Honorably Discharged Louisiana Veterans Can Buy the $20 Hunting and Fishing Combo License, Under Sen. Brach Myers' Act 321

By Staff @ Bayou Weekly

Honorably discharged veterans who live in Louisiana can buy the state's all-in-one hunting and fishing combination license for $20 a year, 80% less than the $100 Sportsman's Paradise license. Act 321 of 2025, by state Sen. Brach Myers of Lafayette, opened the discounted license to them on Aug. 1, 2025.

Myers, a Republican, represents Senate District 23. His official Senate page lists Lafayette as the parish he represents and a district office in the city. He was the primary author of Senate Bill 69 in the 2025 regular session, with 15 co-authors from the Senate and House.

Before the change, the $20 combination license was limited to certain seniors and to retired members of the armed forces who were born in Louisiana or live here. Act 321 added honorably discharged veterans who are bona fide Louisiana residents. In its announcement, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries put it plainly: "All honorably discharged military veteran residents of Louisiana are now eligible for the discounted combination hunting and fishing license previously available only to residents or native born retired military personnel."

State law describes combination licenses as covering "all hunting, fishing, and WMA access privileges." The current fee schedule in R.S. 56:3004 lists the Senior/Retired Military/Honorably Discharged Veteran license at $20 a year, next to $100 for a resident Sportsman's Paradise license. LDWF sells the veterans' version as the "Resident Honorably Discharged Hunt/Fish Combo."

Eligibility covers anyone honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces, including the Louisiana Army National Guard and the Louisiana Air National Guard, as long as the veteran is a Louisiana resident. As filed, the bill would have required papers showing enlistment, commission or discharge in Louisiana. A Senate committee removed that requirement, and the Legislature's résumé digest says the law applies regardless of where the veteran enlisted, was commissioned or was discharged. Applicants have to show identification and proof of service. The law says government-issued separation papers such as a DD-214 or an NGB-22 count as satisfactory proof.

The first purchase takes a little paperwork. LDWF's special licenses page has the Honorably Discharged Military Veteran application. Veterans mail it with their documents and a check or money order to LDWF, Attention: Sports Licenses, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898. The application form still asks for separation papers "showing enlistment or discharge in the State of Louisiana," wording that tracks the bill as filed, so veterans who enlisted and were discharged elsewhere may want to check with LDWF licensing at 225-765-2898 before mailing it. Once LDWF approves eligibility, the department says the license can be bought in later years through its online license site.

The new category sits alongside discounts the state already offered. LDWF's announcement listed resident rates for active-duty military personnel, the $20 license for retired military and free licenses for disabled veterans. The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation Escrow Account uses donations to buy licenses for disabled veterans. Act 321 also lets that money pay for a commemorative durable hard card carrying the license information.

LDWF called the bill a keystone of its 2025 legislative package and said it grew out of work with the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs and The Boot, a group that encourages veterans to settle in Louisiana after their service. "Giving our veterans the ability to hunt and fish in Louisiana at a reduced cost is only a small token of our appreciation for their selfless service to our nation," Myers said in the department's announcement.

The discount has a price for the state's wildlife budget. The Legislative Fiscal Office's fiscal note used a Department of Wildlife and Fisheries estimate that about 16,286 honorably discharged veterans, roughly 8%, would buy the license. At $80 less per license, that would cut deposits to the Conservation Fund by about $1.3 million a year. The note said the loss could reach about $3.3 million a year if 20% of them bought it.

The bill drew no recorded opposition. The Senate passed it 38-0 on May 12, 2025, the House passed it 95-0 on June 8, and Gov. Jeff Landry signed it June 11, making it Act 321.

Veterans Day is Wednesday, Nov. 11. Bayou Weekly's legislator series has also covered Youth and Veterans Waterfowl Day in the West Zone, the new Purple Star designation for colleges that serve military students and new bass and crappie limits in the Atchafalaya Basin. More state stories are in Top News.

Photo: Robert Kidd / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (resized). Participants ride in a bass boat during a 2014 Take a Warrior Fishing event for veterans and their families at Pine Flat Lake, California.