SB 575 Text

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SB575 SUB1 enr ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR

Senate Bill No. 575
(Senators Bowman, McKenzie, Kessler and Edgell, original sponsors)
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[Passed April 9, 2005; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto two new sections, designated §20-2-5g and §20- 2-42, all relating to authorizing crossbow hunting for certain disabled persons; providing crossbow specifications; and establishing permit requirements.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated §20-2-5g and §20-2-42, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-5g. Use of a crossbow by certain physically disabled persons.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, a person who possesses a valid Class Y permit in accordance with section forty-two of this article may, during the designated archery hunting season, hunt with a crossbow.
(b) Only crossbows meeting all of the following specifications may be used for hunting in West Virginia:
(1) The crossbow has a minimum draw weight of one hundred twenty-five pounds;
(2) The crossbow has a working safety; and
(3) The crossbow is used with bolts and arrows not less than eighteen inches in length with a broad head having at least two sharp cutting edges, measuring at least 3/4 of an inch in width.
§20-2-42. Class Y special crossbow hunting permit for certain disable persons.

(a) On or after the first day of January, two thousand six, a Class Y permit shall be a special statewide hunting permit and shall entitle the permittee to hunt all wildlife during established archery seasons. An application shall be furnished by the director and a Class Y permit allowing the holder to use a crossbow, during the archery hunting seasons, to applicants who meet the following requirements:
(1) He or she holds a Class Q permit;
(2) He or she has a permanent and substantial loss of function in one or both hands while failing to meet the minimum standards of the upper extremity pinch, grip and nine-hole peg tests administered under the direction of a licensed physician; or
(3) A permanent and substantial loss of function in one or both shoulders while failing to meet the standards of the standard shoulder strength test, administered under the direction of a licensed physician.
(b) The application form shall include a written statement or report prepared by a physician, prepared no more than six months preceding the application and verifying that the applicant is physically disabled as described in this section. As part of the application, the applicant shall authorize, by written release, an examination of all medical records regarding his or her qualifying disability. When completed, the permit form constitutes a Class Y permit. The Class Y permit and a completed license application shall be submitted to the Division, which will issue a wallet-sized card to the permittee. The card and all other documents and identification required to be carried by this article shall be in the permittee's possession when hunting.
(c) A Class Y permit must be accompanied by a valid statewide hunting license or the applicant must be exempt from hunting licenses as provided in this chapter.