SB 693 Text

Introduced Version Senate Bill 693 History

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sb693 intr Senate Bill No. 693
(By Senators Love, Stollings, Hunter and White)
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[Introduced February 18, 2008; referred to the Committee on Natural Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §20-2-27 and §20-2-28 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §20-2-42x, all relating to senior resident lifetime hunting, fishing and trapping license and fee of fifteen dollars; and allowing persons who are sixty-five years of age before the first day of January, two thousand nine, 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:
§20-2-27. Necessity for license.
Except as otherwise provided by law, no resident who has reached his fifteenth birthday and who has not reached his sixty- fifth birthday before the first day of January, two thousand nine, 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 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. No person under the age of fifteen years shall 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, however, That resident landowners or their resident children, or bona fide resident tenants of such land may, without a permit or license, hunt and fish on their own land during open seasons in accordance with laws and regulations applying to such hunting and fishing unless such 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 therefor.
§20-2-28. When licenses or permits not required.
Persons in the following categories shall not be 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 such land may hunt, trap or fish on their own land during open season in accordance with the laws and regulations applying to such hunting, trapping and fishing without obtaining a license to do so unless such 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 to do so. 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, shall have the right and privilege to hunt, trap or fish in season in West Virginia without obtaining a license to do so. Leave or furlough papers shall serve in lieu of any such 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 the first day of January, two thousand nine is not required to have a license to hunt, trap or fish during the legal seasons in West Virginia, but in lieu of such license any such 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 to do so, 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 said river to licensed residents of West Virginia without requiring said 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 to do so, 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 shall be permitted to hunt, trap or fish in this state without obtaining a license therefor. 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 said 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 such 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 therefor. 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 to do so. 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 to do so. 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 to do so while under the supervision of an instructor authorized by the school.
§20-2-42x. Class XS resident senior hunting, fishing and trapping license.
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. The Class XS license shall be issued only to 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 the first day of January, two thousand nine. The fee for the Class XS license shall be fifteen dollars. Once issued, the Class XS license shall remain 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a senior resident lifetime hunting, fishing and trapping license that will cost fifteen dollars Persons who are sixty-five years of age before the first day of January, two thousand nine, are grandfathered in.

§20-2-42x is new; therefore strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.