H. B. 2947


(By Delegates Yeager, Ashley,

Williams, Stemple and Marshall)


[Introduced March 21, 2001; referred to the

Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then Finance.]




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 eliminating the Class G nonresident family fishing license which allowed fishing in state parks and state forests.

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 and Class H licenses for nonresidents.

On or after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, the licenses in this section shall be required of nonresidents to hunt and fish in West Virginia. 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 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 dollars.
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. 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 fifty dollars.
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 thirty dollars.
Trout fishing is not permitted with a Class F license unless such license has affixed thereto an appropriate trout stamp as prescribed by the division of natural resources.
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 rules 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 division of natural resources. The trout stamp must be affixed to the license of the head of the family only.
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 the United 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.


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