House Bill 1239

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-7-8, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXEMPT ANY NONRESIDENTS WITH A CURRENT VALID ACTIVE MILITARY IDENTIFICATION CARD FROM FEES FOR HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-7-3 AND 49-7-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 49-7-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-8. (1) No nonresident sixteen (16) years of age or older may hunt, fish, kill, take or trap any game animal, bird or fish without having acquired and having in his immediate possession a valid license issued by the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

(2) The commission shall have the following duties and powers:

(a) To prescribe the forms and types of nonresident licenses that a nonresident must obtain;

(b) To determine the total number of each type of nonresident license to be issued annually;

(c) To establish fees for nonresident licenses and the collection fees for the agent issuing such licenses; * * * however, * * * the fee for a nonresident all game hunting license shall not be less than Sixty Dollars ($60.00), and no fee may be imposed on any person with a current valid active military identification card;

(d) To exercise all incidental powers necessary to develop a nonresident licensing program.

(3) A nonresident who violates this section or any licensing regulation of the commission is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in Section 49-7-21(3)

SECTION 2. Section 49-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-3. (1) Any resident of the State of Mississippi shall be entitled to receive a resident fishing license.

(2) Any person domiciled within the State of Mississippi shall be entitled to receive a resident hunting license provided in Section 49-7-5. The domicile of a person is that person's principal or primary home or place of abode. A "principal or primary home or place of abode" is that home or place in which a person's habitation is fixed and to which he, whenever absent, has the present intention of returning after a departure of absence therefrom, regardless of the duration of the absence. The burden of proving domicile shall be on the person claiming such status. The following evidence or other reliable evidence may be considered in establishing, but is not necessarily determinative of, domicile: driver's license, residence for income or other tax purposes, homestead exemption receipt, or any other means prescribed by the department. In the case of minors, domicile of the parents shall be used as evidence of the minor's domicile.

(3) A nondomiciliary of the state may be issued a resident hunting or fishing license or combination resident hunting/fishing license upon providing the following:

(a) A current identification card from a Mississippi college or university; or

(b) A current military identification card showing that the person is an active member of the United States Armed Forces (excluding Reserves and the National Guard) and proof that the person is stationed on a military base in Mississippi.

* * *

(4) A holder of a resident or nonresident license is required to carry the license on his person while engaged in hunting, trapping or fishing. Any penalty for not carrying a license while engaged in hunting, trapping or fishing shall be waived if the person can verify purchase of a license prior to the date of the violation.

(5) Each application or filing made under this section shall include the social security number(s) of the applicant in accordance with Section 93-11-64.

SECTION 3. Section 49-7-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-5. (1) (a) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a combination resident hunting and fishing license for the sum of Seventeen Dollars ($17.00). Such license shall qualify the licensee to hunt under this chapter all game and fowl, including deer and turkey, and to fish in any county of the state.

(b) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a resident combination small game hunting and fishing license for the sum of Thirteen Dollars ($13.00) together with the fee provided in Section 49-7-17 to the office or agent issuing such license. Such hunting license shall qualify the licensee to hunt and fish under this chapter all game and fowl, except deer and turkey, in any county in the state.

(c) Any resident of the State of Mississippi, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a resident small game license, and for it shall pay the issuing officer or agent the sum of Thirteen Dollars ($13.00), together with the fee provided in Section 49-7-17 to the officer or agent issuing such license. Such hunting license shall qualify the person holding the same to hunt under the provisions of this chapter, and in season, all game and fowl, except deer and turkey, in any county in the state.

(d) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a sportsman's license for the sum of Thirty-two Dollars ($32.00). Such license shall qualify the licensee to hunt under this chapter all game and fowl, including deer and turkey, and to fish as provided by law, in any county in the state, and to hunt using primitive weapons and bow and arrow in the manner provided by law. The commission may notify the licensee of the expiration of his license, and the licensee may renew the license by mailing the sum of Thirty-two Dollars ($32.00) to the commission. A licensee who has not renewed the license within thirty (30) days after the expiration date shall be removed from the commission's records, and the licensee must apply to be placed on the renewal list.

(e) In addition to a hunting license allowing the taking of turkey, a resident who hunts turkey during a fall turkey season must purchase a fall turkey hunting permit for a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00) plus the fee provided in Section 49-7-17. A resident sportsman's licensee, a resident or nonresident Armed Forces licensee, or resident lifetime sportsman licensee may hunt during the fall turkey season without purchasing a permit.

(f) The commission may offer a resident apprentice hunting license for a resident who does not have the required certificate of hunter education and may set the fee for the apprentice hunting license. An apprentice license may be purchased only one (1) time by a resident and the apprentice hunting licensee must be accompanied by a licensed or exempt resident hunter at least twenty-one (21) years of age when hunting.

(2) (a) Any resident citizen of the State of Mississippi who has not reached the age of sixteen (16) years or who has reached the age of sixty-five (65) years, or any resident citizen who is blind, paraplegic, or a multiple amputee, or who has been adjudged by the Veterans Administration as having a total service-connected disability, or has been adjudged to be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration shall not be required to purchase or have in his possession, a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities. A person exempt by reason of total service-connected disability, as adjudged by the Veterans Administration or who has been adjudged to be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration or who is blind, paraplegic or a multiple amputee, shall have in their possession and on their person proof of their age, residency, disability status or other respective physical impairment while engaged in the activities of hunting or fishing.

(b) Any resident, who is a member of the Armed Forces, including the Reserves and National Guard, and on active duty outside the State of Mississippi is not required to purchase or have in his possession a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities on leave from active duty. Such resident shall have in his possession and on his person such proof as may be required by the commission.

(c) All exempt hunting and fishing licenses previously issued for disabilities shall be null and void effective July 1, 1993.

(d) The commission may offer a youth all-game hunting and fishing license for exempt youths who have a hunter education certificate and an all-game hunting and fishing license for other persons exempted under paragraph (a). Youths and other exempt persons shall not be required to purchase this license or have it in possession while hunting or fishing. The commission may establish a fee not to exceed Five Dollars ($5.00) for such licenses.

(3) No license shall be required of residents to hunt, fish or trap on lands in which the record title is vested in such person.

(4) Any person or persons exempt under this section from procuring a license shall be subject to and must comply with all other terms and provisions of this chapter.

(5) Any person authorized to issue any license under this section may collect and retain for the issuance of each license the additional fee authorized under Section 49-7-17.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.