Bill Text: MS SB2499 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Fishing and hunting licenses; free license for veterans who are 50% disabled or more.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2021-02-11 - Died On Calendar [SB2499 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2021-SB2499-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2021 Regular Session
To: Veterans and Military Affairs; Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
By: Senator(s) Seymour
Senate Bill 2499
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-7-5 AND 49-15-313, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE VETERANS WHO ARE 50% SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABLED OR MORE TO OBTAIN A FREE COMBINATION HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSE AND FREE SALTWATER SPORTS FISHING 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:
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 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 * * * fifty percent (50%) or more
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. The resident shall have in his possession and on his 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.
(e) The requirement for purchasing and/or having a hunting or fishing license authorized in subsection (1) of this section may be waived for any resident or nonresident who is an honorably discharged veteran with a combat-related disability and who will be participating in a special hunt, fishing trip or other outdoor recreational event that is available only to such persons as determined by the entity sponsoring the event. The commission is authorized to establish such criteria and/or procedures for an organization to be recognized as a sanctioned entity that provides unique outdoor recreational opportunities for wounded or disabled veterans. Any events sponsored by a recognized organization, and the persons participating in such event, shall be entitled to the waiver set forth above without further action on the part of the commission or the sponsoring organization.
(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. Section 49-15-313, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-15-313. (1) Any
resident between the ages of sixteen (16) and sixty-five (65) years, as defined
in Section 49-7-3, fishing in the marine waters of the state, shall obtain a
saltwater sports fishing license for a fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00). A resident
sixty-five (65) years of age or older, fishing in the marine waters of the
state, shall obtain a lifetime saltwater sports fishing license for a one-time
fee of Five Dollars ($5.00). These licenses shall be valid in any waters south
of Interstate 10. Any resident citizen who is blind, paraplegic or a multiple
amputee, or who has been adjudged by the Veterans Administration as having a * * * fifty percent (50%) or more
service-connected disability, or has been adjudged totally disabled by the
Social Security Administration shall not be required to purchase or have in his
possession a saltwater sports fishing license while engaged in such
activities. Any resident exempt under this section shall have on his person
while fishing proof of residency and age or disability. 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.
(2) The commission shall prescribe the forms, types and fees for nonresident saltwater sports fishing licenses except that the fee for a nonresident saltwater sports fishing license shall not be less than Twenty Dollars ($20.00). This minimum fee shall not apply to nonresidents sixty-five (65) years of age or older. The commission may enter into reciprocal agreements with adjacent states pertaining to fees and exemptions for persons sixty-five (65) years of age or older. The commission shall require a nonresident to purchase a nonresident freshwater fishing license and a nonresident saltwater sports fishing license if the nonresident's state requires both licenses for a nonresident to fish in its marine waters. Any nonresident sixty-five (65) years of age or older shall possess a saltwater sports fishing license.
(3) All resident vessels engaged in charter boat fishing, party boat fishing, head boat and guide boat fishing shall be issued a separate annual license by the commission at a fee of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00). All nonresident vessels engaged in charter boat fishing, party boat fishing, head boat and guide boat fishing shall be issued a separate annual license by the commission. In addition to other requirements for charter license eligibility, captains must show proof of participation in a Department of Transportation approved random drug testing program and proof of liability insurance as a charter boat captain. Crew members and customers of the licensed vessels shall not be required to purchase an individual resident or nonresident saltwater fishing license while sponsored by the licensed vessels. An operator of a licensed vessel shall be required to report the number of customers to the department as required by the commission and the information shall be kept confidential and shall not be released, except to other fisheries management agencies or as statistical data. All nonresident vessels engaged in saltwater sport fishing tournaments, not to exceed an aggregate of twenty (20) days per calendar year, shall not be required to purchase an annual license as provided under this subsection.
(4) The saltwater sports fishing license is required for all recreational methods of finfish harvest.
(5) Any resident who purchases a lifetime sportsman's license, in accordance with Section 49-7-153, shall be entitled to fish in the marine salt waters of the state and shall be exempt from the purchase of a sport saltwater fishing license.
(6) Any person authorized to issue a license may collect and retain, for each saltwater fishing license issued, the additional fee authorized under Section 49-7-17.
(7) The fees collected from the sale of resident and nonresident saltwater sports fishing licenses shall be deposited into the Seafood Fund and shall be used solely for the management of marine resources.
(8) Participants in the Very Special Fishing Olympics are exempt from this section.
(9) The first weekend of "National Fishing and Boating Week" in June of each year is designated as "Free Fishing Weekend," and July 4 of each year is designated as "Free Saltwater Sports Fishing Day." Any person may saltwater sport fish without a license on "Free Saltwater Sports Fishing Day" and during "Free Fishing Weekend."
(10) The department may exempt participants in an organized fishing event conducted by a qualified nonprofit charitable, governmental or civic organization from the requirements of this section for one (1) day per year if the organization files an exemption application with the department and the application is approved by the department.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2021.
