STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 54th Legislature (2014)

SENATE BILL 2019	By:	Shortey

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to game and fish; amending 29 O.S. 2011, Section 4-101, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 341, O.S.L. 2013 (29 O.S. Supp. 2013, Section 4-101), which relates to fishing licenses; changing expiration date; amending 29 O.S. 2011, Section 4-112, which relates to hunting licenses; changing expiration date; amending 29 O.S. 2011, Section 4-113, which relates to annual combination licenses; changing expiration date; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     29 O.S. 2011, Section 4-101, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 341, O.S.L. 2013 (29 O.S. Supp. 2013, Section 4-101), is amended to read as follows:
Section 4-101.  A.  All licenses and permits issued by the Director of Wildlife Conservation, the Department of Wildlife Conservation or by any of its agents shall be used only in conformity with the provisions of this title and the rules promulgated by the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission.
B.  All persons making application for any licenses required by this section shall produce a valid license to operate a motor vehicle or other positive proof of identification, age and residency, and any such license issued shall show such data as well as the date and time of issuance.
C.  All licenses are nontransferable.  No person shall alter, change, lend or transfer any license.  No person shall use or borrow a license which has not been issued to that person by the Director, the Department or by any of its agents pursuant to the provisions of this section.
D.  No person may engage in activities requiring a license without that person's carrying such license on their person and producing the same for an inspection upon the demand of any Oklahoma citizen or game warden.
E.  Any person required to produce a license must also identify themselves as the person to whom such license was issued, and failure or refusal to comply shall be deemed prima facie evidence of a violation of this section.
F.  Unless otherwise provided in this Code:
1.  Hunting licenses issued pursuant to paragraph 1 of subsection C and paragraphs 1 and 3 of subsection E of Section 4-112 of this title and paragraphs 1 and 3 of subsection B of Section 4-113 of this title shall expire on December 31 of the year issued one (1) year from the date of issue.  Hunting licenses issued pursuant to paragraph 2 of subsection C and paragraphs 2 and 4 of subsection E of Section 4-112 of this title and paragraphs 2 and 4 of subsection B of Section 4-113 of this title shall expire on June 30 of the fiscal year issued one (1) year from the date of issue.  All other licenses shall terminate December 31 for the year issued one (1) year from the date of issue; and
2.  Any person convicted of violating any of the provisions of this title may have any or all licenses held by that person or the privilege of applying for, purchasing or exercising the benefits conferred by the licenses revoked by the Department in accordance with rules promulgated by the Commission or by a court of competent jurisdiction for a period of not less than one (1) year.  For purposes of this paragraph, a court conviction, a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, the imposition of a deferred or suspended sentence by a court, or forfeiture of bond shall be deemed a conviction.
G.  Should any license or permit issued pursuant to Part 1 of Article IV of this title be lost or destroyed, duplicates will be issued by the Department at a fee of One Dollar and fifty cents ($1.50).
H.  Upon harvesting any whitetail or mule deer, or any other wildlife where the hunter, according to Commission rules, is required to check the wildlife in at a Department check station, the taker of the wildlife shall:
1.  Securely attach the name of the taker, time of harvest, date of harvest and license number to the carcass of the wildlife;
2.  Check in the carcass of the wildlife electronically using the online check station provided on the official website of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation or as prescribed by rule of the Commission, within twenty-four (24) hours of leaving the hunt area and in all cases prior to processing the carcass; and
3.  Not remove evidence of the sex of the animal until after the carcass of the animal has been checked in.
I.  It shall be unlawful for any license or permit holder to knowingly make a false statement or give false information to any authorized hunter check station or to an authorized Department employee when complying with the provisions of subsection H of this section.  Information which may be collected at a Department check station shall include but not be limited to the name, address, license or permit number and signature of the taker, the date, time, county, method or weapon of the kill, sex and weight of carcass, whether or not the animal was taken on public hunting land and if so in what area, or any other information which may be required by the Commission.
J.  1.  Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this section or of making a false statement or giving any false information in order to acquire any license or permit, pursuant to the provisions of this section, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed ten (10) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.  Any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of the provisions of this section or of making a false statement or giving any false information in order to acquire any license or permit, pursuant to the provisions of this section, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) nor more than Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed ten (10) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
2.  Any hunting or fishing license issued to a person by the Department of Wildlife Conservation shall be automatically revoked upon conviction of the person of violating the provisions of this section.  The revocation shall be for a period set by the court of not less than one (1) year nor more than ten (10) years.  If the court does not set a period, the revocation shall be for one (1) year from the date of the conviction.  During this period of revocation, the Department shall not issue the person a hunting or fishing license.  If the court does not set a revocation period, the Department shall not issue that person a license within one (1) year of the conviction of the person pursuant to this section.  A person who has a license or permit revoked pursuant to this section shall surrender the revoked license or permit to the court.  The court shall send the Department of Wildlife Conservation the revoked license and a copy of the judgment of conviction.  For purposes of this section, "conviction" shall include a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to an offense or the imposition of deferred adjudication for an offense.
K.  Any person who has had their license privileges revoked shall not be entitled to purchase, apply for, or exercise the benefits conferred by any license until the revocation period has expired or the person has obtained approval from the Director.  Any person violating the provisions of this subsection, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term of not more than ninety (90) days or by both the fine and imprisonment.  Upon conviction under this subsection, the previously granted license revocation period shall be extended by two (2) additional years.
SECTION 2.     AMENDATORY     29 O.S. 2011, Section 4-112, is amended to read as follows:
Section 4-112.  A.  Except as otherwise provided for in the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Code or the Oklahoma Farmed Cervidae Act, no person may hunt, pursue, trap, harass, catch, kill, take or attempt to take in any manner, use, have in possession, sell, or transport all or any portion of any wildlife except fish, without having first procured a license from the Department of Wildlife Conservation.  The Wildlife Conservation Commission shall designate a consecutive Saturday and Sunday in September of each year as free hunting days in which residents of this state may hunt without first procuring a hunting license pursuant to the provisions of this section.
B.  The following legal residents of Oklahoma shall be exempt from the annual hunting license requirement of paragraph 1 of subsection E of this section and the following nonresidents shall be exempt from the annual nonresident hunting licenses required pursuant to paragraph 1 of subsection C of this section:
1.  Legal residents under sixteen (16) years of age;
2.  Legal residents sixty-five (65) years of age or older provided they have obtained a senior citizen lifetime hunting or combination hunting and fishing license pursuant to the provisions of Section 4-114 of this title;
3.  Legal residents born on or before January 1, 1923;
4.  Legal resident veterans having a disability of sixty percent (60%) or more;
5.  Legal resident owners or tenants who hunt on land owned or leased by them;
6.  Any nonresident under fourteen (14) years of age;
7.  Legal residents having a proven disability which renders them nonambulatory and confines them to a wheelchair, as certified by a physician licensed in this state or in any state which borders this state;
8.  Any legal resident or nonresident under eighteen (18) years of age who is in the physical custody of a child care facility as defined by Section 402 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes; and
9.  Any legal resident or nonresident hunting, pursuing, trapping, harassing, catching, killing, taking, or attempting to take in any manner any species of rattlesnake during an organized rattlesnake-hunting event or festival and who has a rattlesnake permit issued pursuant to Section 4-143 of this title.
C.  Except as otherwise provided for in the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Code, the nonresident hunting licenses issued pursuant to this section and the fee for each license shall be:
1.  Annual hunting license for nonresidents hunting game other than deer, antelope, elk or bear which expires on December 31 of the year purchased – One Hundred Forty-one Dollars ($141.00).  Nonresidents hunting big game or combination big game and upland game in a commercial hunting area shall be required to have this license;
2.  Annual hunting license for nonresidents hunting game other than deer, antelope, elk or bear which expires on June 30 of the fiscal year purchased – One Hundred Seventy-five Dollars ($175.00).  Nonresidents hunting big game or combination big game and upland game in a commercial hunting area shall be required to have this license;
3.  Gun hunting license for deer for nonresidents which shall be valid for hunting all deer allowed during the current calendar year deer gun season – Two Hundred Seventy-nine Dollars ($279.00);
4.  Archery hunting license for deer for nonresidents which shall be valid for hunting all deer allowed during the current calendar year deer archery season – Two Hundred Seventy-nine Dollars ($279.00);
5.  Primitive firearms hunting license for deer for nonresidents which shall be valid for hunting all deer allowed during the current calendar year deer primitive firearms season – Two Hundred Seventy-nine Dollars ($279.00);
6.  Hunting license for antelope for nonresidents – Three Hundred Five Dollars ($305.00);
7.  Hunting license for elk for nonresidents – Three Hundred Five Dollars ($305.00);
8.  Five-day hunting license for nonresidents hunting game other than deer, antelope, elk, turkey or bear – Seventy-four Dollars ($74.00); and
9.  Ten-day hunting license for nonresidents hunting small game in a commercial hunting area – Five Dollars ($5.00).
D.  Of the fees collected pursuant to the provisions of subsection C of this section:
1.  Five Dollars ($5.00) of the license fee of each license issued pursuant to paragraphs 1 through 7 of subsection C of this section and Two Dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) of the license fee for each license issued pursuant to paragraph 8 of subsection C of this section shall be deposited in the Wildlife Land Acquisition Fund created pursuant to the provisions of Section 4-132 of this title; and
2.  Five Dollars ($5.00) of the license fee for each license issued pursuant to paragraphs 1 through 8 of subsection C of this section shall be for the Oklahoma Wildlife Land Stamp and shall be deposited in the Oklahoma Wildlife Land Fund created pursuant to the provisions of Section 4-141 of this title.
E.  Except as otherwise provided, the resident hunting licenses issued pursuant to this section and the fee for each license shall be:
1.  Annual hunting license for residents eighteen (18) years of age and older which expires on December 31 of the year purchased  one (1) year from the date of issue - Twenty-four Dollars ($24.00);
2.  Annual hunting license for residents eighteen (18) years of age and older which expires on June 30 of the fiscal year purchased – Thirty-one Dollars ($31.00);
3.  Annual hunting license for residents sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age which expires one (1) year from the date of issue on December 31 of the year purchased - Four Dollars ($4.00);
4.  Annual hunting license for residents sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age which expires on June 30 of the fiscal year purchased – Six Dollars ($6.00);
5. 3.  Ten-day hunting license for residents for small game in a commercial hunting area - Five Dollars ($5.00);
6. 4.  Five-year disability hunting license for residents of this state for at least six (6) months who are receiving Social Security Disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income benefits or disability benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act, 45 U.S.C.A., Section 231a, or residents who are one-hundred-percent disabled and are receiving disability payments from the Multiple Injury Trust Fund pursuant to Section 173 of Title 85 of the Oklahoma Statutes - Ten Dollars ($10.00);
7. 5.  Gun hunting license for deer for residents eighteen (18) years of age or older - Nineteen Dollars ($19.00).  The following persons shall be exempt:
a.	residents with proper certification from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor, certifying that the person is a disabled veteran in receipt of compensation at the one-hundred-percent rate, and
b.	residents hunting in big game or combination big game and upland game commercial hunting areas;
8. 6.  Gun hunting license for deer for residents under eighteen (18) years of age – Nine Dollars ($9.00);
9. 7.  Archery hunting license for deer for residents eighteen (18) years of age or older - Nineteen Dollars ($19.00).  The following persons shall be exempt:
a.	residents with proper certification from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor, certifying that the person is a disabled veteran in receipt of compensation at the one-hundred-percent rate, and
b.	residents hunting in big game or combination big game and upland game commercial hunting areas;
10. 8.  Archery hunting license for deer for residents under eighteen (18) years of age - Nine Dollars ($9.00);
11. 9.  Primitive firearms hunting license for deer for residents eighteen (18) years of age or older - Nineteen Dollars ($19.00).  The following persons shall be exempt:
a.	residents with proper certification from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor, certifying that the person is a disabled veteran in receipt of compensation at the one-hundred-percent rate, and
b.	residents hunting in big game or combination big game and upland game commercial hunting areas;
12. 10.  Primitive firearms hunting license for deer for residents under eighteen (18) years of age - Nine Dollars ($9.00);
13. 11.  Hunting license for elk for residents - Fifty Dollars ($50.00).  Residents hunting in big game or combination big game and upland game commercial hunting areas shall be exempt from this license;
14. 12.  Hunting license for antelope for residents – Fifty Dollars ($50.00).  Residents hunting in big game or combination big game and upland game commercial hunting areas shall be exempt from this license; and
15. 13.  Bonus, special or additional gun hunting license for deer for residents - Nineteen Dollars ($19.00).  The following persons shall be exempt:
a.	residents with proper certification from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor, certifying that the person is a disabled veteran in receipt of compensation at the one-hundred-percent rate, and
b.	residents hunting in big game or combination big game and upland game commercial hunting areas.
F.  Of the fees collected pursuant to the provisions of paragraphs paragraph 1 and 2 of subsection E of this section, Five Dollars ($5.00) of the license fee shall be for the Oklahoma Wildlife Land Stamp and shall be deposited in the Oklahoma Wildlife Land Fund created pursuant to the provisions of Section 4-141 of this title.
G.  The provisions of this section shall not be construed to require a hunting license, resident or nonresident, of any person merely because the person participates, as owner or handler of an entry, as an official, or as a spectator in the conduct of a field trial or performance test of dogs, whether a resident or nonresident of the State of Oklahoma.  No license to hunt shall be required of any person engaged in training or working dogs, provided that person is in no way engaged in hunting and does not take or attempt to take in any manner any game.
H.  1.  Any person arrested for hunting game other than deer, antelope, elk, bear or turkey without a valid hunting license as required by the provisions of subsection A of this section may purchase a substitute temporary thirty-day license from the arresting game warden in lieu of posting bond.  Proof of hunter safety certification will not be required for the temporary substitute license.  The fee for a substitute license purchased pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall be:
a.	for legal residents, Fifty Dollars ($50.00), and
b.	for nonresidents, One Hundred Forty-five Dollars ($145.00).
2.  Except as otherwise provided for by this subsection, the fees from licenses purchased pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall be deposited in the Wildlife Conservation Fund to be used exclusively for developing, managing, preserving, and protecting wildlife and wildlife habitat.
I.  Any person producing proof in court that a current hunting license issued by the Department of Wildlife Conservation to that person was in force at the time of the alleged offense shall be entitled to dismissal of a charge of violating this section upon payment of court costs.  If proof of a current hunting license issued by the Department to the person that was in force at the time of the alleged offense is presented to the court or district attorney within seventy-two (72) hours after the violation, the charge shall be dismissed without payment of court costs.
J.  Unless a substitute license is purchased as provided for by subsection H of this section, any resident convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall be punished by the imposition of a fine of not less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) nor more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days, or by both.
K.  Unless a substitute license is purchased as provided for by subsection H of this section, any nonresident convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall be punished by the imposition of a fine of not less than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed six (6) months, or by both.
SECTION 3.     AMENDATORY     29 O.S. 2011, Section 4-113, is amended to read as follows:
Section 4-113.  A.  Legal residents who are not the individuals excepted from the license requirement as provided in subsection B of Section 4-112 of this title may purchase an annual combination hunting/fishing license from the Director or agents of the Director.
B.  The fee for each combination hunting/fishing license issued under this section shall be:
1.  For legal residents eighteen (18) years of age and older for a license that expires on December 31 of the year purchased one (1) year from date of issue - Forty-one Dollars ($41.00); and
2.  For residents eighteen (18) years of age and older for a license that expires on June 30 of the fiscal year purchased – Fifty-two Dollars ($52.00);
3.  For legal residents sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age for a license that expires on December 31 of the year purchased one (1) year from date of issue - Thirteen Dollars ($13.00); and
4.  For legal residents sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age for a license that expires on June 30 of the fiscal year purchased – Eighteen Dollars ($18.00).
C.  Of the fees collected pursuant to the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsection B of this section, Five Dollars ($5.00) of the license fee shall be for the Oklahoma Wildlife Land Stamp and shall be deposited in the Oklahoma Wildlife Land Fund created pursuant to the provisions of Section 4-141 of this title.
SECTION 4.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2014.

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