South Carolina Code of Laws
Chapter 9 - Hunting And Fishing Licenses
Section 50-9-920. Revenues from the sale of privileges, licenses, permits, and tags.

(A) Revenue generated from the sale of lifetime privileges shall be deposited in the Wildlife Endowment Fund.
Text of (B) effective until December 31, 2027. See, also, text of (B) effective January 1, 2028.
(B) Revenue generated from the sale of other hunting and freshwater fishing licenses, permits, and tags shall be remitted to the State Treasurer and unless otherwise required by law credited to the Fish and Wildlife Protection Fund. Revenue from each:
(1) wildlife management area permit shall be used for the management and the procurement of wildlife management area lands;
(2) nonresident annual statewide hunting license shall be used as follows:
(a) one dollar for the propagation, management, and protection of ducks and geese in this State; and
(b) the balance to the Fish and Wildlife Protection Fund;
(3) nonresident temporary statewide hunting license shall be used as follows:
(a) fifty cents for the propagation, management, and protection of ducks and geese in this State; and
(b) the balance to the Fish and Wildlife Protection Fund;
(4) nonresident annual freshwater fishing license shall be distributed as follows:
(a) twenty-five percent to the County Game and Fish Fund account for the respective county in which the license was sold, except that these licenses sold through a central point such as online, call centers, and department mass mailings shall be equally allocated to the counties;
(b) twenty-five percent for the operation and management of department freshwater fish hatcheries; and
(c) the balance to the Fish and Wildlife Protection Fund;
(5) application fee, permit, tag, and nonresident hunting fee for the privilege of hunting alligators shall be used to administer the alligator management program;
(6) Deer Quota Program permit shall be exclusively used to administer the Deer Quota Program and for deer management and research;
(7) individual antlerless and nonresident antlered deer tags shall be used as follows:
(a) eighty percent to administer the tag program, deer management, and research; and
(b) the remaining twenty percent for law enforcement;
(8) application fee, permit, and tag for the privilege of hunting bear shall be used to administer the tag program, protect bear habitats, and support bear research and management;
(9) field trial permit and shooting preserve operation permit shall be used to support the management of small game programs;
(10) lottery hunt application fee shall be used to administer the lottery hunt program and support management of lands on which the lottery hunts take place;
(11) falconry permit shall be used to support the falconry permitting program;
(12) resident antler restriction individual antlered deer tag shall be used to administer the Coyote Management Program;
(13) resident and nonresident wild turkey tags shall only be used for the following purposes:
(a) the funding of wild turkey scientific research on public lands and private lands with the consent of landowners;
(b) the improvement of the wild turkey habitat and hunting opportunities for wild turkeys on public lands;
(c) wild turkey predator control;
(d) the enforcement of the wild turkey hunting laws and regulations; and
(e) the printing and mailing of the wild turkey tags;
(14)(a) resident and nonresident migratory waterfowl permit shall be used for the management of waterfowl habitats and for the development, protection, management, and propagation of wild waterfowl in this State and along the Atlantic Flyway as follows:
(i) a minimum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of revenue received annually from the waterfowl permit fee must be used to restore and manage waterfowl habitat on state wildlife management areas and such funds must be leveraged with other sources when available;
(ii) ten percent of the revenue from the waterfowl permit fee contributed annually for the first three years following the enactment of this section to the AFWA Fall Flight Program for the propagation, management, and protection of ducks and geese in the areas that benefit South Carolina;
(iii) twenty percent of the revenue from the waterfowl permit fee contributed annually in the fourth and succeeding years following the enactment of this section to the AFWA Fall Flight Program for the propagation, management, and protection of ducks and geese in the areas that benefit South Carolina; and
(iv) all remaining annual funds shall be used for the development, protection, management, and propagation of wild waterfowl in this State. All balances must be retained and carried forward annually.
(b) no revenue generated from the sale of a waterfowl permit may be expended for administrative salaries.
Text of (B) effective January 1, 2028. See, also, text of (B) effective until December 31, 2027.
(B) Revenue generated from the sale of other hunting and freshwater fishing licenses, permits, and tags shall be remitted to the State Treasurer and unless otherwise required by law credited to the Fish and Wildlife Protection Fund. Revenue from each:
(1) wildlife management area permit shall be used for the management and the procurement of wildlife management area lands;
(2) nonresident annual statewide hunting license shall be used as follows:
(a) one dollar for the propagation, management, and protection of ducks and geese in this State;
(b) one dollar contributed by the department to proper agencies along the Atlantic Flyway for the propagation, management, and protection of ducks and geese; and
(c) the balance to the Fish and Wildlife Protection Fund;
(3) nonresident temporary statewide hunting license shall be used as follows:
(a) fifty cents for the propagation, management, and protection of ducks and geese in this State;
(b) fifty cents contributed by the department to proper agencies along the Atlantic Flyway for the propagation, management, and protection of ducks and geese; and
(c) the balance to the Fish and Wildlife Protection Fund;
(4) nonresident annual freshwater fishing license shall be distributed as follows:
(a) twenty-five percent to the County Game and Fish Fund account for the respective county in which the license was sold, except that these licenses sold through a central point such as online, call centers, and department mass mailings shall be equally allocated to the counties;
(b) twenty-five percent for the operation and management of department freshwater fish hatcheries; and
(c) the balance to the Fish and Wildlife Protection Fund;
(5) application fee, permit, tag, and nonresident hunting fee for the privilege of hunting alligators shall be used to administer the alligator management program;
(6) Deer Quota Program permit shall be exclusively used to administer the Deer Quota Program and for deer management and research;
(7) individual antlerless and nonresident antlered deer tags shall be used as follows:
(a) eighty percent to administer the tag program, deer management, and research; and
(b) the remaining twenty percent for law enforcement;
(8) application fee, permit, and tag for the privilege of hunting bear shall be used to administer the tag program, protect bear habitats, and support bear research and management;
(9) field trial permit and shooting preserve operation permit shall be used to support the management of small game programs;
(10) lottery hunt application fee shall be used to administer the lottery hunt program and support management of lands on which the lottery hunts take place;
(11) falconry permit shall be used to support the falconry permitting program;
(12) resident antler restriction individual antlered deer tag shall be used to administer the Coyote Management Program;
(13) resident and nonresident wild turkey tags shall only be used for the following purposes:
(a) the funding of wild turkey scientific research on public lands and private lands with the consent of landowners;
(b) the improvement of the wild turkey habitat and hunting opportunities for wild turkeys on public lands;
(c) wild turkey predator control;
(d) the enforcement of the wild turkey hunting laws and regulations; and
(e) the printing and mailing of the wild turkey tags;
(14) resident and nonresident migratory waterfowl permit shall be used for the management of waterfowl habitats and for the development, protection, and propagation of waterfowl in this State, provided that no revenue generated from the sale of a waterfowl permit may be expended for administrative salaries.
(C) Revenue generated from the sale of recreational and commercial marine licenses, permits, and tags shall be deposited to the Marine Resources Fund. Revenue generated from the sale of recreational licenses, permits, and tags must be distributed in accordance with the provisions of Sections 50-9-960 and 50-9-965, provided that a minimum of five dollars from the sale of each recreational saltwater fishing license must be used for the development and implementation of a flounder stocking program.
(D) Two-thirds of the revenue generated from the sale of three year recreational saltwater licenses shall be allocated to the Marine Resources Deferred License Fund.
(E) Two-thirds of the revenue generated from the sale of three year recreational freshwater fishing and hunting licenses shall be allocated to the Fish and Wildlife Deferred License Fund.
(F) Revenue generated from the sale of duplicate or replacement licenses, permits, and tags shall be credited to the Fish and Wildlife Protection Fund.
(G) The fees remitted to the department for each Federal Migratory Hunting and Conservation Stamp must be credited to the Fish and Wildlife Protection Fund, and distributed as follows:
(1) one dollar to the issuing sales vendor; and
(2) the balance according to the agreement signed between the department and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service pursuant to Section 50-9-630.
HISTORY: 2010 Act No. 233, Section 11, eff July 1, 2010; 2010 Act No. 286, Section 3, eff June 29, 2010; 2013 Act No. 94, Section 11, eff July 1, 2013; 2015 Act No. 42 (H.3393), Section 2, eff July 1, 2015; 2016 Act No. 257 (S.454), Sections 2-4, eff July 1, 2017; 2018 Act No. 263 (H.5231), Section 1, eff July 2, 2018; 2019 Act No. 51 (S.575), Section 4, eff July 1, 2019; 2020 Act No. 152 (S.1068), Section 2, eff September 28, 2020; 2021 Act No. 91 (H.3957), Section 4, eff July 1, 2021; 2022 Act No. 147 (H.4177), Section 4, eff July 1, 2022.
Sunset
2022 Act No. 147, Section 5, provides: "SECTION 5. The amendments contained in SECTIONS 3 and 4 of this act are repealed on December 31, 2027, and the text of these SECTIONS therefore shall revert back to the language as contained in the South Carolina Code of Laws as of January 1, 2020."

Code Commissioner's Note
At the direction of the Code Commissioner, Acts 233 and 286 were read together. Subsection (G) was added by Act 286 and the remainder of the section was added by act 233.
Editor's Note
Prior laws: 1996 Act No. 372, Section 26; 1999 Act No. 100, Part II, Section 15; 2004 Act No. 246, Section 5; 2010 Act No. 183, Section 2.
2021 Act No. 91, Section 6, provides as follows:
"SECTION 6. The Department of Natural Resources shall furnish a written report to the General Assembly on South Carolina's stock of flounder by December 31, 2023. The report must provide future projections."
Effect of Amendment
The 2013 amendment rewrote the section.
2015 Act No. 42, Section 2, added (G).
2016 Act No. 257, Sections 2-4, in (B)(6), substituted "Deer Quota Program permit" for "antlerless deer quota permit (ADQP)" and "Deer Quota Program" for "ADQP program"; in (B)(7), inserted "and nonresident antlered"; and added (B)(12), relating to the coyote management program.
2018 Act No. 263, Section 1, rewrote (C), revising the distribution of revenue generated from the sale of recreational and commercial marine licenses, permits, and tags.
2019 Act No. 51, Section 4, in (B), added (13), relating to resident and nonresident wild turkey tags.
2020 Act No. 152, Section 2, in (B), added (14), relating to resident and nonresident migratory waterfowl permits.
2021 Act No. 91, Section 4, in (C), in the second sentence, added ", provided that a minimum of five dollars from the sale of each recreational saltwater fishing license must be used for the development and implementation of a flounder stocking program".
2022 Act No. 147, Section 4, rewrote (B).

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