Here’s how a normal 90-day Regular Session works in Annapolis: the first 30 days sees everyone back slapping each other as they reunite after a 9-month hiatus, aka Hail Fellow Well Met; the next 30 days focuses on input from the public via all-day long public hearings; and the final 30 days is decision-making time when competing tempers clash. Try getting to a lawmaker during that final 30-day stretch…good luck. It is like they go underground b/c the demands on their time are incredibly burdensome. Truly, burdensome.
The 90-day, 2020 Session was cut short by 19 days because of the pandemic. Witnessing the rush to move legislation before an early adjournment back then was something few have ever witnessed. Bill after bill passed, but so very many more failed. This Session is akin to an eerie undercurrent reminiscence of a looming early adjournment. Things in Annapolis are moving at break-neck speed as of the 2021 Session could adjourn at any time. And, this is not a good thing.
Compound this sense of closure-related urgency with all the requisite virtual interaction between lawmakers and the public – it’s a perfect recipe for policy decision-making with unintended consequences. So, best be on your toes if you’re an advocacy organization during this unprecedented legislative Session. And you can take to the bank, HOM is more than capable to prevail during this turbulence on behalf of Maryland’s hunting community.
Let’s focus on the hunting bills.
This insight is only being shared at this time b/c of the high number of inquiries we are receiving daily. Plain and simple: we’re still not quite there in the decision-making phase, but it’s getting close so this reporting is limited in detail. We were going to hold off on any policy-related announcements until we had some tangible results. Well, there’s only been one such outcome to report thus far…and, it’s a good one.
Legislation was introduced to carve out a portion of the Susquehanna Flats for body booting of waterfowl (House Bill 911). A well-intentioned pro-sportsmen/sportswomen lawmaker – the Honorable Mary Ann Lisanti (District 34A, Harford County) – thought she was equitably balancing the ever-increasing competition for prime waterfowl hunting grounds on the Flats. Negative reaction to her legislation was swift b/c there was an impression some would benefit at the expense of others, aka body booters vs layout/scull boats.
HOM was asked to help mitigate the controversy and so we did.
On February 16, 2021, the good Delegate requested the upcoming hearing be cancelled as she proclaimed the importance for greater stakeholder before proceeding with her legislation. She penned a letter stating same (attached). This was a victory for Maryland’s waterfowl hunting community b/c envisioned will be an outcome favorable to all without metering selective access by State law.
A brief accounting of other legislation, as we view it today, is noted below. Expect a detailed accounting after adjournment. The 2021 General Assembly is scheduled for adjournment, aka Sine Die, on April 12, 2021; but, we’re not sure if it’ll go that long. And, b/c of this uncertainty, HOM is working overtime to get the good bills passed and the bad ones defeated which is a seemingly 24/7 endeavor.
Here we go in no particular order of sequential priority --
Restricted Access to Firearms by Minors: HOM has ensured that, if the bill is enacted, minors will still be able to hunt with a firearm.
NICS Background Check for Ammo Purchasing: Can you imagine having to submit to a criminal background check every time bought a box of shotgun shells or rifle slugs? That statutory proposal is on the legislative table.
Commercialization of Venison: The Maryland Farm Bureau has been pushing this narrative for at least the last 6 years. They have declared war on deer. In 2015, they tried to get legislation passed to commercialize the sale of a publicly-owned resource – deer – and Maryland’s hunting community protested. The bill failed. Well, they are back again in 2021. The reasons for this bill not passing are self-evident to any true conservation-minded sportsman/sportswoman.
Restriction on Harvesting Resident Geese: Most waterfowlers know COVID prevented the annual spring survey on the Ungava Peninsula (breeding grounds for the Atlantic Population of Canada Geese, aka “AP”). So, data is not readily available with respect to overall population, number of breeding pairs and gosling hatches – data deemed critical to scientific wildlife management. For this reason, et al, Maryland has had back-to-back 30-day AP seasons with a 1-bird daily bag limit. And, for the 2021/2022 season, expect the same.
In Maryland there are 3 Resident Canada Goose hunting seasons: parts of September, parts of November and parts of December through March. The Shore only has the September early season for residents, but the other two resident seasons are west of Route 301 on the Western Shore. State biologists will tell you they are confident – not really sure how that can be true – those birds taken during the latter two resident seasons are not AP geese b/c of retrieved banding data analysis. Assuming they are largely correct, is it not also possible there are some migratory Canada geese being taken during the November and December/March seasons? Consequently, legislation has been introduced – courtesy of the Honorable Jack Bailey (District 29, Calvert & St. Mary’s counties) – to restrict the number of harvested resident birds during the December/March season to only 1 bird, instead of 5 birds each day, during the 30-day, 1 bird AP season. This is a commendable conservation-minded measure.
Right to Fish and Hunt: About 20 some states have passed Constitutional Amendments guaranteeing their citizenry a constitutional right to fish and hunt. In Maryland, do not expect the passage of such an amendment to its Constitution b/c of a dominant urban mindset. Instead, however, legislation is pending that would recognize the right to fish and hunt in Maryland by statute, aka legal recognition of such rights. This would send a positive message to the estimated 455,000 anglers/hunters in Maryland who spend close to $1 billion annually – the same individuals who underwrite nearly 100% of all fisheries/wildlife management, aka American System of Conservation Funding.
Sunday Hunting: Like every Session, there are numerous local bills introduced to expand Sunday hunting within their particular jurisdiction. We are not talking about waterfowl Sunday hunting. We are talking about deer and other small game mammals. Steadfast opposition stems from the equine community. Never pretty. Sometimes the county wins and sometimes the equine community wins.
What can be said is the ways and means by which some counties have come to approach Sunday hunting within their jurisdiction – again, we are not talking about waterfowl Sunday hunting. There are two schools of thought: one is to let DNR set by regulation the next season’s Sunday hunting days; while the other is to guarantee by statute certain Sunday hunting days. The former delegates complete discretionary authority to the bureaucracy while the latter guarantees those days of Sunday hunting by law. It’s up to local governments based upon input from their citizenry.
2A Bills: Every Session, gun control advocates bombard the General Assembly with proposals to restrict ownership and use of firearms. The 2021 Session is no different. Space constraints preclude any meaningful account of these bills and their outcomes.
That’s about it for now. Upon adjournment, we’ll have one heck of a story to share with Maryland’s hunting community.
