H. B. 4536
(By Delegates Talbot and Crosier)
(By request of the Division of Natural Resources)
[Introduced
February 18, 2010
; referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §20-2-30a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to allowing, under limited
circumstances, a child under the age of fifteen years to hunt
or take antlerless deer without first obtaining a certificate
of training.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §20-2-30a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-30a. Certificate of training; falsifying, altering,
forging, counterfeiting or uttering training
certificate; penalties.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article,
no
a hunting license or stamp may
not be issued to
any a person who
was born on or after January 1, 1975, unless the person submits to the person authorized to issue hunting licenses a certificate of
training as provided in this section or proof of completion of any
course which promotes as a major objective safety in the handling
of firearms and of bow and arrows and which course is approved by
the Hunter Education Association or the director, or provides a
State of West Virginia resident or nonresident hunting license from
the previous hunting season that displays a certification of
training, or attests that a hunter training course has been
completed when purchasing a license or stamp online.
A person who
has not reached his or her fifteenth birthday may be issued a stamp
and, if required, a hunting license, to lawfully hunt or take
wildlife without first obtaining a certificate of training if the
person is accompanied by a person eighteen years of age or older
who is licensed pursuant to this chapter.
(b) The director shall establish a course in the safe handling
of firearms and of bows and arrows, such as the course approved by
the Hunter Education Association. This course shall be given at
least once per year in each county in this state and shall be
taught by instructors certified by the director. In establishing
and conducting this course, the director may cooperate with any
reputable association or organization which promotes as a major
objective safety in the handling of firearms and of bows and
arrows:
Provided, That any person holding a Class A-L or AB-L
lifetime resident license obtained prior to his or her fifteenth
birthday
shall be is required to obtain a certificate of training as provided in this section before hunting or trapping pursuant to
said the license. This course of instruction shall be offered
without charge, except for materials or ammunition consumed. Upon
satisfactory completion of the course, each person instructed in
the course shall be issued a certificate of training for the
purposes of complying with the requirements of subsection (a) of
this section. The certificate shall be in the form prescribed by
the director and
shall be is valid for hunting license application
purposes.
(c) (1) Upon satisfactory completion of this course, any
person whose hunting license has been revoked for a violation of
the provisions of this chapter may petition the director for a
reduction of his or her revocation time. However, under no
circumstances may the time be reduced to less than one year.
(2) Successful completion of this course
shall be is required
to consider the reinstatement of a hunting license of any person
whose license has been revoked due to a conviction for negligent
shooting of a human being or of livestock under the provisions of
section fifty-seven of this article, and who petitions the director
for an early reinstatement of his or her hunting privileges.
Such
a The petitioner shall also comply with the other requirements for
consideration of reinstatement contained in section thirty-eight of
this article.
(d) It is unlawful for any person to falsify, alter, forge,
counterfeit or utter a certificate of training. Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than $500 nor more than $1,000, or confined in jail for a period
not to exceed one year, or both fined and
imprisoned confined.
(e)
Nothing herein contained shall This section does not
mandate that any county school district in the state be responsible
for implementing hunter safety education programs.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow, under limited
circumstances, a child under the age of fifteen years to hunt or
take antlerless deer without first obtaining a certificate of
training.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.