FISH AND GAME – Amends existing law regarding lifetime hunting and fishing licenses.
House Bill 855 revises Idaho’s lifetime fish and game license certificate program. It keeps the Fish and Game Commission’s authority to administer the program, but changes who may purchase a lifetime certificate and how much it costs. Under the bill, a lifetime certificate may be issued to qualifying residents, including those granted resident license privileges under existing law, if they have lived in Idaho for at least five years before applying. For applicants under age five, the five-year residency requirement applies to the child’s legal guardian.
The bill also restructures the fee schedule by age. Children ages one day through one year may buy a lifetime certificate at 25 times the annual license fee, applicants ages two through 50 at 35 times the fee, and applicants age 51 or older at 20 times the fee. The bill applies this structure to combined hunting and fishing, hunting, fishing, and trapping lifetime certificates. It preserves the requirement that lifetime certificate holders remain subject to Title 36 and directs all proceeds into the fish and game trust fund for use only for wildlife-related purposes. The act is declared an emergency and takes effect July 1, 2026.
The bill’s impact is to amend Idaho Code section 36-413 and change the financial and eligibility rules for lifetime hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses. It affects residents seeking long-term access to Idaho’s fish and game licensing system, the Department of Fish and Game, and the fish and game trust fund. By setting different purchase multipliers based on age, the bill changes the upfront cost of lifetime certificates and likely alters how much revenue the state receives from these sales over time.
The general sentiment reflected in the voting history appears supportive overall, with the bill passing both chambers by comfortable margins. The House approved it 46-17 and the Senate approved it 23-11, suggesting broad but not unanimous support. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded discussion to indicate detailed public testimony or sponsor remarks.
The main point of contention appears to be the policy choice to change lifetime license pricing and eligibility, especially the age-based fee structure and the five-year residency requirement. Supporters likely viewed the bill as a modernization of the lifetime certificate system and a way to align fees with expected usage, while opponents may have objected to the residency threshold, the differential treatment by age, or the higher cost for most applicants. The emergency clause and immediate effective date also suggest the Legislature wanted the changes in place for the 2026 licensing cycle.
This bill amends Idaho Code section 36-413 governing lifetime fish and game license certificates. It changes eligibility by requiring five years of Idaho residency for applicants, with a guardian-based residency rule for children under five, and it replaces the prior fee structure with age-based multipliers for lifetime hunting, fishing, trapping, and combination certificates. It also continues to route all lifetime certificate revenue into the fish and game trust fund for wildlife-related purposes only.
The bill appears to have received generally favorable treatment in the Legislature, passing the House 46-17 and the Senate 23-11. Those margins indicate clear support, though not unanimity. With no committee transcript available, the record does not show detailed debate, but the votes suggest the measure was broadly accepted as a policy update to the lifetime license program.
The likely areas of contention were the new five-year residency requirement, the age-based pricing tiers, and the higher multiplier for most purchasers ages two through 50. Critics may have viewed the changes as making lifetime certificates more expensive or less accessible, while supporters likely argued the structure better reflects long-term value and program administration. The emergency clause and July 1, 2026 effective date may also have drawn attention because they accelerate implementation.