The Legislature is made up of elected Representatives of the citizens of AL. The few polls that I have seen are all similar to the one I posed above showing overwhelming support. So, I feel like the Bill supports the majority of people’s desires.
The bill is popular because the people were presented with the false premise that the only way they could ever be allowed to bait legally was through a permit system. I have no problem with the government asking the citizens to pay for a new service that the people want. If you want more police officers? Pay more taxes to hire more officers. But simply allowing people to do something on their own land isn't a new government service. It doesn't require new revenue. If anything it should require less revenue because you would need fewer game wardens out trying to catch people baiting if you truly legalized baiting. The permit system provides no new service, adds a new hunter tax, and requires as many or possibly more game warden hours to enforce because now there will be even more baiting that still has to be policed.
I mostly agree with your take. Allowing people to do an activity without governmental penalty does not place an additional burden for services on the regulatory structure. In fact it takes the enforcement burden away. I do understand they are probably strapped for cash to run their department, but dang just increase the license cost or campaign your case for extra piece of the state tax income stream pie.
I wish they hadn’t passed this new baiting allowance, but not that it’s here it just irks me they take advantage of the chaos to charge a new fee put of nowhere. I know others on here hold very strong heartfelt beliefs on this subject, but I actually think everyone who “benefits” from the law enforcement and game management state activity should chip in with license fees equally. I’ll admit if I owned land or was a retiree I’d prolly feel a different perspective. Just my take right now.
