Bill Text: IL HB2841 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Wildlife Code. Provides that permits for wild turkey hunting and deer hunting shall be issued without charge to certain individuals or groups provided that the individual or group owns or is a resident tenant of at least 20 acres (instead of 40 acres) of Illinois land.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2014-12-03 - Session Sine Die [HB2841 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-HB2841-Introduced.html

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98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2013 and 2014 HB2841 Introduced , by Rep. Brandon W. Phelps SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
520 ILCS 5/2.11 from Ch. 61, par. 2.11
520 ILCS 5/2.26 from Ch. 61, par. 2.26
Amends the Wildlife Code. Provides that permits for wild turkey hunting and deer hunting shall be issued without charge to certain individuals or groups provided that the individual or group owns or is a resident tenant of at least 20 acres (instead of 40 acres) of Illinois land.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning wildlife.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing
Sections 2.11 and 2.26 as follows:
(520 ILCS 5/2.11) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.11)
Sec. 2.11. Before any person may lawfully hunt wild turkey,
he shall first obtain a "Wild Turkey Hunting Permit" in
accordance with the prescribed regulations set forth in an
administrative rule of the Department. The fee for a Resident
Wild Turkey Hunting Permit shall not exceed $15.
Upon submitting suitable evidence of legal residence in any
other state, non-residents shall be charged a fee not to exceed
$125 for wild turkey hunting permits, except as provided below
for non-resident land owners.
Permits shall be issued without charge to:
(a) Illinois landowners residing in Illinois who own at
least 20 40 acres of Illinois land and wish to hunt on
their land only,
(b) resident tenants of at least 20 40 acres of
commercial agricultural land, and
(c) bona fide equity shareholders of a corporation,
bona fide equity members of a limited liability company, or

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bona fide equity partners of a general or limited
partnership which owns at least 20 40 acres of land in a
county in Illinois who wish to hunt on the corporation's,
company's, or partnership's land only. One permit shall be
issued without charge to one bona fide equity shareholder,
one bona fide equity member, or one bona fide equity
partner for each 20 40 acres of land owned by the
corporation, company, or partnership in a county; however,
the number of permits issued without charge to bona fide
equity shareholders of any corporation or bona fide equity
members of a limited liability company in any county shall
not exceed 15, and shall not exceed 3 in the case of bona
fide equity partners of a partnership.
The turkey hunting permit issued without fee shall be valid
on all lands upon which the person to whom it is issued owns,
leases or rents, except that in the case of a permit issued
without charge to a shareholder of a corporation, the permit
shall be valid on all lands owned by the corporation in the
county.
The Department may by administrative rule allocate and
issue non-resident Wild Turkey Permits and establish fees for
such permits.
It shall be unlawful to take wild turkey except by use of a
bow and arrow or a shotgun of not larger than 10 nor smaller
than 20 gauge with shot size not larger than No. 4, and no
person while attempting to so take wild turkey may have in his

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possession any other gun.
It shall be unlawful to take, or attempt to take wild
turkey except during the time from 1/2 hour before sunrise to
1/2 hour after sunset or during such lesser period of time as
may be specified by administrative rule, during those days for
which an open season is established.
It shall be unlawful for any person to take, or attempt to
take, wild turkey by use of dogs, horses, automobiles, aircraft
or other vehicles, or conveyances, or by the use or aid of bait
or baiting of any kind. For the purposes of this Section,
"bait" means any material, whether liquid or solid, including
food, salt, minerals, and other products that can be ingested,
placed, or scattered in such a manner as to attract or lure
wild turkeys. "Baiting" means the placement or scattering of
bait to attract wild turkeys. An area is considered as baited
during the presence of and for 10 consecutive days following
the removal of the bait.
It is unlawful for any person to take in Illinois or have
in his possession more than one wild turkey per valid permit.
For purposes of this Section "bona fide equity
shareholder", "bona fide equity member", and "bona fide equity
partner" shall have the same meaning as provided in Section
2.26 of this Act.
For the purposes of calculating acreage under this Section,
the Department shall, after determining the total acreage of
the applicable tract or tracts of land, round remaining

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fractional portions of an acre greater than or equal to half of
an acre up to the next whole acre.
For the purposes of taking wild turkey, nothing in this
Section shall be construed to prevent the manipulation,
including mowing or cutting, of standing crops as a normal
agricultural or soil stabilization practice, food plots, or
normal agricultural practices, including planting, harvesting,
and maintenance such as cultivating. Such manipulation for the
purpose of taking wild turkey may be further modified by
administrative rule.
(Source: P.A. 96-162, eff. 1-1-10; 97-564, eff. 8-25-11.)
(520 ILCS 5/2.26) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.26)
Sec. 2.26. Deer hunting permits. In this Section, "bona
fide equity shareholder" means an individual who (1) purchased,
for market price, publicly sold stock shares in a corporation,
purchased shares of a privately-held corporation for a value
equal to the percentage of the appraised value of the corporate
assets represented by the ownership in the corporation, or is a
member of a closely-held family-owned corporation and has
purchased or been gifted with shares of stock in the
corporation accurately reflecting his or her percentage of
ownership and (2) intends to retain the ownership of the shares
of stock for at least 5 years.
In this Section, "bona fide equity member" means an
individual who (1) (i) became a member upon the formation of

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the limited liability company or (ii) has purchased a
distributional interest in a limited liability company for a
value equal to the percentage of the appraised value of the LLC
assets represented by the distributional interest in the LLC
and subsequently becomes a member of the company pursuant to
Article 30 of the Limited Liability Company Act and who (2)
intends to retain the membership for at least 5 years.
In this Section, "bona fide equity partner" means an
individual who (1) (i) became a partner, either general or
limited, upon the formation of a partnership or limited
partnership, or (ii) has purchased, acquired, or been gifted a
partnership interest accurately representing his or her
percentage distributional interest in the profits, losses, and
assets of a partnership or limited partnership, (2) intends to
retain ownership of the partnership interest for at least 5
years, and (3) is a resident of Illinois.
Any person attempting to take deer shall first obtain a
"Deer Hunting Permit" issued by the Department in accordance
with its administrative rules. Those rules must provide for the
issuance of the following types of resident deer archery
permits: (i) a combination permit, consisting of one either-sex
permit and one antlerless-only permit, (ii) a single
antlerless-only permit, and (iii) a single either-sex permit.
The fee for a Deer Hunting Permit to take deer with either bow
and arrow or gun shall not exceed $25.00 for residents of the
State. The Department may by administrative rule provide for

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non-resident deer hunting permits for which the fee will not
exceed $300 in 2005, $350 in 2006, and $400 in 2007 and
thereafter except as provided below for non-resident
landowners and non-resident archery hunters. The Department
may by administrative rule provide for a non-resident archery
deer permit consisting of not more than 2 harvest tags at a
total cost not to exceed $325 in 2005, $375 in 2006, and $425
in 2007 and thereafter. Permits shall be issued without charge
to:
(a) Illinois landowners residing in Illinois who own at
least 20 40 acres of Illinois land and wish to hunt their
land only,
(b) resident tenants of at least 20 40 acres of
commercial agricultural land where they will hunt, and
(c) Bona fide equity shareholders of a corporation,
bona fide equity members of a limited liability company, or
bona fide equity partners of a general or limited
partnership which owns at least 20 40 acres of land in a
county in Illinois who wish to hunt on the corporation's,
company's, or partnership's land only. One permit shall be
issued without charge to one bona fide equity shareholder,
one bona fide equity member, or one bona fide equity
partner for each 20 40 acres of land owned by the
corporation, company, or partnership in a county; however,
the number of permits issued without charge to bona fide
equity shareholders of any corporation or bona fide equity

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members of a limited liability company in any county shall
not exceed 15, and shall not exceed 3 in the case of bona
fide equity partners of a partnership.
Bona fide landowners or tenants who do not wish to hunt
only on the land they own, rent, or lease or bona fide equity
shareholders, bona fide equity members, or bona fide equity
partners who do not wish to hunt only on the land owned by the
corporation, limited liability company, or partnership shall
be charged the same fee as the applicant who is not a
landowner, tenant, bona fide equity shareholder, bona fide
equity member, or bona fide equity partner. Nonresidents of
Illinois who own at least 20 40 acres of land and wish to hunt
on their land only shall be charged a fee set by administrative
rule. The method for obtaining these permits shall be
prescribed by administrative rule.
The deer hunting permit issued without fee shall be valid
on all farm lands which the person to whom it is issued owns,
leases or rents, except that in the case of a permit issued to
a bona fide equity shareholder, bona fide equity member, or
bona fide equity partner, the permit shall be valid on all
lands owned by the corporation, limited liability company, or
partnership in the county.
The standards and specifications for use of guns and bow
and arrow for deer hunting shall be established by
administrative rule.
No person may have in his possession any firearm not

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authorized by administrative rule for a specific hunting season
when taking deer.
Persons having a firearm deer hunting permit shall be
permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour
before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, and only during those
days for which an open season is established for the taking of
deer by use of shotgun, handgun, or muzzle loading rifle.
Persons having an archery deer hunting permit shall be
permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour
before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, and only during those
days for which an open season is established for the taking of
deer by use of bow and arrow.
It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer by use of
dogs, horses, automobiles, aircraft or other vehicles, or by
the use or aid of bait or baiting of any kind. For the purposes
of this Section, "bait" means any material, whether liquid or
solid, including food, salt, minerals, and other products that
can be ingested, placed, or scattered in such a manner as to
attract or lure white-tailed deer. "Baiting" means the
placement or scattering of bait to attract deer. An area is
considered as baited during the presence of and for 10
consecutive days following the removal of bait. Nothing in this
Section shall prohibit the use of a dog to track wounded deer.
Any person using a dog for tracking wounded deer must maintain
physical control of the dog at all times by means of a maximum
50 foot lead attached to the dog's collar or harness. Tracking

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wounded deer is permissible at night, but at no time outside of
legal deer hunting hours or seasons shall any person handling
or accompanying a dog being used for tracking wounded deer be
in possession of any firearm or archery device. Persons
tracking wounded deer with a dog during the firearm deer
seasons shall wear blaze orange as required. Dog handlers
tracking wounded deer with a dog are exempt from hunting
license and deer permit requirements so long as they are
accompanied by the licensed deer hunter who wounded the deer.
It shall be unlawful to possess or transport any wild deer
which has been injured or killed in any manner upon a public
highway or public right-of-way of this State unless exempted by
administrative rule.
Persons hunting deer must have gun unloaded and no bow and
arrow device shall be carried with the arrow in the nocked
position during hours when deer hunting is unlawful.
It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the legal
limit of deer by gun, to further participate with gun in any
deer hunting party.
It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the legal
limit of deer by bow and arrow, to further participate with bow
and arrow in any deer hunting party.
The Department may prohibit upland game hunting during the
gun deer season by administrative rule.
The Department shall not limit the number of non-resident
either sex archery deer hunting permits to less than 20,000.

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Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
Section, including administrative rules, shall be guilty of a
Class B misdemeanor.
For the purposes of calculating acreage under this Section,
the Department shall, after determining the total acreage of
the applicable tract or tracts of land, round remaining
fractional portions of an acre greater than or equal to half of
an acre up to the next whole acre.
For the purposes of taking white-tailed deer, nothing in
this Section shall be construed to prevent the manipulation,
including mowing or cutting, of standing crops as a normal
agricultural or soil stabilization practice, food plots, or
normal agricultural practices, including planting, harvesting,
and maintenance such as cultivating or the use of products
designed for scent only and not capable of ingestion, solid or
liquid, placed or scattered, in such a manner as to attract or
lure deer. Such manipulation for the purpose of taking
white-tailed deer may be further modified by administrative
rule.
(Source: P.A. 96-162, eff. 1-1-10; 96-831, eff. 1-1-10;
96-1042, eff. 1-1-11; 97-564, eff. 8-25-11; 97-907, eff.
8-7-12.)