Bill Text: MS SB2764 | 2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Hunting and fishing licenses; bring forward provisions related to.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2026-02-03 - Died In Committee [SB2764 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-SB2764-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
By: Senator(s) Suber
Senate Bill 2764
AN ACT TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 49-7-3, 49-7-5, 49-7-151, 49-7-153 AND 49-7-155, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH RELATE TO HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 49-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward 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, valid and current tribal identification card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe containing a photograph of the person submitting the identification card, 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 nondomiciliary of the state may be issued a special Armed Forces fourteen-day hunting and fishing license with the same hunting and fishing privileges and at the same fee of a resident sportsman's license, if the nondomiciliary is an active member of the United States Armed Forces (excluding Reserves and the National Guard) and his application is approved by the department. The applicant must file his application for the special fourteen-day license in the office of the department. The department shall establish requirements for proof of active military status and any other requirements it deems desirable. The department shall not issue more than two (2) special fourteen-day licenses to the same applicant per license year.
(5) 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.
(6) 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 2. Section 49-7-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward 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 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. 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 3. Section 49-7-151, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-7-151. Recognizing the inestimable importance to the state and its citizens of conserving the wildlife resources of Mississippi and recognizing the desires of many citizens who wish to make a lifetime contribution to preserve our rich legacy of wildlife resources for future generations, it is the intention of the Legislature to create a lifetime sportsman license and the Mississippi Wildlife Endowment Fund.
SECTION 4. Section 49-7-153, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-7-153. (1) Any resident may purchase a lifetime sportsman hunting and fishing license by filing an application in the office of the department. The license shall qualify the licensee to take all fish, game and fowl, except waterfowl, including deer and turkey, in the manner provided by law. The license shall also permit the licensee to hunt with primitive weapons and bow and arrow, and to fish in the public waters of the state, including the taking of crabs, oysters, shrimp and any saltwater fish authorized to be taken under a recreational license.
(2) The department may issue a resident lifetime sportsman license at a fee to be determined by the commission at an amount not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for a person thirteen (13) years of age or older and not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for a person under thirteen (13) years of age. All lifetime licenses shall be issued from the office of the department. Each application for a lifetime license must be accompanied by a certified copy of the birth certificate of the individual to be named as the license holder, if the individual is twelve (12) years of age or under.
(3) The commission shall establish proof of residency requirements for the purchase of a lifetime license, and shall also establish such restrictions on and regulations for lifetime licenses as it deems necessary and proper. Except as otherwise provided in this section, an applicant for a resident lifetime license must have been domiciled in this state for eighteen (18) consecutive months immediately preceding the date of his application for a license. The burden of proving domicile shall be on the applicant.
(4) The department may issue a native son or daughter resident lifetime sportsman hunting and fishing license if official documents reflect that one of the applicant's parents was born in the State of Mississippi and was on active military service at the time of the applicant's birth.
Such license may be issued at a fee to be determined by the commission at an amount not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for a person thirteen (13) years of age or older and not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for a person under thirteen (13) years of age.
The applicant must provide a certified copy of an original birth certificate of such parent showing that the parent was born in Mississippi and provide official documents indicating that such parent was on active military service at the time of the applicant's birth.
An applicant for such license shall not be required to have been domiciled in this state for eighteen (18) consecutive months immediately preceding the date of his or her application for a license.
(5) The department may issue a native son or daughter nonresident lifetime sportsman hunting and fishing license. The commission shall establish the fee, but the fee shall not be less than One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00). The applicant must provide a certified copy of the original birth certificate showing that the applicant was born in Mississippi and/or if the parents' address was in Mississippi at the time of birth as shown on the birth certificate or other documents and/or official documents reflect that one of said parents was on active military service outside the State of Mississippi at the time of said birth.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, if the birth certificate of each parent reflects that each parent was born in the State of Mississippi, then any child born outside the State of Mississippi of those parents may be issued a nonresident lifetime sportsman license for the above set out fee.
(6) Any materially false statement contained in an application for a lifetime license renders void the license issued pursuant to that application, and subjects the applicant to criminal prosecution under Section 49-7-45.
(7) Nothing in this section exempts an applicant for a lifetime license from meeting other qualifications or requirements otherwise established by law for the privilege of hunting or fishing.
SECTION 5. Section 49-7-155, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
49-7-155. (1) The commission is hereby authorized to establish a fund to be known as the Wildlife Endowment Fund to be deposited in an approved state depository and expended by appropriation approved by the Legislature as provided by law. The department shall deposit all proceeds from the sale of lifetime licenses into such fund. The interest obtained from any investment or deposit of monies in such fund shall be deposited by the commission into such fund. The commission shall invest the assets of the fund as provided by law.
(2) The assets of the Wildlife Endowment Fund shall be derived from the proceeds of the sale of lifetime licenses authorized under Sections 49-7-151 through 49-7-155. The following limitations are placed on expenditures from the fund:
(a) No expenditure shall be made from the principal of the Wildlife Endowment Fund;
(b) The income earned and accruing from the investment of the Wildlife Endowment Fund shall be spent only in furthering the conservation of wildlife resources and the operations of the department in accomplishing the purposes of the department.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
