Bill Text: NY A09424 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Allows a person who is at least ten years of age to hunt small game, fowl, deer or bear during applicable seasons without obtaining a hunting license or hunter's education course certification and to possess or control a firearm if the person is within arm's reach of a qualified hunting mentor.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 18-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-14 - referred to environmental conservation [A09424 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A09424-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9424

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 14, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. SMULLEN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Environmental Conservation

        AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
          establishing a hunting mentorship program

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by  adding  a
     2  new section 11-0936 to read as follows:
     3  § 11-0936. Hunting mentorship program.
     4    1.  As  used  in  this section, "qualified hunting mentor" or "mentor"
     5  means a person who satisfies all of the following requirements:
     6    (a) the person is twenty-one years of age or older;
     7    (b) the person holds both a valid certificate of completion of a hunt-
     8  ers' education course and a current valid hunting license;
     9    (c) the person is the parent or guardian of the person for  whom  they
    10  are  serving  as  a mentor or is authorized by the parent or guardian to
    11  serve as a mentor; provided that this requirement does not  apply  to  a
    12  person  serving  as a mentor for a person who is twenty-one years of age
    13  or older; and
    14    (d) at all times when serving  as  a  qualified  hunting  mentor,  the
    15  person  is within arm's reach of the person for whom they are serving as
    16  a mentor.
    17    2. A person who is at least ten years of  age  may  hunt  small  game,
    18  fowl,  deer  or  bear  in  this  state during applicable seasons without
    19  obtaining a hunting license or hunter's education  course  certification
    20  and  may,  while  hunting,  possess or control a firearm if at all times
    21  when hunting, the person is within arm's reach of  a  qualified  hunting
    22  mentor.
    23    3. A person who is authorized to hunt with a mentor under this section
    24  and  a mentor under this section with whom that person hunts may jointly
    25  have only one firearm, only one bow, or, if  hunting  with  a  crossbow,
    26  only one crossbow in their possession or control while hunting.
    27    4. A qualified hunting mentor may serve as a mentor under this section
    28  for only one person at a time on any hunting trip.
    29    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14550-01-4