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S1033..........................................by RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
FISH AND GAME DIRECTOR - BAG LIMITS - Amends existing law to authorize the
director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to reduce the bag limit
or possession limit for a species under certain circumstances.
01/20 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/21 Rpt prt - to Res/Env
01/31 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/01 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/07 3rd rdg - PASSED - 33-0-2
AYES -- Andreason, Brandt, Broadsword, Bunderson, Burkett,
Burtenshaw, Cameron, Coiner, Compton, Corder, Darrington, Davis,
Gannon, Geddes, Goedde, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst, Little,
Lodge, Malepeai, Marley, McGee, McKenzie, Pearce, Richardson,
Schroeder, Stegner, Stennett, Sweet, Werk, Williams
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Hill, Noble
Floor Sponsor - Pearce
Title apvd - to House
02/08 House intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Con
02/18 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/21 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/24 3rd rdg - PASSED - 68-0-2
AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bastian, Bayer,
Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Black, Block, Boe, Bolz, Bradford, Cannon,
Chadderdon, Clark, Collins, Crow, Deal, Denney, Edmunson, Ellsworth,
Eskridge, Field(18), Field(23), Garrett, Hart, Harwood, Henbest,
Henderson, Jaquet, Jones, Kemp, Lake, LeFavour, Loertscher, Martinez,
Mathews, McKague, Miller, Mitchell, Moyle, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart,
Pence, Raybould, Ring, Ringo, Roberts, Rusche, Rydalch, Sali, Sayler,
Schaefer, Shepherd(2), Shepherd(8), Shirley, Skippen, Smith(30),
Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass, Stevenson, Trail, Wills, Wood, Mr.
Speaker
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- McGeachin, Nielsen
Floor Sponsor - Wood
Title apvd - to Senate
02/25 To enrol
02/28 Rpt enrol - Pres signed
03/01 Sp signed
03/02 To Governor
03/07 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 35
Effective: 07/01/05
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2005
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1033
BY RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO FISH AND GAME; AMENDING SECTION 36-106, IDAHO CODE, TO AUTHORIZE
3 THE DIRECTOR OF THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME TO REDUCE THE BAG
4 LIMIT OR POSSESSION LIMIT FOR A SPECIES UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
6 SECTION 1. That Section 36-106, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7 amended to read as follows:
8 36-106. DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME. (a) Office of Director
9 Created. The commission shall appoint a director of the department of fish and
10 game, hereinafter referred to as the director, who shall be a person with
11 knowledge of, and experience in, the requirements for the protection, conser-
12 vation, restoration, and management of the wildlife resources of the state.
13 The director shall not hold any other public office, nor any office in any
14 political party organization, and shall devote his entire time to the service
15 of the state in the discharge of his official duties, under the direction of
16 the commission.
17 (b) Secretary to Commission. The director or his designee shall serve as
18 secretary to the commission.
19 (c) Compensation and Expenses. The director shall receive such compensa-
20 tion as the commission, with the concurrence and approval of the governor, may
21 determine and shall be reimbursed at the rate provided by law for state
22 employees for all actual and necessary traveling and other expenses incurred
23 by him in the discharge of his official duties.
24 (d) Oath and Bond. Before entering upon the duties of his office, the
25 director shall take and subscribe to the official oath of office, as provided
26 by section 59-401, Idaho Code, and shall, in addition thereto, swear and
27 affirm that he holds no other public office, nor any position under any polit-
28 ical committee or party. Such oath, or affirmation, shall be signed in the
29 office of the secretary of state.
30 The director shall be bonded to the state of Idaho in the time, form and
31 manner prescribed by chapter 8, title 59, Idaho Code.
32 (e) Duties and Powers of Director.
33 1. The director shall have general supervision and control of all activi-
34 ties, functions, and employees of the department of fish and game, under
35 the supervision and direction of the commission, and shall enforce all the
36 provisions of the laws of the state, and rules and proclamations of the
37 commission relating to wild animals, birds, and fish and, further, shall
38 perform all the duties prescribed by section 67-2405, Idaho Code, and
39 other laws of the state not inconsistent with this act, and shall exercise
40 all necessary powers incident thereto not specifically conferred on the
41 commission.
42 2. The director is hereby authorized to appoint as many classified
43 employees as the commission may deem necessary to perform administrative
2
1 duties, to enforce the laws and to properly implement management, propaga-
2 tion, and protection programs established for carrying out the purposes of
3 the Idaho fish and game code.
4 3. The appointment of such employees shall be made by the director in
5 accordance with chapter 53, title 67, Idaho Code, and rules promulgated
6 pursuant thereto, and they shall be compensated as provided therein. Said
7 employees shall be bonded to the state of Idaho in the time, form, and
8 manner prescribed by chapter 8, title 59, Idaho Code.
9 4. The director is hereby authorized to establish and maintain fish
10 hatcheries for the purpose of hatching, propagating, and distributing all
11 kinds of fish.
12 5. (A) The director, or any person appointed by him in writing to do so,
13 may take wildlife of any kind, dead or alive, or import the same,
14 subject to such conditions, restrictions and rules as he may provide,
15 for the purpose of inspection, cultivation, propagation, distribu-
16 tion, scientific or other purposes deemed by him to be of interest to
17 the fish and game resources of the state.
18 (B) The director shall have supervision over all of the matters per-
19 taining to the inspection, cultivation, propagation and distribution
20 of the wildlife propagated under the provisions of title 36, Idaho
21 Code. He shall also have the power and authority to obtain, by pur-
22 chase or otherwise, wildlife of any kind or variety which he may deem
23 most suitable for distribution in the state and may have the same
24 properly cared for and distributed throughout the state of Idaho as
25 he may deem necessary.
26 (C) The director is hereby authorized to issue a license/tag/permit
27 to a nonresident landowner who resides in a contiguous state for the
28 purpose of taking one (1) animal during an emergency depredation hunt
29 which includes the landowner's Idaho property subject to such condi-
30 tions, restrictions or rules as the director may provide. The fee for
31 this license/tag/permit shall be equal to the costs of a resident
32 hunting license, a resident tag fee and a resident depredation per-
33 mit.
34 (D) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 36-408, Idaho Code, to
35 the contrary, on and after the effective date of this act, the direc-
36 tor shall not expend any funds, or take any action, or authorize any
37 employee or agent of the department or other person to take any
38 action, to undertake actual transplants of bighorn sheep into areas
39 they do not now inhabit or to augment the number of bighorn sheep in
40 existing herds until:
41 (i) The boards of county commissioners of the counties in
42 which the release is proposed to take place have been given rea-
43 sonable notice of the proposed release.
44 (ii) The affected federal and state land grazing permittees and
45 owners or leaseholders of private land in or contiguous to the
46 proposed release site have been given reasonable notice of the
47 proposed release.
48 (iii) The president pro tempore of the senate and the speaker of
49 the house of representatives have received from the director a
50 plan for the forthcoming year that details, to the best of the
51 department's ability, the proposed transplants which shall
52 include the estimated numbers of bighorn sheep to be trans-
53 planted and a description of the areas the proposed transplant
54 or transplants are planned for.
55 Upon request, the department shall grant one (1) hearing per
3
1 transplant if any affected individual or entity expresses written
2 concern within ten (10) days of notification regarding any trans-
3 plants of bighorn sheep and shall take into consideration these con-
4 cerns in approving, modifying or canceling any proposed bighorn sheep
5 transplant. Any such hearing shall be held within thirty (30) days of
6 the request. Upon any transplant of bighorn sheep into areas they do
7 not now inhabit or a transplant to augment existing populations, the
8 department shall provide for any affected federal or state land graz-
9 ing permittees or owners or leaseholders of private land a written
10 letter signed by all federal, state and private entities responsible
11 for the transplant stating that the existing sheep or livestock oper-
12 ations in the area of any such bighorn sheep transplant are recog-
13 nized and that the potential risk, if any, of disease transmission
14 and loss of bighorn sheep when the same invade domestic livestock or
15 sheep operations is accepted.
16 6. (A) The director shall have the power, at any time when it is desired
17 to introduce any new species, or if at any time any species of wild-
18 life of the state of Idaho shall be threatened with excessive shoot-
19 ing, trapping, or angling or otherwise, to close any open season or
20 to reduce the bag limit or possession limit for such species for such
21 time as he may designate; in the event an emergency is declared to
22 exist such closure shall become effective forthwith upon written
23 order of the director; in all other cases upon publication and post-
24 ing as provided in section 36-105, Idaho Code.
25 (B) In order to protect property from damage by wildlife, the fish
26 and game commission may delegate to the director or his designee the
27 authority to declare an open season upon that particular species of
28 wildlife to reduce its population. The director or his designee shall
29 make an order embodying his findings in respect to when, under what
30 circumstances, in which localities, by what means, and in what
31 amounts, numbers and sex the wildlife subject to the hunt may be
32 taken. In the event an emergency is declared to exist such open sea-
33 son shall become effective forthwith upon written order of the direc-
34 tor or his designee; in all other cases upon publication and posting
35 as provided in section 36-105, Idaho Code.
36 (C) Any season closure order issued under authority hereof shall be
37 published in at least one (1) newspaper of general circulation in the
38 area affected by the order for at least once a week for two (2) con-
39 secutive weeks, and such order shall be posted in public places in
40 each county as the director may direct.
41 (D) During the closure of any open season or the opening of any spe-
42 cial depredation season by the director all provisions of laws relat-
43 ing to the closed season or the special depredation season on such
44 wildlife shall be in force and whoever violates any of the provisions
45 shall be subject to the penalties prescribed therefor.
46 (E) Prior to the opening of any special depredation hunt, the direc-
47 tor or his designee shall be authorized to provide up to a maximum of
48 fifty percent (50%) of the available permits for such big game to the
49 landholder(s) of privately owned land within the hunt area or his
50 designees. If the landholder(s) chooses to designate hunters, he must
51 provide a written list of the names of designated individuals to the
52 department. If the landholder(s) fails to designate licensed hunt-
53 ers, then the department will issue the total available permits in
54 the manner set by rule. All hunters must have a current hunting
55 license and shall have equal access to both public and private lands
4
1 within the hunt boundaries. It shall be unlawful for any
2 landholder(s) to receive any form of compensation from a person who
3 obtains or uses a depredation controlled hunt permit.
4 7. The director shall make an annual report to the governor, the legisla-
5 ture, and the secretary of state, of the doings and conditions of his
6 office, which report shall be made in accordance with section 67-2509,
7 Idaho Code.
8 8. The director may sell or cause to be sold publications and materials
9 in accordance with section 59-1012, Idaho Code.
10 9. Any deer, elk, antelope, moose, bighorn sheep or bison imported or
11 transported by the department of fish and game shall be tested for the
12 presence of certain communicable diseases that can be transmitted to
13 domestic livestock. Those communicable diseases to be tested for shall be
14 arrived at by mutual agreement between the department of fish and game and
15 the department of agriculture. Any moneys expended by the department of
16 fish and game on wildlife disease research shall be mutually agreed upon
17 by the department of fish and game and the department of agriculture.
18 In addition, a comprehensive animal health program for all deer, elk,
19 antelope, moose, bighorn sheep, or bison imported into, transported, or
20 resident within the state of Idaho shall be implemented after said program
21 is mutually agreed upon by the department of fish and game and the depart-
22 ment of agriculture.
23 In order to enhance and protect the health of wildlife within the
24 state, as well as safeguard the health of livestock resources, the direc-
25 tor of the department of agriculture shall employ at least one (1) veteri-
26 narian licensed in Idaho whose duties shall include, but not be limited
27 to, addressing wildlife disease issues and coordinating disease prevention
28 work between the department of fish and game and the department of agri-
29 culture. The employing of said veterinarian shall be by mutual agreement
30 of the director of the department of fish and game and of the director of
31 the department of agriculture. The veterinarian shall be on the staff of
32 the division of animal industries, department of agriculture. The salary
33 or compensation to be paid said veterinarian or veterinarians shall be
34 divided equally between the department of fish and game and the department
35 of agriculture, and the department of fish and game's portion shall be
36 deposited directly into the livestock disease control account. The veteri-
37 narian shall be employed on and after July 1, 1989.
38 10. In order to monitor and evaluate the disease status of wildlife and to
39 protect Idaho's livestock resources, any suspicion by fish and game per-
40 sonnel of a potential communicable disease process in wildlife shall be
41 reported within twenty-four (24) hours to the department of agriculture.
42 All samples collected for disease monitoring or disease evaluation of
43 wildlife shall be submitted to the division of animal industries, depart-
44 ment of agriculture.
45 11. (A) The director is authorized to enter into an agreement with an
46 independent contractor for the purpose of providing a telephone order
47 and credit card payment service for controlled hunt permits,
48 licenses, tags, and permits.
49 (B) The contractor may collect a fee for its service in an amount to
50 be set by contract.
51 (C) All moneys collected for the telephone orders of such licenses,
52 tags, and permits shall be and remain the property of the state, and
53 such moneys shall be directly deposited by the contractor into the
54 state treasurer's account in accordance with the provisions of sec-
55 tion 59-1014, Idaho Code. The contractor shall furnish a good and
5
1 sufficient surety bond to the state of Idaho in an amount sufficient
2 to cover the amount of the telephone orders and potential refunds.
3 (D) The refund of moneys for unsuccessful controlled hunt permit
4 applications and licenses, tags, and permits approved by the depart-
5 ment may be made by the contractor crediting the applicant's or
6 licensee's credit card account.
7 12. The director may define activities or facilities that primarily pro-
8 vide a benefit: to the department; to a person; for personal use; to a
9 commercial enterprise; or for a commercial purpose.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 14473
This would allow the Director to order the closure of an open
season, or reduce the bag or possession limit (which are both
defined terms). The proposed change makes good sense because it
allows a more measured response - reduce bag or possession while
allowing hunting or fishing to continue rather than closing a
season. It complies with the current division of powers between
the Commission and the Director (the Commission sets and opens
seasons, but the Director can order reductions or closures to deal
with excessive harvest or problems).
FISCAL IMPACT
No additional revenue to the department is projected from this
legislation. It would allow anglers and hunters to continue their
recreation. On that basis there may be additional recreational
expenditures in the local communities by the anglers or hunters.
CONTACT
Name: Steve Barton
Agency: Fish and Game, Dept. of
Phone: 287-2798
Statement of Purpose/Fiscal Impact S 1033