8 million, Lucius said.
"That would devastate us," said fisheries director Ron Garavelli. "We'd lose just about every program we have."
Jerry Williams of Brandon, a hunter and fisherman, said Friday it would be wise to reconsider tapping license dollars.
"Sportsmen and women are a very vocal minority in Mississippi," Williams said. "We produce a lot of revenue for the state and we don't take a dime of tax money.
"I don't think the Treasurer, the Governor or the Legislature would want to shake up that hornet's nest, and that's exactly what they'd be doing. I think it would come back and sting them. It is an election year."
Below is a copy of the article from the CL
July 6, 2003
MDWFP: If license fund tapped, fed $$$ lost
By Bobby Cleveland
bcleveland@clarionledger.com
Mississippi wildlife officials are concerned about losing federal matching funds if a new law allows the State Treasurer to tap into its license fee revenue.
Under House Bill 1667, passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor in April, the State Treasurer is directed to take money from the funds of different state agencies to create a Budget Contingency Fund to give the state flexibility during lean economic times.
It is the opinion of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks that the license fee fund is exempted by language included in Section 3 of H.B. 1667.
However, Mike Lucius, director of support services for the agency, said he has received notice that those funds are being considered.
"I was told verbally by the Treasurer's office that they were looking at three of our accounts, and one of those was No. 3460, which is our license fee account," Lucius said Monday.
A spokesperson in the Treasurer's office Monday could not confirm any accounts that were being considered, but did say that affected agencies would have the right to protest specific accounts.
"I would hope there would be room for dialogue, yes," the spokesperson said. "The Treasurer's office really has no way of telling which funds are exempt as we conduct preliminary looks down the lists."
The spokesperson also said the Treasurer's office would not be taking any funds from special accounts during the first quarter of the fiscal year, which started Tuesday.
Under Sections 1 and 2 of the new law, it is stipulated that several specific accounts will be tapped for certain amounts. Under Section 3, the Treasurer is directed to take up to $54 million from unspecified special funds of state agencies. Several special funds are exempted by definition, including "special-source funds that are used to match federal funds."
Hunting and fishing license fees should qualify as special-source funding, Lucius said because they are generated solely by sportsmen.
"And, they are certainly matched by federal funding," he said.
License fee revenue and the matching federal funds are the sole financial support for the wildlife and fisheries programs of the wildlife agency. While other agency programs do, wildlife and fisheries receive no funding from the state's general fund.
Surveys by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service indicate that hunting, fishing and other wildlife-related activities generate a combined $1 billion annual industry in Mississippi, taxable at 7 percent or higher.
"Under federal law," Lucius said, "if $1 of license fee money is used by a state for any other purpose than game and fish programs, that state is subject to lose 100 percent of its federal matching funds."
The state has averaged about $6 million per year in federal funds, records show.
If the license fee fund is tapped by the Treasurer for other uses, like the Budget Contingency Fund, Mississippi's wildlife and fisheries programs could lose a total of $8 million.
"The limit they are allowed to take from any special fund under this bill is 25 percent of the average monthly balance of that fund," Lucius said. "Our license fee account's monthly balance averages about $8 million a month."
If the state taps it for 25 percent of that amount, or $2 million, and the agency then loses its matching federal funding, the total lost quickly jumps to $8 million, Lucius said.
"That would devastate us," said fisheries director Ron Garavelli. "We'd lose just about every program we have."
Jerry Williams of Brandon, a hunter and fisherman, said Friday it would be wise to reconsider tapping license dollars.
"Sportsmen and women are a very vocal minority in Mississippi," Williams said. "We produce a lot of revenue for the state and we don't take a dime of tax money.
"I don't think the Treasurer, the Governor or the Legislature would want to shake up that hornet's nest, and that's exactly what they'd be doing. I think it would come back and sting them. It is an election year."
