Reauthorization of Sport Fish Restoration Act filed in D.C.

Washington — Members of Congress introduced the Sport Fish Restoration, Recreational Boating Safety, and Wildlife Restoration Act of 2025 (H.R. 3858) in the U.S. House of Representatives in mid-June.

The bill would reauthorize the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act through 2031. Representatives Debbie Dingell, D-MI, and Rob Wittman, R-VA, filed the legislation.

Originally passed in 1950, the Dingell-Johnson Act created the Sport Fish Restoration Fund, which collects an excise tax of up to 10% on the sale of most fishing equipment. This excise tax is distributed to states, tribes and territories to fund habitat restoration, fisheries research and access improvements.

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The excise tax on sport-fishing equipment is considered one of the most successful “user pay, public benefit” programs in the world. Since its inception, the Sport Fish Restoration Fund has generated over $12 billion, created and improved more than 9,000 public boating and fishing access sites, supported 320 fish hatcheries that stock around 1 billion fish annually, and funded aquatic education programs that have introduced over 850,000 people to fishing.

The current authorization of the Dingell-Johnson Act expires in 2026.