MLDP fee bill ran out of time for Texas House vote
The Houston Chronicle reports the Texas Legislature’s attempt to generate funding for the popular Managed Lands Deer Program failed to gain final passage. SB 722 would have charged people participating in the MLDP an annual fee. The fee—ranging from $30 to $250—would have offset the program’s administration costs. The program’s growing popularity has overwhelmed the lone TPWD staffer administering the program. The fee would have paid for more staff to help run the program. The MLDP allows landowners to voluntarily enroll in a program that involves placing the property under a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department-approved wildlife management plan. In return, the landowner and the hunters on the property may take those deer during a greatly expanded deer season. They’re also afforded other advantages not offered to properties not in the program. The bill passed in the Texas Senate, but didn’t reach the Texas House floor in time for a vote before the legislative session ended.
