Government Affairs
Wallop-Breaux Reauthorization
The Issue
The Wallop-Breaux Act must be reauthorized as part of the Federal Highway Trust Fund (FHTF) in order to capture the revenue from that part of the federal fuel tax attributable to motor boat and small engine use. The Act will reauthorize the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund (SFRBTF), which funds important state fish and wildlife agency angling and boating programs such as fisheries monitoring; habitat conservation and restoration; fishing and boating access facilities such as docks, piers, and boat ramps; and education and safety programs for anglers and boaters. In 2010 the SFRBTF had $650 million in revenues, $365 million of which was apportioned to the 50 states specifically for sport fish restoration and angler access. Funds for sportfish restoration from the Trust Fund are appropriated to the states based on license sales and water area.
The Angling and Boating Alliance, of which ASA is a member, is an ad hoc coalition of national recreational boating, angling, outdoor recreation organizations, conservation groups, and state boating safety and natural resources agencies committed to the sustainable future of the Trust Fund. The ABA was created to find consensus and promote the reauthorization to Congress.
ASA’s Position
The ABA continues to work to ensure that reauthorization in the 112th Congress will secure the Trust Fund’s continued vitality and success as a “user pay, user benefit” program. In recognition of the current economic climate and the importance of maintaining the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, the ABA has agreed to support the reauthorization of the Trust Fund as the current statute is written with continued full funding.During its spring 2011 meeting, ASA’s Government Affairs Committee voted to adopt the position of the ABA.
For more information on the ABA’s coordinated statement on the reauthorization of the Fund, click here.
Background
The Sport Fish Restoration Program was established in 1950 by the Dingell-Johnson Act, using a 10 percent manufacturers’ excise tax on certain fishing equipment to fund various projects designed to enhance sportfishing in all 50 states. The Recreational Boating Safety Program was established in 1971 to fund boating safety and education programs and amended in 1980 to draw its funding from taxes on motorboat fuels. These programs were combined in 1984 under the Wallop-Breaux Act.
The Wallop-Breaux amendment expanded the 10 percent excise tax to nearly all sportfishing products and captured over half of the federal motorboat fuel taxes that were paid by boaters and anglers. This substantially increased the funds collected by the federal government to be returned to the states for fishing and boating-related projects.
In 2005, the opportunity existed to increase the fuel tax funding source as Congress reauthorized the transfer of motorboat and small engine fuel taxes to the SFRBTF. Until then, only 13.5 cents of the 18.3 cents in federal fuel taxes on each gallon of gasoline used by recreational boats and small engines was being transferred from the Highway Transportation Fund to the SFRBTF. The additional 4.8 cent balance was being directed to the General Treasury. However, the 2005 reauthorization authorized the transfer of the entire federal fuel tax to the SFRBTF. Anglers and boaters paying this tax finally received the full benefit of their tax payment investment.
Since its creation, the Sport Fish Restoration Act has been refined and expanded by Congress. It is unquestionably the most valuable federal legislation for anglers and fishery resources, delivering millions each year to state fishing and boating programs. This is the most important program for boating and angler access and fishery management in each state. It is also the core funding for each state’s sport fish restoration program.
