Senate Bill No. 325
(By Senator Dittmar)
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[Introduced February 10, 1994; referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section thirty-a, article two,
chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to natural
resources; wildlife resources; certificate of training;
falsifying, altering or counterfeiting a training
certificate; and providing criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirty-a, 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.
§20-2-30a. Certificate of training; falsifying, altering or
manufacturing training certificate; penalties.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, no
hunting license may be issued to any person
who was born on or
after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
seventy-five unless the person submits to the person authorizedto issue hunting licenses
either: (1) a certificate of training
as provided for 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.
(2) A certificate of training issued by another state or
Canadian province; or
(3) An affidavit to be included on the license application
form and signed by the person applying for a hunting license,
stating that the person has held a hunting license issued by this
or another state or Canadian province in a prior year. The
provision of this section shall become effective the first day of
January, one thousand nine hundred ninety.
(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 for in this section. This
course of instruction shall be offered without charge, except formaterials or ammunition consumed. Upon satisfactory completion
of the course, each person instructed in the course shall be
issued a certification 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 of the code may petition the
director for a reduction of his 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 or of section eleven, article
seven, chapter sixty-one of this code, and who petitions the
director for an early reinstatement of his 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 or
counterfeit a certificate of training.
(e) Any person who violates any provision of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than three hundreddollars, or confined in the county or regional jail for a period
not to exceed thirty days, or both fined and imprisoned:
Provided, That any person who violates the provisions of
subsection (d) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five
hundred dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail for
a period not to exceed one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
Nothing herein contained shall mandate that any county
school district in the state be responsible for implementing
hunter safety education programs.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify to the general
public who needs the certificate of training; provide a penalty
for those who fail to obtain a certificate or who falsifies,
counterfeits or alters an existing certificate; and increase the
effectiveness of hunter education training.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.