Enrolled Version - Final Version
House Bill 2845 History
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ENROLLED
H. B. 2845
(By Delegates
Williams, Moye, D. Poling, Shaver,
Skaff, Hamilton and Rowan
)
[Passed March 12, 2011; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §20-2-27 and §20-2-28 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by
adding thereto a new section, designated §20-2-42x, all
relating to senior resident lifetime hunting, fishing and
trapping license and fee of $25; and allowing persons who are
sixty-five years of age before January 1, 2012, to remain
exempt from the purchase of the license.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §20-2-27 and §20-2-28 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §20-2-42x, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-27. Necessity for license.
Except as otherwise provided by law, no resident who has
reached his or her fifteenth birthday and who has not reached his or her sixty-fifth birthday before January 1, 2012, and no
nonresident shall at any time take, hunt, pursue, trap for, kill or
chase any wild animals, wild birds, or fish for, take, kill or
catch any fish, amphibians or aquatic life of any kind whatsoever
in this state without first having secured a license or permit and
then only during the respective open seasons, except that a
nonresident who has not reached his or her fifteenth birthday may
fish for, take, kill or catch any fish, amphibians or aquatic life
of any kind whatsoever in this state without first having secured
a license or permit. A person under the age of fifteen years shall
not hunt or chase any wild animals or wild birds upon lands of
another unless accompanied by a licensed adult.
A resident or nonresident member of any club, organization or
association or persons owning or leasing a game preserve or fish
preserve, plant or pond in this state shall not hunt or fish
therein without first securing a license or permit as required by
law: Provided, That resident landowners or their resident children,
or bona fide resident tenants of land, may, without a permit or
license, hunt and fish on their own land during open seasons in
accordance with laws and rules applying to such hunting and fishing
unless the lands have been designated as a wildlife refuge or
preserve.
Licenses and permits shall be of the kinds and classes set
forth in this article and shall be conditioned upon the payment of
the fees established for the licenses and permits.
§20-2-28. When licenses or permits not required.
Persons in the following categories are not required to obtain
licenses or permits as indicated:
(a) Bona fide resident landowners or their resident children,
or resident parents, or bona fide resident tenants of the land may
hunt, trap or fish on their own land during open season in
accordance with the laws and rules applying to the hunting,
trapping and fishing without obtaining a license, unless the lands
have been designated as a wildlife refuge or preserve.
(b) Any bona fide resident of this state who is totally blind
may fish in this state without obtaining a fishing license. A
written statement or certificate from a duly licensed physician of
this state showing the resident to be totally blind shall serve in
lieu of a fishing license and shall be carried on the person of the
resident at all times while he or she is fishing in this state.
(c) All residents of West Virginia on active duty in the armed
forces of the United States of America, while on leave or furlough,
may hunt, trap or fish in season in West Virginia without obtaining
a license. Leave or furlough papers shall serve in lieu of any
license and shall be carried on the person at all times while
trapping, hunting or fishing.
(d) In accordance with the provisions of section twenty-seven
of this article, any resident sixty-five years of age or older
before January 1, 2012, is not required to have a license to hunt,
trap or fish during the legal seasons in West Virginia, but in lieu of the license the person shall at all times while hunting,
trapping or fishing carry on his or her person a valid West
Virginia driver's license or nondriver identification card issued
by the Division of Motor Vehicles.
(e) Residents of the state of Maryland who carry hunting or
fishing licenses valid in that state may hunt or fish from the West
Virginia banks of the Potomac River without obtaining licenses, but
the hunting or fishing shall be confined to the fish and waterfowl
of the river proper and not on its tributaries: Provided, That the
state of Maryland shall first enter into a reciprocal agreement
with the director extending a like privilege of hunting and fishing
on the Potomac River from the Maryland banks of the river to
licensed residents of West Virginia without requiring the residents
to obtain Maryland hunting and fishing licenses.
(f) Residents of the state of Ohio who carry hunting or
fishing licenses valid in that state may hunt or fish on the Ohio
River or from the West Virginia banks of the river without
obtaining licenses, but the hunting or fishing shall be confined to
fish and waterfowl of the river proper and to points on West
Virginia tributaries and embayments identified by the director:
Provided, That the state of Ohio shall first enter into a
reciprocal agreement with the director extending a like privilege
of hunting and fishing from the Ohio banks of the river to licensed
residents of West Virginia without requiring the residents to
obtain Ohio hunting and fishing licenses.
(g) Any resident of West Virginia who was honorably discharged
from the Armed Forces of the United States of America and who
receives a veteran's pension based on total permanent
service-connected disability as certified to by the Veterans
Administration may hunt, trap or fish in this state without
obtaining a license. The director shall propose rules for
legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code setting forth the
procedure for the certification of the veteran, manner of applying
for and receiving the certification and requirements as to
identification while the veteran is hunting, trapping or fishing.
(h) Any disabled veteran who is a resident of West Virginia
and who, as certified to by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, is
eligible to be exempt from the payment of any fee on account of
registration of any motor vehicle owned by the disabled veteran as
provided in section eight, article ten, chapter seventeen-a of this
code shall be permitted to hunt, trap or fish in this state without
obtaining a license. The director shall propose rules for
legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code setting forth the
procedure for the certification of the disabled veteran, manner of
applying for and receiving the certification and requirements as to
identification while the disabled veteran is hunting, trapping or
fishing.
(i) Any resident or inpatient in any state mental health, health or benevolent institution or facility may fish in this
state, under proper supervision of the institution involved,
without obtaining a fishing license. A written statement or
certificate signed by the superintendent of the mental health,
health or benevolent institution or facility in which the resident
or inpatient, as the case may be, is institutionalized shall serve
in lieu of a fishing license and shall be carried on the person of
the resident or inpatient at all times while he or she is fishing
in this state.
(j) Any resident who is developmentally disabled, as certified
by a physician and the Director of the Division of Health, may fish
in this state without obtaining a fishing license. As used in this
section, "developmentally disabled" means a person with a severe,
chronic disability which:
(1) Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or a
combination of mental and physical impairments;
(2) Is manifested before the person attains age twenty-two;
(3) Results in substantial functional limitations in three or
more of the following areas of major life activity:
(A) Self-care;
(B) Receptive and expressive language;
(C) Learning;
(D) Mobility;
(E) Self-direction;
(F) Capacity for independent living; and
(G) Economic self-sufficiency; and
(4) Reflects the person's need for a combination and sequence
of care, treatment or supportive services which are of lifelong or
extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated.
(k) A student eighteen years of age or younger receiving
instruction in fly fishing in a public, private, parochial or
Christian school in this state may fly fish in the state for catch
and release only without obtaining a fishing license while under
the supervision of an instructor authorized by the school.
§20-2-42x. Class XS resident senior hunting, fishing and trapping
license.
(a) A Class XS license is a resident senior hunting, fishing
and trapping license and entitles the licensee to hunt and trap for
all legal species of wild animals and wild birds, to fish for all
legal species of fish and to take frogs in all counties of the
state, except as prohibited by the rules of the Director or Natural
Resources Commission and when additional licenses, stamps or
permits are required. No additional fees shall be required of
Class XS licensees for a Class CS stamp or a Class O stamp.
(b) A Class XS licensee shall be entitled to participate with
the same privileges and subject to the same restrictions as a youth
hunter in any special youth deer season established by the Natural
Resources Commission pursuant to the provisions of subdivision
(b)(7), section 17, article one of this chapter.
(c) A Class XS license is required for residents or aliens lawfully residing in the United States who have been domiciled
residents of West Virginia for a period of thirty consecutive days
or more immediately prior to the date of their application for a
license and who reach sixty-five years of age on or after January
1, 2012.
(d) A Class XS license may be voluntarily purchased by
residents or aliens lawfully residing in the United States and who
have been domiciled residents of West Virginia for a period of
thirty consecutive days or more immediately prior to the date of
their application for a license and who reach sixty-five years of
age on or before December 31, 2011, entitling those persons to the
same privileges and subjecting them to the same restrictions as any
Class XS licensee.
(e) The fee for the Class XS license is $25.
(f) A Class XS license is valid for the lifetime of the
purchaser without payment of additional fees for the privileges
associated with the Class X license, Class CS stamp and the Class
O stamp. This is a base license and does not require the purchase
of a prerequisite license to participate in the activities
specified in this section, except as noted.
(g) The Division of Natural Resources shall coordinate with
the Department of Motor Vehicles to adopt and implement a program
whereby the senior hunting license provided for in this section
shall be identified by an appropriate decal, sticker or other
marking to be affixed to the drivers' or chauffeurs' license of such person.
(h) On or before July 1 annually, the Division of Natural
Resources shall file an annual report with the joint committee on
government and finance describing its implementation of the senior
license program as set forth in this section. The report shall
include the number of licenses issued, any increase in state funds
as a result of the senior license created by this section, any
federal funds received as a result of the implementation of the
senior license created by this section and the intended use of the
those funds.