Kansas lawmakers revive bill to cut combination hunting-fishing license fees for seniors and kids

Proponents testified to the popularity of the former statute, which reduced the cost of the 10-year combination hunting and fishing license for seniors. They urged legislators to adopt a similar approach for kids by expanding eligibility for the kids lifetime combination licenses from age 7 to 15 and further reducing the cost.

There were no opponents to Senate Bill 364 before the Tuesday Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, or before the Jan. 27 House Federal and State Affairs Committee hearing for the nearly identical House Bill 2502. But the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks asked legislators to consider removing the kids policy from the bill due to funding concerns.

For seniors, defined as residents over 65 years old — since after 75 a resident no longer needs a hunting or fishing license — the fee for a 10-year license would be capped at one-eighth of the fee for a general lifetime combination license. That price is currently set at $960.

The bill’s fiscal note said under the bill, the cost for such a license would go from $180 to $120.

A similar statute was in effect from 2012 to 2020, when it expired. Gary Crownover, a hunter from Marysville, turned 65 after the statute expired.

“I have hunted and fished legally all my life. Because of life’s circumstances, I was never able to buy a lifetime after they were offered,” Crownover said. “I urge the lawmakers to please leave this bill alone this time and do the right thing for the seniors like myself who have paid their dues, and followed the laws for 50-plus years, and for the future of our youth to promote them doing more than being on their phone and playing video games.”

The second part of the bill would lower the cost of lifetime combination licenses for some kids, and expand eligibility.

Currently, the Department of Wildlife and Parks offers the lifetime combination license to kids who are younger than 7. The bill would raise that age limit to 15.

The $300 fee for a kid younger than 5 would stay the same, while the cost for ages 6 through 15 would be set at $400. Currently, the license fee is $500 for kids ages 6 and 7.

In his neutral testimony, Christopher Kennedy, secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Parks, said the department supports the discounted licenses for seniors. But he asked legislators to consider removing the language that would change kids combination licenses.

“In 2025, the department sold 165 Kansas Kids Lifetime Combo licenses (6-7 years). The current $500 price point already reflects an approximate 76% discount from the full cost of a license,” Kennedy said in written testimony. “As a fee-funded agency, any decrease in fee revenue results in a corresponding reduction in the agency’s operating budget.”

Currently, a resident who didn’t get a lifetime license before age 7 can get one for $960, or instead pay about $50 per year. Nonresidents pay a yearly $200 fee, and don’t have the option for a lifetime license.

Sen. Doug Shane, a Republican from Louisburg, introduced the bill in the Senate.

“I was trained and recruited into hunting when I was 12 years old, so it’s a really important age group that we bring into the discounted hunting and fishing program,” Shane said.

A similar bill made it through the House and Senate last session, but was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

“This was a wildly popular bill last session until it may or may not have been bundled with a less popular piece of legislation,” Shane said.

The popular bill got paired with a bill that would have limited nonresident waterfowl duck hunting on public lands. Kelly vetoed the bill, citing concerns about preserving the economic activity of out-of-state hunters.

Sen. Virgil Peck, a Republican from Havana, asked Rep. Will Carpenter — a supporter of the bill and a Republican from El Dorado — if he would like to add the waterfowl provision in the bill again this year.

“No, that ship has sailed, chairman,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter said he would, however, like to give a refund to the seniors who bought a license in the years after the original statute expired.

Sen. Michael Fagg, another El Dorado Republican, said he’d like to see that refund.

“Senator Fagg, keep in mind you would have to exceed 65 years of age to get the discounted license,” Virgil said.

“Mr. Chairman, I’m in that area,” Fagg said. “I hate to tell you.”