Chairman Wise reminded the Council that it has a legal obligation to review funding for DEC’s marine resource programs and to help the agency identify and secure sources of funds necessary to run the type of marine program New York State should, in the Council’s estimation, have. He asked Mr. Colvin to describe the current budget picture for the Department’s marine programs.

The FY 02/03 budget is being submitted to the Legislature by Governor Pataki today. The current estimate of the State’s budget shortfall is $ 4.3 billion over the current and next fiscal years. Mr. Colvin stated that, of this, $3.2 billion will be saved by program restructuring, reducing agency spending debt, refinancing to take advantage of low interest rates, reducing the State’s workforce through attrition and retirement, and maximizing federal aide in special revenue funds. The FY 02/03 budget proposal reduces general fund spending by $1.3 billion or 3%. Mr. Colvin reported that the FY 02/03 budget fully funds the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) at $125 million and also restores the $125 million in EPF funds that were not appropriated in the current fiscal year budget.

Mr. Colvin said he had talked to the Council on several occasions about the status of the NYS Conservation Fund and its projected revenue shortfall which, through the current license year, is estimated at $5.3 million. Last year, no bill was passed to either provide additional General Fund support to the Conservation Fund or to increase fees and revenue to it. The Fund will have a deficit exceeding $2 million by the end of the current fiscal year; this will balloon to $5.3 million by the end of the license year in the fall. The Governor is submitting a deficiency budget for the current fiscal year along with his proposed budget for next fiscal year (02/03). The deficiency budget will include an allocation from the General Fund to the Conservation Fund of $5.3 million and will also propose to increase license fees to maintain the purchasing power of the Conservation Fund. The Council is previously on record supporting the license fee increase proposals.

Mr. Colvin noted that a comprehensive audit of the Conservation Fund conducted at the request of the State Assembly unearthed no irregularities and gave the Fund a "clean bill of health." The audit did raise some valid management questions, which Mr. Colvin stated have all been addressed.

The Council had a brief discussion of the issue of a state marine recreational fishing license as a way of increasing revenues to DEC marine resource programs. Mr. Davi noted that license fees for commercial lobstermen have increased over the years and a recreational fishing license would represent some equity. The Council spent a considerable amount of time talking about the marine recreational fishing license concept a number of years ago. It concluded that all of the reservations that are often expressed about the idea, such as guaranteeing that the revenues generated would go into marine resource programs, were manageable. A report had been prepared for the Governor’s Office on the marine recreational fishing license topic by the New York State Sportfishing Federation. Mr. Colvin observed that one of the issues addressed in the Conservation Fund audit was diversion of license revenues to inappropriate purposes. The audit uncovered no such diversion. Federal grant-in-aid programs that support many natural resource programs are typically matched with license revenue dollars. If the latter are diverted, the match is lost and the Federal government can order restitution with penalties of the federal funds. Several councilors raised the prospect of any income to state marine resource programs from a marine recreational fishing license being offset by a comparable reduction in state-appropriated funds to those programs, leaving no net gain from the license revenues. Mr. Colvin agreed that this was a legitimate possibility and a concern. In 1983, the initial state budget "zeroed out" the budget of DEC’s then-Division of Marine Resources general fund budget and included a salt water fishing license to make up these funds. There was a firestorm over that action and the Legislature restored the funding from the General Fund and did not ask for a license.

There are three major categories of funding to support DEC’s marine program: General Fund dollars derived from general state tax revenue (currently ª $2 million); special revenue Conservation Fund dollars, derived from marine permits and ECL violation fines (ª $2 million); and special revenue federal, derived from federal grants, which are grant-specific (ª $3 million). The marine program also has access to EPF monies to implement the Hudson River Estuary Management program as well as open space and some habitat work. Mr. Colvin also noted the special surf clam account, which is part of the conservation fund. The fees it receives are used to support surf clam management and stock assessments.

In response to a question from Councilor Sullivan, Mr. Colvin stated that relatively few pollution violation fines get credited to the Marine Resources Account, but it does happen.

Chairman Wise asked the Council if it wanted any budgetary or program financial information other than that already mentioned (a historical and a current summary of what different programs have been supported by what different revenue streams). He observed that the Council needed to decide whether it would focus on a limited number of specific marine resource program needs or look to increase total funding to DEC’s marine programs, regardless of how the new monies are allocated within the Department. Mr. Colvin suggested that, in addition to the above-mentioned current and historical information on marine program funding, he provide the Council with information about the marine resource program strategic plans, which describe what the Department is doing and not doing, programmatically, and what the priorities and shortfalls are.

It was agreed that, as the Council gets into a fuller examination of the Department’s financial needs of marine resource programs and identifies opportunities to secure funds to meet those needs, it should look to enlist the involvement and assistance of other groups in finding the funds.

The DEC will provide the above-mentioned marine program financial and program activity/priority information to the Council in advance of its March 2002 meeting. At that meeting, the Council will identify targets of opportunity -- marine resource programs that need additional funding or programs/activities that are much needed but are not presently funded. Having established these targets, the Council will task a subcommittee(s) to develop and implement a strategy to secure funding for them. Mr. Colvin listed commercial & recreational fishery statistics gathering, fishery independent survey work, habitat restoration, and capital development (facilities) needs as high priority unmet needs of the Bureau of Marine Resources.