Hunting Archery Duck Deer

TPWD may adopt rules to help stop cheaters- Poseurs lurk here and there among the two-million-plus folks holding Texas resident hunting or fishing licenses.

They aren’t Texans — at least not legally. But they play one, and pay like one, when they purchase a hunting license, fishing license or maybe even one of the several commercial licenses issued by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

“Yes, we run across non-residents who buy resident licenses fairly regularly,” said Col. Pete Flores, director of TPWD’s law enforcement division.

Money’s the reason.

A Texas resident can buy a hunting license for $23, an all-water fishing license for $38 or a combination hunting/all-water fishing license for $57.

Big difference
A non-resident pays $365 for the same annual permits — $300 for a non-resident hunting license and $65 for a non-resident fishing license.

The temptation to save money by giving bogus information to the person issuing a license appears too great for some people.

And the chances of being caught in the scam have been relatively small.

That stands to change as Texas game wardens get a new tool to help them ferret the folks who use resident licenses or permits but don’t qualify as state residents.

At its Aug. 25 public meeting in Austin, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission will consider adopting regulations to implement House Bill 1636 passed earlier this year by the Texas Legislature.

Under terms of the bill, TPWD is given authority to set the requirements a person has to meet to prove Texas residency for the purpose of obtaining a TPWD-issued license or permit.

Under current statutes, a person is considered a Texas resident if the person has resided in Texas for six months immediately preceding applying for a license or permit.

(Members of the military on active duty and their dependents also qualify as Texas residents for the purpose of obtaining a TPWD-issued license.)

However, current statutes include no standard for establishing residency status.

Proof needed
The TPW Commission will consider adopting a set of standards to be used when questions arise about residency status.

Under the proposal, a person will be able to prove residency by producing at least four of 11 documents.

Those 11 documents include a Texas driver’s license issued at least six months prior to the person applying for a TPWD license or permit, a property tax statement, six months of utility bills, a voter registration certificate, vehicle registration and a passport.

The agency doesn’t plan to require folks haul all those documents to the sporting goods store when they buy their 2005-06 hunting and fishing licenses, TPWD staff said.

“No, we’re not going to require those documents when people go to buy a license,” said Kim Dudish of TPWD’s administrative resources division. “It would be way too burdensome for the license buyer and the person issuing the license.”

The documentation likely will come into play only when TPWD game wardens encounter someone in violation of the regulations, and the law enforcement officers have reason to verify the person’s residency status.

“It should be a big help,” Flores said of the proposed change.

Currently, valid annual hunting and fishing licenses expire Aug. 31, barely a month from now.

TPWD plans to begin issuing licenses for the 2005-06 fiscal year on Aug. 15, two weeks before the 2004-05 licenses expire. The idea is to somewhat cushion the crush of license buying that occurs around Sept. 1.

Sept. 1 marks opening day of mourning dove season in Texas’ North and Central zones, and the hundreds of thousands of wingshooters heading afield that day and the adjacent Labor Day weekend will be looking for new hunting licenses and the new state migratory game bird stamp required of all persons hunting doves, ducks, geese and other migratory fowl.

Also, the Labor Day weekend typically sees the final huge camping/fishing push of the summer season. And all those planning to fish over the holiday weekend will be buying licenses and stamps.

So the 2,000 or so businesses equipped with the computer system for issuing hunting/fishing licenses promise to be busy that weekend.

Those looking to avoid lines at licensing locations can buy almost all TPWD-issued hunting and fishing licenses and special-use stamps (migratory bird hunting, archery hunting, upland bird hunting, etc.) over the Internet or by phone.

Two ways to buy
TPWD began selling licenses over the Internet a year ago. The phone-in program has been in operation for a few years. Both options require a credit card and a $5 handling and convenience fee is charged on top of the license cost.

Information on the online and phone-in license purchase programs can be found on TPWD’s Web site, www.tpwd.state.tx.us.

But wait until at least Aug. 15, otherwise the license expires Aug. 31.

Shannon Tompkins covers the outdoors for the Chronicle.

shannon.tompkins@chron.com