Senate Bill No. 79
(By Senator Dittmar)
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[Introduced January 13, 1999; referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section thirty-three, article two,
chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to issuance of
hunting, trapping and fishing licenses; providing that
certain hunting, trapping and fishing licenses may be
purchased and issued electronically; director of natural
resources may prescribe fee for electronic purchase and
issuance; removal of one thousand dollar bonding requirement
for agents issuing licenses; and promulgation of rules.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirty-three, article two, chapter twenty of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-33. Authority of director to designate agents to issue licenses; bonds; fees.
The director may appoint, in addition to the clerk of the
county commission, agents to issue licenses under the provisions
of this article to serve the convenience of the public. Each
person, so appointed, shall, before issuing any license, file
with the director a bond payable to the state of West Virginia,
in the amount to be fixed by the director, at not less than one
thousand dollars conditioned upon the faithful performance of his
or her obligation to issue licenses only in conformity with the
provisions of this article and to account for all license fees
received by him or her. The form of the bond shall be prescribed
by the attorney general. No person, other than those designated
as issuing agents by the director, shall sell licenses or buy the
same for the purposes of resale.
After the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred
ninety, except when a license is purchased from a state official,
every person making application for a license shall pay, in
addition to the license fee prescribed therefor in the later sections of this article, an additional fee of seventy-five cents
to any county official issuing the license and all fees collected
by county officials shall be paid by them into the general fund
of the county treasury or, in the case of an agent issuing the
license, an additional fee of one dollar as compensation:
Provided, That only one fee of seventy-five cents or one dollar
shall be collected by county officials or authorized agents,
respectively, for issuing two or more licenses at the same time
for use by the same person or for issuing combination resident
statewide hunting, trapping and fishing Class AB licenses:
Provided, however, That licenses may be issued electronically in
a manner prescribed by the director, and persons purchasing
electronically issued licenses may be assessed, in addition to
the license fee prescribed in this article, an electronic
issuance fee to be prescribed by the director.
The director may propose rules for legislative approval in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty- nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of this section.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that certain hunting, trapping and fishing licenses may be purchased and
issued electronically.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.)
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NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
oOn page two___, section thirty-three, line two___, before the word
"The" by inserting "(a)";
On page two___, section thirty-three, line fifteen___, before the word
"After" by inserting "(b)";
And,
On page three___, section thirty-three, line four___, after the word
"licenses" by changing the colon to a period, striking out the
remainder of the bill and inserting in lieu thereof the
following:
(c) The director may establish a system for the electronic
issuance of hunting, trapping and fishing licenses for the
convenience of the public. The system may include an electronic
issuance fee, in lieu of the issuance fee prescribed in
subsection (b) of this section, to be assessed in addition to the
relevant license fee prescribed in this article. The system must
allow license agents in good standing on the effective date of
this section, who demonstrate continued faithful performance of
the obligation to issue licenses only in conformity with the
provisions of this article, to continue in their license agent
status after the division converts to electronic license sales.
The director may propose rules for legislative approval in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty- nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of this
subsection.
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FINANCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
On page ___, section thirty-three, line ___, before the words "The director" by adding "(a)";
On page ___, section thirty-three, line ___, by striking out
the word "so";
On page ___, section thirty-three, line ___, by striking out
the word "same" and inserting in lieu thereof the word
"licenses";
On page ___, section thirty-three, lines ___, by striking
out the words "After the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety, except" and inserting in lieu thereof the
following: "(b) Except";
On page ___, section thirty-three, lines ___, by striking
out the words "therefor in the later sections of" and inserting
in lieu thereof the words "for it in";
And,
On page ___, section thirty-three, lines ___, by striking
out the words "The director may propose rules for legislative
approve in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of
this section." and inserting in lieu thereof the following
subsection:
"(c) In lieu of the license issuance fee prescribed in
subsection (b) of this section, the director shall proposed rules
for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, governing the
application for and issuance of licenses by telephone and other
electronic methods.".