S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 8021 2015-2016 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y June 4, 2015 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to crossbow hunting THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 11-0719 of the 2 environmental conservation law, as amended by section 2 of part EE of 3 chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows: 4 a. In the circumstances described in paragraph b of this subdivision 5 the department may revoke any license, bowhunting privilege, or muzzle- 6 loading privilege, of any person, to hunt, fish or trap, defined in 7 section 11-0701 of this title or issued pursuant to any provision of the 8 Fish and Wildlife Law, or it may revoke all of such licenses, bowhunting 9 privileges, or muzzle-loading privileges. It may also deny such person, 10 for a period not exceeding five years, the privilege of obtaining such 11 license or licenses, bowhunting privilege, or muzzle-loading privilege, 12 or of hunting, trapping or fishing, anywhere in the state with or with- 13 out license, bowhunting privilege, or muzzle-loading privilege, except 14 as provided in subdivision 1 of section 11-0707 of this title or in 15 section 11-0523 of this article. It may also require that such person 16 successfully complete a department-sponsored course and obtain a certif- 17 icate of qualification in responsible hunting [including responsible 18 crossbow hunting], responsible bowhunting INCLUDING RESPONSIBLE CROSSBOW 19 HUNTING or responsible trapping practices before being issued another 20 license. 21 S 2. Paragraphs a and c of subdivision 2 of section 11-0719 of the 22 environmental conservation law, as amended by section 4 of part EE of 23 chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, are amended to read as follows: 24 a. The department may revoke the licenses, tags, bowhunting privi- 25 leges, or muzzle-loading privileges, which authorize the holder to hunt EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11485-02-5 A. 8021 2 1 and/or trap wildlife, and may deny the privilege of obtaining such 2 licenses, tags, bowhunting privileges, or muzzle-loading privileges, and 3 may deny the privileges of hunting and/or trapping with or without a 4 license. 5 (1) of any person who, while engaged in hunting or trapping, 6 (i) causes death or injury to any person by discharging a firearm, 7 crossbow or longbow, or 8 (ii) so negligently discharges a firearm, crossbow or longbow as to 9 endanger the life or safety of another, or 10 (iii) so negligently and wantonly discharges a firearm, crossbow or 11 longbow as to destroy or damage public or private property; or 12 (2) of any agent of the department authorized to issue certificates of 13 qualification in responsible hunting [including responsible crossbow 14 hunting], bowhunting INCLUDING RESPONSIBLE CROSSBOW HUNTING, or trapping 15 practices who improperly issues any such certification to a person whom 16 he or she has not trained, or whom he or she knows has not satisfactori- 17 ly completed all of the requirements necessary for such certification. 18 c. In case such discharge of a firearm, crossbow or longbow causes 19 death or injury to any person, the license or licenses, bowhunting priv- 20 ilege, and muzzle-loading privilege shall be revoked and the ability to 21 obtain any such license and of hunting or of trapping anywhere in the 22 state with or without a license denied, for a period not exceeding ten 23 years, except that no revocation shall be made in cases in which facts 24 established at the hearing indicate to the satisfaction of the commis- 25 sioner that there was no negligence on the part of the shooter or 26 bowhunter. In all other cases the license or licenses, bowhunting privi- 27 lege, or muzzle-loading privilege, shall be revoked and the privilege of 28 obtaining such license, bowhunting privilege, or muzzle-loading privi- 29 lege, and of hunting or of trapping anywhere in the state with or with- 30 out a license denied for a period not exceeding five years. The depart- 31 ment may also require that the person causing such death or injury 32 successfully complete a department-sponsored course and obtain a certif- 33 icate of qualification in responsible hunting [including responsible 34 crossbow hunting] or bowhunting practices INCLUDING RESPONSIBLE CROSSBOW 35 HUNTING before being issued another hunting license. 36 S 3. Subparagraph 9 of paragraph b of subdivision 4 of section 11-0901 37 of the environmental conservation law, as added by section 6 of part EE 38 of chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows: 39 (9) with a crossbow unless such crossbow shall consist of a bow and 40 string, either compound or recurve, that launches a minimum fourteen 41 inch bolt, not including point, mounted upon a stock with a trigger that 42 holds the string and limbs under tension until released. The trigger 43 unit of such crossbow must have a working safety. The minimum limb width 44 of such crossbow shall be seventeen inches[,] AND have a minimum peak 45 draw weight of one hundred pounds [and a maximum peak draw weight of two 46 hundred pounds]. The minimum overall length of such crossbow from butts- 47 tock to front of limbs shall be twenty-four inches. 48 S 4. Subparagraph 9 of paragraph c of subdivision 4 of section 11-0901 49 of the environmental conservation law, as added by section 7 of part EE 50 of chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows: 51 (9) with a crossbow unless such crossbow shall consist of a bow and 52 string, either compound or recurve, that launches a minimum fourteen 53 inch bolt, not including point, mounted upon a stock with a trigger that 54 holds the string and limbs under tension until released. The trigger 55 unit of such crossbow must have a working safety. The minimum limb width 56 of such crossbow shall be seventeen inches[,] AND have a minimum peak A. 8021 3 1 draw weight of one hundred pounds [and a maximum peak draw weight of two 2 hundred pounds]. The minimum overall length of such crossbow from butts- 3 tock to front of limbs shall be twenty-four inches. 4 S 5. Subdivision 6 of section 11-0713 of the environmental conserva- 5 tion law, as added by section 12 of part EE of chapter 55 of the laws of 6 2014, is amended to read as follows: 7 6. The department shall require training in the safe use of hunting 8 with a crossbow and safe hunting practices in the [basic hunter educa- 9 tion] BOWHUNTER EDUCATION course required for all new [hunters] BOWHUN- 10 TERS. All persons who have completed [hunter] BOWHUNTER education and 11 who have not certified their completion of a safety course which 12 includes crossbow hunting training prior to April first, two thousand 13 fourteen shall complete an online or other training program approved by 14 the department prior to using a crossbow to hunt. 15 S 6. Subdivision 10 of section 11-0907 of the environmental conserva- 16 tion law, as added by section 14 of part EE of chapter 55 of the laws of 17 2014, is amended to read as follows: 18 10. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, or any prior 19 notwithstanding language in this article, the department may, by regu- 20 lation, authorize the taking of big game by the use of a crossbow by any 21 licensed person in any big game season in any area designated in items 22 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (i), (k) and (l) of paragraph a of subdi- 23 vision two of this section in which a shotgun or muzzle loader is 24 permitted provided however, that any crossbow use during an archery-only 25 season shall only take place during the last fourteen consecutive days 26 of such archery-only season in the southern zone provided that such 27 archery-only season shall consist of not less than forty-five days and 28 only during the last ten consecutive days of any archery-only season in 29 the northern zone provided that such archery-only season shall consist 30 of no less than twenty-three days. Any muzzle loading season which 31 occurs at the same time as a special archery season may only occur 32 during times when crossbows are authorized to be used. THE DEPARTMENT 33 MAY AUTHORIZE JUNIOR HUNTERS THAT POSSESS THE JUNIOR ARCHERY PRIVILEGE 34 TO USE A CROSSBOW DURING THE YOUTH DEER HUNT. 35 S 7. The closing paragraph of paragraph a of subdivision 2 and subdi- 36 visions 3, 4, 5 and 9 of section 11-0701 of the environmental conserva- 37 tion law, the closing paragraph of paragraph a of subdivision 2 and 38 subdivisions 3, 4 and 5 as amended by section 1-a of part R of chapter 39 58 of the laws of 2013 and subdivision 9 as amended by section 17 of 40 part EE of chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, are amended to read as 41 follows: 42 A holder may take fish with a longbow OR CROSSBOW as provided in 43 titles [9] NINE and [13] THIRTEEN of this article. 44 3. A bowhunting privilege when included on a hunting license entitles 45 a holder: 46 (1) who is between the ages of twelve and sixteen years to hunt wild 47 deer and bear with a longbow OR CROSSBOW during the special archery 48 season and during the regular season, as provided in title [9] NINE of 49 this article, subject to the provisions of section 11-0929 and subdivi- 50 sion [3] THREE of section 11-0713 of this article; 51 (2) who is eighteen years of age or older to hunt wild deer and bear 52 with a longbow OR CROSSBOW, as provided in title [9] NINE of this arti- 53 cle, in a special longbow OR CROSSBOW season; and 54 (3) who is sixteen or seventeen years of age to exercise the same 55 privileges subject to the provisions of section 11-0929 and subdivision 56 [3] THREE of section 11-0713 of this article. A. 8021 4 1 4. A fishing license entitles the holder to take fish by angling, 2 spearing, hooking, longbow OR CROSSBOW and tipups, to take frogs by 3 spearing, catching with the hands or by use of a club or hook, and to 4 take bait fish for personal use, as provided in titles [9] NINE and [13] 5 THIRTEEN of this article, except that such license shall not entitle the 6 holder to take migratory fish of the sea or to take fish from the waters 7 of the marine district. 8 5. A non-resident bear tag entitles a person who has not been a resi- 9 dent of the state for more than thirty days who also possesses a hunting 10 license to hunt bear during the regular open season therefor or in an 11 open season fixed by regulation pursuant to subdivision eight of section 12 11-0903 of this article. It entitles a non-resident holder who also 13 possesses a hunting license with bowhunting OR CROSSBOW HUNTING privi- 14 lege to hunt bear with a longbow OR CROSSBOW during the open bear 15 season. It entitles a non-resident holder who also possesses a hunting 16 license with muzzle-loading privilege to hunt bear with a muzzleloader 17 during the open bear season. 18 9. A muzzle-loading privilege when included on a hunting license enti- 19 tles a holder who is fourteen years of age or older to hunt wild deer 20 and bear with a muzzle-loading firearm [or crossbow,] as provided in 21 title [9] NINE of this article, in a special muzzle-loading firearm 22 season. 23 S 8. This act shall take effect immediately.