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Introduced Version Senate Bill 478 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
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Senate Bill No. 478

(By Senators Unger, Klempa and Kessler (Mr. President))

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[Introduced February 1, 2012; referred to the Committee on Natural Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §20-2-30a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §20-2-42y, all relating to creating an apprentice hunting and trapping license; and penalty.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That 20-2-30a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §20-2-42y, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.

§20-2-30a. Certificate of training; falsifying, altering, forging, counterfeiting or uttering training certificate; penalties.

    (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, no hunting license or stamp may be issued to any person who was born on or after January 1, 1975, unless the person submits to the person authorized to issue hunting licenses a certificate of training as provided in this section or proof of completion of any course which promotes as a major objective safety in the handling of firearms and of bow and arrows and which course is approved by the hunter education association or the director, or provides a State of West Virginia resident or nonresident hunting license from the previous hunting season that displays a certification of training, or attests that a hunter training course has been completed when purchasing a license or stamp online: Provided, That a person issued a Class AH apprentice hunting and trapping license pursuant to the provisions of section forty-two-y of this article is exempt from the hunter training requirements set forth in this subsection and subsection (b) of this section.

    (b) The director shall establish a course in the safe handling of firearms and of bows and arrows, such as the course approved by the hunter education association. This course shall be given at least once per year in each county in this state and shall be taught by instructors certified by the director. In establishing and conducting this course, the director may cooperate with any reputable association or organization which promotes as a major objective safety in the handling of firearms and of bows and arrows: Provided, That any person holding a Class A-L or AB-L lifetime resident license obtained prior to his or her fifteenth birthday shall be required to obtain a certificate of training as provided in this section before hunting or trapping pursuant to said license. This course of instruction shall be offered without charge, except for materials or ammunition consumed. Upon satisfactory completion of the course, each person instructed in the course shall be issued a certificate of training for the purposes of complying with the requirements of subsection (a) of this section. The certificate shall be in the form prescribed by the director and shall be valid for hunting license application purposes.

    (c) (1) Upon satisfactory completion of this course, any person whose hunting license has been revoked for a violation of the provisions of this chapter may petition the director for a reduction of his or her revocation time. However, under no circumstances may the time be reduced to less than one year.

    (2) Successful completion of this course shall be required to consider the reinstatement of a hunting license of any person whose license has been revoked due to a conviction for negligent shooting of a human being or of livestock under the provisions of section fifty-seven of this article, and who petitions the director for an early reinstatement of his or her hunting privileges. Such a petitioner shall also comply with the other requirements for consideration of reinstatement contained in section thirty-eight of this article.

    (d) It is unlawful for any person to falsify, alter, forge, counterfeit or utter a certificate of training. Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $500 nor more than $1,000, or confined in jail for a period not to exceed one year, or both fined and imprisoned.

    (e) Nothing herein contained shall mandate that any county school district in the state be responsible for implementing hunter safety education programs.

§2O-2-42y. Class AH apprentice hunting and trapping license; penalties.

    (a) A Class AH license is an apprentice hunting and trapping license and entitles the licensee to hunt and trap for all legal species of wild animals and wild birds. The license shall be a base license and shall entitle the licensee to a deferral of the proof of a certificate of training required under the provisions of section thirty-a of this article. The apprentice hunting and trapping licensee shall not hunt or trap unless he or she is in possession of a1l other required documentation and stamps and is accompanied and directly supervised by an adult eighteen years of age or older who either possesses a valid West Virginia hunting license or has the lawful privilege to hunt pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. For purposes of this section, "accompanied and directly supervised" means that a person maintains a close visual and verbal contact with, provides adequate direction to, and can assume control of the firearm from the apprentice hunter. The cost of the license shall be $19 for a resident and $119 for a nonresident. An apprentice hunting and trapping license is a yearly license and may only be purchased electronically in a manner designated by the director. No person may purchase more than three apprentice hunting and fishing licenses during his or her lifetime, and such licenses must be purchased during a period of five consecutive years which begin to run on the first day of the calendar year in which the first license is purchased. The director may promulgate rules in accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this code regulating the issuance of apprentice hunting and trapping licenses.

    (b) Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to the punishment and penalties prescribed in section nine, article seven of this chapter.



    NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create an apprentice hunting license process which would allow new hunters to purchase a limited number of a new class of hunting license which would permit hunting with supervision prior to obtaining a certificate of training.


    Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.


    §20-2-42y is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.

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