H. B. 2563


(By Delegates L. Smith and Hall)

[Introduced February 26, 2001 ; referred to the

Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then Finance.]





A BILL to amend article two, chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section sixty-four, relating to creating a permit to allow medically incapacitated hunters to use all-terrain vehicles to hunt on state managed hunting areas.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That article two, chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section sixty-four, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.

§20-2-64. Permit to use all-terrain vehicle to retrieve game.
The director shall issue a special permit to allow certain medically incapacitated hunters to use all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to hunt in state forests, wildlife management areas and other state managed hunting areas so long as the ATVs are operated only on existing forest service roads and logging roads. For purposes of this section, a "medically incapacitated hunter" is a person whose medical condition is such that the person is rendered incapable of hunting without the benefit of a motorized vehicle, as determined by a physician. Upon documentation by a physician of a person's medical incapacity, the director shall issue a special ATV permit pursuant to this section. The director shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of this section.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a permit to allow hunters with certain medical conditions to use all-terrain vehicles on state managed hunting areas to retrieve game animals which have been killed in inaccessible areas.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.