Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HJR0212 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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4	4	HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 212
5	5	By Todd
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7	7
8	8	HJR0212
9	9	003396
10	10	- 1 -
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12	12	A RESOLUTION to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of
13	13	the Sportfish Restoration Program as part of the
14	14	American System of Conservation Funding.
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16	16	WHEREAS, more than a century ago, hunters and anglers were among the first
17	17	conservationists who realized America's natural resources were in peril and could not sustain
18	18	unregulated harvest and habitat destruction; and
19	19	WHEREAS, sportsmen and sportswomen took it upon themselves to support laws that
20	20	stopped excessive harvest of fish and wildlife, established state agencies to protect fish, wildlife,
21	21	and their habitats, and supported special fishing and hunting license fees to help fund the new
22	22	agencies' efforts to provide healthy natural resources for future generations; and
23	23	WHEREAS, the Tennessee General Assembly, then and now, has recognized that the
24	24	primary authority to protect and manage fish within our State waters resides in our state
25	25	agencies; and
26	26	WHEREAS, upon realizing that license fees alone were insufficient to restore and
27	27	sustain healthy fish populations, anglers supported excise taxes on fishing equipment to raise
28	28	additional funds to support restoration and enhancement efforts of the state agencies across the
29	29	nation; and
30	30	WHEREAS, the Sport Fish Restoration Program, which began seventy-five years ago
31	31	with the passage of the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act in 1950 (further expanded with
32	32	the Wallop-Breaux amendment to the Sport Fish Restoration Act in 1984), is a vital part of
33	33	conservation funding in the United States; and
34	34	WHEREAS, a manufacturers excise tax on fishing equipment, along with an excise tax
35	35	on motorboat and small engine fuels, is mostly distributed back to the states through the U. S.
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38	38	- 2 - 003396
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40	40	Fish and Wildlife Service for fisheries conservation, management, and angler and boater
41	41	access; and
42	42	WHEREAS, this cooperative partnership between the sportfishing industry, anglers,
43	43	boaters, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and state natural resource agencies has resulted in
44	44	the most successful model of fisheries management in the world, restoring and enhancing
45	45	populations across the United States and its territories; and
46	46	WHEREAS, since 1939, the combined contributions of the Wildlife and Sport Fish
47	47	Restoration Programs and license fees to state fish and wildlife agencies exceed 78 billion
48	48	dollars (more than any other single conservation effort in American history), which constitute,
49	49	collectively, the American System of Conservation Funding; now, therefore,
50	50	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT ATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED
51	51	FOURTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE
52	52	CONCURRING, that we commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Sport Fish
53	53	Restoration Program as part of the American System of Conservation Funding, applauding
54	54	America's anglers and boaters, the sportfishing industry, state fish and wildlife agencies, and
55	55	the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their leading role in restoring healthy populations of fish
56	56	and aquatic resources, both game and non-game, to the abundance we see today.
57	57	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be provided to the
58	58	Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, each member of the Tennessee congressional
59	59	delegation, and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.