Introduced Version
House Bill 2193 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2193
(By Delegates Miley and Caputo)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §20-2-28 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to exempting nonresident property
owners and their families from hunting, trapping and fishing
license requirements when they are hunting, trapping or
fishing on their own land.
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,
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) Residents of the state of Maryland who carry hunting or fishing licenses valid in that state may hunt or fish from the West
Virginia banks of the Potomac River 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 of Maryland shall first enter into a reciprocal agreement
with the director extending a like privilege of hunting and fishing
on the Potomac River from the Maryland banks of the river to
licensed residents of West Virginia without requiring the residents
to obtain Maryland 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 exempt nonresident
property owners and their families from hunting, trapping and
fishing license requirements when they are hunting, trapping or
fishing on their own land.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.