§266.  Louisiana Fur Public Education and Marketing Fund

A.  Recognizing that the Louisiana fur industry is a vital aspect of Louisiana's coastal economic base and that in recent years worldwide fur markets and prices have been severely depressed creating extreme hardships not only for trappers, but also for coastal landowners, fur buyers, and fur dealers; and recognizing world trends questioning the consumptive utilization of wildlife species, and recognizing that these trends and economic conditions can have a severe impact on the fur industry; and recognizing the need to educate the public concerning fur trapping as sound wildlife management practice; and recognizing that the trapping of certain species of furbearers such as nutria and muskrat is the only realistic means for coastal landowners to effectively manage and protect over four million acres of invaluable coastal wetlands and protect adjacent agriculture; and recognizing that there is no cohesive, coordinated, and comprehensive effort to educate the public concerning the Louisiana fur industry or stabilize and strengthen domestic and international markets for Louisiana furs, the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby establish the Louisiana Fur Public Education and Marketing Fund.

B.  Specific goals.  (1)  To educate the public regarding the need for trapping as a sound wildlife management tool and regarding the logic of managing furbearing species as renewable resources.

(2)  To identify the current consumers of Louisiana furs.

(3)  To identify present and potential Louisiana fur marketing problems, obstacles, and related significant issues.

(4)  To strengthen existing markets and develop new markets and marketing strategies for raw and finished Louisiana fur products.

(5)  To develop and implement an international advertising campaign to promote the utilization of raw and finished Louisiana fur products.

(6)  To examine, evaluate, and make recommendations concerning any aspect of the fur industry including habitat management, harvest, and marketing which will enhance the future of the industry and perpetuate the conservation of these species.

C.  The Louisiana Fur Advisory Council.  (1)  Pursuant to R.S. 36:605(B)(2), the secretary shall create the Louisiana Fur Advisory Council, which shall be within the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.  The Louisiana Fur Advisory Council shall be responsible for reviewing and approving recommended procedures and programs to be funded from the Louisiana Fur Public Education and Marketing Fund to ensure that any monies from the funds are expended for the specific goals of the council.

(2)  This council shall be composed of nine members of which seven shall be appointed by the secretary.

(a)  The individuals appointed by the secretary to this council shall represent a cross section of trappers and coastal landowners as follows:

(i)  One member of the council shall represent trappers from north Louisiana.

(ii)  One member shall represent trappers from southwest Louisiana.

(iii)  One member shall represent trappers from southeast Louisiana.

(iv)  One member shall represent trappers statewide.

(v)  Three members shall represent coastal landowners.

(b)  One member of the council shall be designated by the speaker of the House of Representatives and another member shall be designated by the president of the Senate.

(3)  The secretary may appoint members recommended by the Louisiana Trappers and Alligator Hunters Association, which may submit nominations, in writing, to the secretary.

(4)  The secretary or his designee shall be an ex officio member of said council and shall be present at all official meetings.

(5)  All members of the council shall serve four-year terms.

D.  Appropriations. (1)  All revenues received by the state from license fees imposed on trappers as required in R.S. 56:251(A)(1) shall be credited to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund.  After a sufficient amount is allocated from that fund to pay all obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the state which become due and payable within any fiscal year, the state treasurer is authorized and directed to transfer annually the amount of twenty dollars for each resident trapping license sold and one hundred forty-five dollars for each nonresident trapping license sold, from revenues derived from the sale of said licenses, into a special fund designated as the Louisiana Fur Public Education and Marketing Fund.

(2)  The state treasurer shall invest the monies in this fund in the same manner as monies in the state general fund.  Any surplus monies remaining to the credit of the fund, after all appropriations of the preceding fiscal year have been made, shall remain to the credit of the fund.  The state treasurer shall prepare and submit to the department on a quarterly basis a printed report showing the amount of money contained in the fund from all sources.

(3)  Any amounts earned through investment of the monies in the fund shall remain to the credit of the fund and shall not revert to the state general fund.

E.  Expenditures.  (1)  The monies made available by the legislature from the fund as provided in this Section or from any other source shall be used solely for the programs, purposes, and specific goals enumerated in this Section.

(2)  The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries shall maintain records of the sources of money received and the purposes therefor, as well as the person or persons to whom money is paid and the purpose therefor.  Vouchers or receipts shall be kept for all money paid out.  Money appropriated or otherwise made available to the department for authorized purposes shall be withdrawn from the treasury on warrant of the secretary of the department.

(3)  The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, in utilizing surplus monies from the Louisiana Fur Public Education and Marketing Fund shall contract only upon recommendation of the Louisiana Fur Advisory Council, for any services relating to the specific goals enumerated in this Section.  The secretary is hereby authorized and empowered to carry out any and all contracts entered into in order to achieve these goals.

F.  Annual Reports.  The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries shall make a written operating report to the legislature at the end of each fiscal year.  This report  shall contain a summary of revenues received, expenditures made, and the status of achievement of specific goals.  This report shall be submitted to the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources by the end of the calendar year.

Acts 1986, No. 455, §1, eff. July 2, 1986; Acts 1991, No. 1041, §1, eff. July 26, 1991; Acts 2005, No. 219, §1; Acts 2008, No. 272, §2; Acts 2008, No. 580, §7; Acts 2012, No. 153, §1.