Senate Bill No. 346

(By Senators Brackenrich, Dittmar, Anderson and Felton)

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[Introduced March 10, 1993; referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section forty-three, article two, chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to permitting nonresident persons disabled in the lower extremities to hunt in West Virginia.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section forty-three, article two, chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.

§20-2-43. Class E, Class EE, Class F, Class G and Class H licenses for nonresidents.

(a) A Class E license shall be a nonresident hunting license and shall entitle the licensee to hunt all legal species of wild animals and wild birds in all counties of the state, except when other licenses or permits are required. It shall be issued only to citizens of the United States or Canada and to unnaturalizedpersons who possess the permit referred to in section twenty-nine of this article who are not residents of this state. The fee therefor shall be seventy dollars except that the fee for residents of Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia shall be seventy dollars or an amount equal to the fee which the applicant's state of residence charges residents of West Virginia for a similar license to hunt in that state, whichever is greater.
(b) A Class EE license shall be a nonresident bear hunting license and shall entitle the licensee to hunt bear in all counties of the state, except when additional licenses or permits are required, on and after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine. It shall be issued only to citizens of the United States or Canada and to unnaturalized persons who possess the permit referred to in section twenty-nine of this article who are not residents of this state. The fee therefor shall be one hundred twenty dollars.
(c) A Class F license shall be a nonresident fishing license and shall entitle the licensee to fish for all fish in all counties of the state except when additional licenses or permits are required. It shall be issued only to citizens of the United States or Canada and to unnaturalized persons who possess the permit referred to in section twenty-nine of this article who are not residents of this state. The fee therefor shall be twenty- five dollars.
Trout fishing is not permitted with a Class F license unlessthe license has affixed thereto an appropriate trout stamp as prescribed by the department of natural resources.
(d) A Class G license shall be a family fishing license and shall entitle the licensee and members of his family to fish within the territorial limits of state parks and state forests and in the waters of streams bounding same, for a distance of not to exceed one hundred yards from the exterior boundary of any state park or state forest, except when additional licenses or permits are required, for a period not to exceed one week. It may be issued to any adult resident or nonresident who is temporarily residing in any state park or forest as tenant or lessee of the state. The fee therefor shall be ten dollars for the head of the family, plus two dollars additional for each member of his family to whom the privileges of such license are extended. Class G licenses may be issued in such manner and under such regulations as the director may see fit to prescribe.
Trout fishing is not permitted with a Class G license unless such license has affixed thereto an appropriate trout stamp as prescribed by the department of natural resources. The trout stamp must be affixed to the license of the head of the family only.
(e) A Class H license shall be a nonresident small game hunting license and shall entitle the licensee to hunt small game in all counties of the state, except when additional licenses or permits are required, for a period of six days beginning with the date it is issued. It shall be issued only to citizens of theUnited States or Canada who are not residents of this state. The fee therefor shall be twenty dollars. As used in this section, "small game" means all game except bear, deer, wild turkey and wild boar.
(f) A Class EQ license shall be a special nonresident statewide hunting permit and shall entitle the permittee to hunt all legal species of game during the designated hunting seasons.
(1) A form for this permit shall be furnished by the director to any applicant who meets the following requirements:
(A) He or she is a nonresident of this state;
(B) He or she is permanently disabled in the lower extremities.
The director shall establish rules as he considers necessary to administer the qualifications and permitting of applicants.
(2) A Class EQ permit shall entitle the holder thereof to hunt from a motor vehicle and, notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (10), section five of this article, to possess a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, but only under the following circumstances:
(A) The motor vehicle is stationary;
(B) The engine of the motor vehicle is not operating;
(C) The permittee is the only occupant of the vehicle;
(D) The vehicle is not parked on the right-of-way of any public road or highway; and
(E) The permittee observes all of the pertinent laws and regulations.
(3) The fee for a Class EQ license shall be the same as a nonresident hunting license.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize out-of-state persons disabled in the lower extremities to hunt in West Virginia.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.