nmdgf meeting
- Thread starter JACOB2006
- Start date
N
nnmhunter
Guest
Thursday, December 9, 2010 10:09 AM MST
Hunters will pay lower application fees than they did this year to participate in the 2011-12 state Game and Fish Department big game license drawing, marking the third straight season the fees have changed.
Resident hunters will pay $8, and nonresident hunters will pay $20 in nonrefundable application fees for the 2011-12 drawing. This year resident hunters paid $10 and nonresident hunters paid $27 to apply. The state Game Commission approved the lower fees at its Oct. 28 meeting in Mescalero.
The fee applies to each application for each species. For example, if a resident hunter applied for both a deer and an elk license this season, the total cost would have been $20. At next season?s rates, it would cost $16.
The application fee has fluctuated over the past three seasons due to changes in the application process.
Application fees for the 2009-10 drawing were $9 for residents and $12 for nonresidents. That season the Department began requiring the full cost of the license up front for bighorn sheep, antelope, ibex, javelina and Barbary sheep. That meant prospective bighorn sheep hunters, for example, had to put up $163 for residents and $3,187 for nonresidents at the time of their application to cover the application fee and the full license fee.
If an applicant did not draw a license, the license fee was refunded, but the Department kept the application fee. Prior to the 2009-10 drawing, applicants were only charged the application fee up-front and paid the full license fee only if they drew a license.
Because most hunters apply for licenses online using a credit card, the full-fee-up-front requirement increased the value of Department credit card transactions by millions of dollars, which proved lucrative for Bank of America, the state?s fiscal agent at the time. During the 2009-10 application cycle, Bank of America handled all of the state?s credit card transactions and charged a 1.3 percent transaction fee on both the applications and refunds, according to Department records. The resulting transaction fees paid to Bank of America totaled over $750,000, according to the Department and previous SUN reports.
On top of the higher banking fees, the 2010-11 drawing required the full fee up front for deer, elk and oryx licenses, in addition to the previously mentioned species. Both of those factors led the Department to raise application fees to cover the cost of the drawing in anticipation of even higher credit card transaction fees for the 2010-11 drawing, according to Alexa Sandoval, administrative services chief for the Department
However, after the 2009-10 cycle, Bank of America began treating the refund transaction as a ?reverse interchange,? meaning it did not charge a transaction fee on the refunds, resulting in substantial savings in credit card transaction fees. The amount paid in fees to Bank of America for the initial application process was $478,992 in April, but the amount paid after the refunds was $1,271 in July.
?We were dealing with a complete unknown,? Sandoval said. ?I learned more than I ever wanted to know about fees and percentages. It was something we didn't know until after we lived through it.?
The state Board of Finance changed fiscal agents in April to Wells Fargo for fiscal year 2011 and after reviewing Wells Fargo?s fees, the Department realized that it could lower application fees for the 2011-12 license year, as the rates would remain the same as they were for the 2010-11 drawing, Sandoval said. By law the Department is not allowed to make money on the drawing process, only to cover costs. Since its costs were not as high as expected for the 2010-11 drawing, the savings were passed on to the sportsmen in the form of lower application fees for the 2011-12 drawing,
?It's my responsibility to make sure we don't make money on the drawing,? Sandoval said. ?We figured it out that we could lower the (application) fees. I was glad I was able to do that.?
Sandoval proposed lowering the application fee at the Commission?s Oct. 28 meeting, and it passed unanimously.
While in-state sportsmen are now paying less in application fees than in 2009-10, nonresident application fees are higher in 2011-12 because of the higher costs of their credit card transactions. Because out-of-state hunters pay more for their licenses than in-state sportsmen, the banking fees, which are a percentage of the total transaction, are also higher for nonresidents.
?It didn't seem right for residents to subsidize credit card fees for nonresidents,? Department Assistant Director Pat Block said.
In addition to lowering the application fee, the Commission set the deadlines for applying for the big game license draws in the 2011-12 drawing. The deadline will be Feb. 2 to apply for the first drawing for oryx, bear wildlife management area and turkey draw permits. The deadline to apply for antelope, deer, elk, bighorn sheep, Barbary sheep and javelina licenses in the second drawing will be April 6.
Hunters will pay lower application fees than they did this year to participate in the 2011-12 state Game and Fish Department big game license drawing, marking the third straight season the fees have changed.
Resident hunters will pay $8, and nonresident hunters will pay $20 in nonrefundable application fees for the 2011-12 drawing. This year resident hunters paid $10 and nonresident hunters paid $27 to apply. The state Game Commission approved the lower fees at its Oct. 28 meeting in Mescalero.
The fee applies to each application for each species. For example, if a resident hunter applied for both a deer and an elk license this season, the total cost would have been $20. At next season?s rates, it would cost $16.
The application fee has fluctuated over the past three seasons due to changes in the application process.
Application fees for the 2009-10 drawing were $9 for residents and $12 for nonresidents. That season the Department began requiring the full cost of the license up front for bighorn sheep, antelope, ibex, javelina and Barbary sheep. That meant prospective bighorn sheep hunters, for example, had to put up $163 for residents and $3,187 for nonresidents at the time of their application to cover the application fee and the full license fee.
If an applicant did not draw a license, the license fee was refunded, but the Department kept the application fee. Prior to the 2009-10 drawing, applicants were only charged the application fee up-front and paid the full license fee only if they drew a license.
Because most hunters apply for licenses online using a credit card, the full-fee-up-front requirement increased the value of Department credit card transactions by millions of dollars, which proved lucrative for Bank of America, the state?s fiscal agent at the time. During the 2009-10 application cycle, Bank of America handled all of the state?s credit card transactions and charged a 1.3 percent transaction fee on both the applications and refunds, according to Department records. The resulting transaction fees paid to Bank of America totaled over $750,000, according to the Department and previous SUN reports.
On top of the higher banking fees, the 2010-11 drawing required the full fee up front for deer, elk and oryx licenses, in addition to the previously mentioned species. Both of those factors led the Department to raise application fees to cover the cost of the drawing in anticipation of even higher credit card transaction fees for the 2010-11 drawing, according to Alexa Sandoval, administrative services chief for the Department
However, after the 2009-10 cycle, Bank of America began treating the refund transaction as a ?reverse interchange,? meaning it did not charge a transaction fee on the refunds, resulting in substantial savings in credit card transaction fees. The amount paid in fees to Bank of America for the initial application process was $478,992 in April, but the amount paid after the refunds was $1,271 in July.
?We were dealing with a complete unknown,? Sandoval said. ?I learned more than I ever wanted to know about fees and percentages. It was something we didn't know until after we lived through it.?
The state Board of Finance changed fiscal agents in April to Wells Fargo for fiscal year 2011 and after reviewing Wells Fargo?s fees, the Department realized that it could lower application fees for the 2011-12 license year, as the rates would remain the same as they were for the 2010-11 drawing, Sandoval said. By law the Department is not allowed to make money on the drawing process, only to cover costs. Since its costs were not as high as expected for the 2010-11 drawing, the savings were passed on to the sportsmen in the form of lower application fees for the 2011-12 drawing,
?It's my responsibility to make sure we don't make money on the drawing,? Sandoval said. ?We figured it out that we could lower the (application) fees. I was glad I was able to do that.?
Sandoval proposed lowering the application fee at the Commission?s Oct. 28 meeting, and it passed unanimously.
While in-state sportsmen are now paying less in application fees than in 2009-10, nonresident application fees are higher in 2011-12 because of the higher costs of their credit card transactions. Because out-of-state hunters pay more for their licenses than in-state sportsmen, the banking fees, which are a percentage of the total transaction, are also higher for nonresidents.
?It didn't seem right for residents to subsidize credit card fees for nonresidents,? Department Assistant Director Pat Block said.
In addition to lowering the application fee, the Commission set the deadlines for applying for the big game license draws in the 2011-12 drawing. The deadline will be Feb. 2 to apply for the first drawing for oryx, bear wildlife management area and turkey draw permits. The deadline to apply for antelope, deer, elk, bighorn sheep, Barbary sheep and javelina licenses in the second drawing will be April 6.
tayhot
Active Member
- Messages
- 345
>Personally I wish they'd double or
>triple the application fees.
>Put the extra money into
>habitat development or give out
>a couple "Make-a-Wish" type hunts.
>
Mozey,
The "make a wish " type hunts is what I have been preaching for a long time. AZ and a few other states allow Hunt of a Lifetime participants to receive a transfered tag from someone. So if I get drawn and you have a son/daughter with a life threating illness, I can legally transfer my tag into her name. This would be great for NM and for those elgilble.
>triple the application fees.
>Put the extra money into
>habitat development or give out
>a couple "Make-a-Wish" type hunts.
>
Mozey,
The "make a wish " type hunts is what I have been preaching for a long time. AZ and a few other states allow Hunt of a Lifetime participants to receive a transfered tag from someone. So if I get drawn and you have a son/daughter with a life threating illness, I can legally transfer my tag into her name. This would be great for NM and for those elgilble.
K
ktmrider2a
Guest
Good to see they are moving away from "Bank of Amigos".
That bank is responsible for nearly 40% of all home foreclosures in the Phoenix market. Do ya think B of A made a few loans to folks they shouldn't have or gave mortgages to a few of those who reside in this country "Illegally"?
That bank is responsible for nearly 40% of all home foreclosures in the Phoenix market. Do ya think B of A made a few loans to folks they shouldn't have or gave mortgages to a few of those who reside in this country "Illegally"?
New Mexico Guides & Outfitters
H & A Outfitters
Private and public land hunts since 1992 for elk, mule deer, sheep, pronghorn, black Bear & lion hunts.
505 Outfitters
Public and private land big game hunts. Rifle, muzzleloader and archery hunts available. Free Draw Application Service!
Sierra Blanca Outfitters
Offering a wide array of hunt opportunities and putting clients in prime position to bag a trophy.
Urge 2 Hunt
Hunts in New Mexico on private ranches and remote public land in the top units. Elk vouchers available.
Mangas Outfitters
Landowner tags available! Hunt big bulls and bucks. Any season and multiple hunt units to choose from.