West Virginia
Legislature
2017 Regular Session
Introduced
House Bill 2033
(By Delegates Hamrick, Howell, Gearheart,
Phillips and Folk)
to the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and
reenact §20-2-28 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to permitting the resident
lineal descendants of landowners to hunt, trap or fish on that resident landowner's
property without a license.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §20-2-28 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-28. When licenses or permits not required.
Persons in the following
categories are not required to obtain licenses or permits as indicated:
(a) Bona fide resident
landowners, or their resident children lineal descendants
or resident parents, or bona fide resident tenants of the land may hunt, trap
or fish on their own land during open season in accordance with the laws and
rules applying to the hunting, trapping and fishing without obtaining a
license, unless the lands have been designated as a wildlife refuge or
preserve.
(b) Any bona fide resident
of this state who is totally blind may fish in this state without obtaining a
fishing license. A written statement or
certificate from a duly licensed physician of this state showing the resident
to be totally blind shall serve in lieu of a fishing license and shall be
carried on the person of the resident at all times while he or she is fishing
in this state.
(c) All residents of West
Virginia on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States of America,
while on leave or furlough, may hunt, trap or fish in season in West Virginia
without obtaining a license. Leave or furlough papers shall serve in lieu of
any license and shall be carried on the person at all times while trapping,
hunting or fishing.
(d) In accordance with the
provisions of section twenty-seven of this article, any resident sixty-five
years of age or older before January 1, 2012, is not required to have a license
to hunt, trap or fish during the legal seasons in West Virginia, but in lieu of
the license the person shall at all times while hunting, trapping or fishing
carry on his or her person a valid West Virginia driver's license or nondriver identification card issued by
the Division of Motor Vehicles.
(e) Except as otherwise
provided for in this section, residents of states that share river
borders with the State of West Virginia who carry hunting or fishing licenses
valid in that state may hunt or fish without obtaining licenses, but the
hunting or fishing shall be confined to the fish and waterfowl of the river
proper and not on its tributaries: Provided, That the state shall first enter
into a reciprocal agreement with the director extending a like privilege of
hunting and fishing to licensed residents of West Virginia without requiring
the residents to obtain that state's
hunting and fishing licenses.
(f) Residents of the state
of Ohio who carry hunting or fishing licenses valid in that state may hunt or
fish on the Ohio River or from the West Virginia banks of the river without
obtaining licenses, but the hunting or fishing shall be confined to fish and
waterfowl of the river proper and to points on West Virginia tributaries and
embayments identified by the director: Provided, That the state of Ohio shall
first enter into a reciprocal agreement with the director extending a like
privilege of hunting and fishing from the Ohio banks of the river to licensed
residents of West Virginia without requiring the residents to obtain Ohio
hunting and fishing licenses.
(g) Any resident of West
Virginia who was honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the United
States of America and who receives a veteran's
pension based on total permanent service-connected disability as certified to
by the Veterans Administration may hunt, trap or fish in this state without
obtaining a license. The director shall propose rules for legislative approval
in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code setting forth the procedure for the certification of the veteran,
manner of applying for and receiving the certification and requirements as to
identification while the veteran is hunting, trapping or fishing.
(h) Any disabled veteran
who is a resident of West Virginia and who, as certified to by the Commissioner
of Motor Vehicles, is eligible to be exempt from the payment of any fee on
account of registration of any motor vehicle owned by the disabled veteran as
provided in section eight, article ten, chapter seventeen-a of this code shall
be permitted to hunt, trap or fish in this state without obtaining a license.
The director shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with
the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code setting
forth the procedure for the certification of the disabled veteran, manner of
applying for and receiving the certification and requirements as to identification
while the disabled veteran is hunting, trapping or fishing.
(i) Any resident or
inpatient in any state mental health, health or benevolent institution or
facility may fish in this state, under proper supervision of the institution
involved, without obtaining a fishing license. A written statement or
certificate signed by the superintendent of the mental health, health or
benevolent institution or facility in which the resident or inpatient, as the
case may be, is institutionalized shall serve in lieu of a fishing license and
shall be carried on the person of the resident or inpatient at all times while
he or she is fishing in this state.
(j) Any resident who is
developmentally disabled, as certified by a physician and the Director of the
Division of Health, may fish in this state without obtaining a fishing license.
As used in this section, "developmentally disabled" means a person
with a severe, chronic disability which:
(1) Is attributable to a
mental or physical impairment or a combination of mental and physical
impairments;
(2) Is manifested before
the person attains age twenty-two;
(3) Results in substantial
functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life
activity:
(A) Self-care;
(B) Receptive and
expressive language;
(C) Learning;
(D) Mobility;
(E) Self-direction;
(F) Capacity for
independent living; and
(G) Economic
self-sufficiency; and
(4) Reflects the person's need for a combination and sequence of care,
treatment or supportive services which are of lifelong or extended duration and
are individually planned and coordinated.
(k) A student eighteen
years of age or younger receiving instruction in fly fishing in a public,
private, parochial or Christian school in this state may fly fish in the state
for catch and release only without obtaining a fishing license while under the
supervision of an instructor authorized by the school.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit the resident lineal descendants of landowners to hunt, trap or fish on that landowner's property without a license.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.