Authorizes recreational alligator hunting license and lottery fees

House Bill 767 creates two new legal mechanisms for recreational alligator hunting in Louisiana by enacting R.S. 56:268 and adding a new subsection to R.S. 56:3002(A). The legislation establishes a lottery system for alligator harvest tags, which the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Commission must administer through promulgated rules and regulations. Applicants pay a fifty-dollar nonrefundable entry fee to participate in the lottery, and this fee may be credited toward the annual license fee for successful applicants. Successful lottery winners receive alligator harvest tags at no additional cost. Simultaneously, the bill creates a resident recreational alligator hunting license priced at twenty-five dollars per year. All revenues generated from lottery applications and any auction proceeds must be deposited into the Conservation Fund.

The bill affects Louisiana residents who wish to engage in recreational alligator hunting. Prospective hunters must first enter the lottery by paying the fifty-dollar application fee, with only selected applicants receiving harvest tags. Those selected can then purchase the twenty-five-dollar annual alligator license, though the fifty-dollar lottery fee may be credited toward this cost. The measure also impacts the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which gains responsibility for administering the lottery system and promulgating accompanying regulations. The Conservation Fund receives dedicated revenue from both lottery entry fees and any auction proceeds, providing dedicated funding for wildlife conservation activities.

This legislation operates within Louisiana's existing framework for recreational hunting licenses established in R.S. 56:3002, which already provides for various resident hunting licenses with associated annual fees. The bill integrates the new alligator license and lottery system into this established statutory structure. The conditional effectiveness clause indicates that this bill is dependent upon passage and enactment of a companion Senate Bill during the 2026 regular legislative session, suggesting coordinated legislative action on alligator management policy.