Bill Text: MS SB2271 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Hunting & fishing; waive for veterans with certain disabilities when participating in certain events.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 27-14)
Status: (Passed) 2017-04-13 - Approved by Governor [SB2271 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2017-SB2271-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
By: Senator(s) Hopson
Senate Bill 2271
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-7-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE HONORABLY DISCHARGED VETERANS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES WHO ARE RESIDENTS OF THIS STATE TO HUNT AND FISH IN THIS STATE WITHOUT A LICENSE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 49-7-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
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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 Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00). The 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 Ten Dollars ($10.00) together with the fee provided in Section 49-7-17 to the office or agent issuing the license. The 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, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a sportsman's license for the sum of Forty-five Dollars ($45.00). The 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 or her license, and the licensee may renew the license by mailing the sum of Forty-five Dollars ($45.00) 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.
(d) 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 or resident lifetime sportsman's licensee may hunt during the fall turkey season without purchasing a permit.
(e) 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 or her 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 of the United States, including the Reserves and National Guard, and on active duty outside the State of Mississippi, and any resident who is an honorably discharged veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States with a service-connected disability, is not required to purchase or have in his or her possession a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities on leave from active duty. The resident shall have in his or her possession and on his or her person any 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 the 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 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.
