A couple of friends and myself were discussing this subject and we wondered why non-residents aren't required to purchase a hunting licence prior to applying for the hunt drawings, similar to other states like Oklahoma. To ask the question, I fired off an e-mail to TPWD and here was the response.
"We do not require that for two reasons: - doing so, would be discriminatory since we do not require residents to purchase a hunting license prior to being drawn. - secondly, it would cost us more to refund the money back to them (take several months to do so) since the drawing dates are later than the time applications are sent in and if they are not drawn, we then have to send a letter to our revenue branch which then goes to the State Comptroller's office to take the money out and cut the check back to theperson who sent it. This could take up to 6 months to get their money back and cost us more for the handling process to get this done. What you and some friends are asking the program to do by requiring non-residents to purchase a hunting license before applying since it would decrease the number of non-resident applicants and increasing the odds for resident applicants is discriminatory and selfish and we do not condone that practice."
"We do not require that for two reasons: - doing so, would be discriminatory since we do not require residents to purchase a hunting license prior to being drawn. - secondly, it would cost us more to refund the money back to them (take several months to do so) since the drawing dates are later than the time applications are sent in and if they are not drawn, we then have to send a letter to our revenue branch which then goes to the State Comptroller's office to take the money out and cut the check back to theperson who sent it. This could take up to 6 months to get their money back and cost us more for the handling process to get this done. What you and some friends are asking the program to do by requiring non-residents to purchase a hunting license before applying since it would decrease the number of non-resident applicants and increasing the odds for resident applicants is discriminatory and selfish and we do not condone that practice."
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