House Bill No. 265

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________



A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act providing relief for resident hunters by revising the system of issuance of special permits issued by the department of fish, wildlife, and parks through a provision that nonresidents may not receive more than 10 percent of the total special permits for each gender of any species; reducing from 2,300 to 2,000 the number of reserved Class B-11 licenses that may be sold by variable pricing in any 1 license year and limiting the total number of available reserved variable priced licenses; providing that special permits must be issued on a district basis rather than on a regional basis; prohibiting a person who receives a special elk permit in certain designated areas from applying for a similar permit in any designated area for 5 years; and amending sections 87-1-268, 87-2-506, 87-2-702, and 87-2-704, MCA."



Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:



Section 1.  Section 87-1-268, MCA, is amended to read:

"87-1-268.   (Temporary) Variable pricing of outfitter-sponsored Class B-10 and B-11 licenses. The commission shall annually set fees for outfitter-sponsored Class B-10 and Class B-11 licenses allowed under 87-2-505 and 87-2-510. The fees must be set at a market rate intended to sell as close to but not more than an average of 5,500 Class B-10 licenses and 2,300 2,000 Class B-11 licenses each year, calculated over a 5-year period. The sale period for the licenses must be established so that by the last date in the established period, those licenses that are unsold, up to 5,500 Class B-10 licenses and 2,300 2,000 Class B-11 licenses, may be reallocated by the commission for a drawing at a price set by the commission. (Terminates October 1, 2001--sec. 18, Ch. 459, L. 1995.)"



Section 2.  Section 87-2-506, MCA, is amended to read:

"87-2-506.   Restrictions on hunting licenses. (1) The department may prescribe by rule the number of hunting licenses to be issued. Any license sold may be restricted to a specific administrative region, hunting district, or other designated area and may specify the species, age, and sex to be taken and the time period for which the license is valid.

(2) (a)  When Except as provided in subsection (2)(b), when the number of valid resident applications for big game licenses or permits of a single class or type exceeds the number of licenses or permits that the department desires to issue in an administrative region, hunting district, or other designated area, then the number of big game licenses or permits issued to nonresident license holders or permit holders permitholders in the region, district, or area may not exceed 10% of the total issued.

(b) In the case of special permits that are initially offered through a drawing, the number that may be issued at any time to nonresident permitholders in any administrative region, hunting district, or other designated area may not exceed 10% of the total issued for each gender of any species to be hunted. Residents must have ample opportunity to purchase any surplus licenses remaining after the drawing before surplus licenses may be offered for sale to nonresidents."



Section 3.  Section 87-2-702, MCA, is amended to read:

"87-2-702.   Restrictions on special licenses. (1) A person who has killed or taken any game animal, except a deer or an antelope, during the current license year is not permitted to receive a special license under this chapter to hunt or kill a second game animal of the same species.

(2)  The commission may require applicants for special permits authorized by this chapter to obtain a valid big game license for that species for the current year prior to applying for a special permit.

(3)  Special permits authorized by this chapter must be issued on a district basis rather than on a regional basis.

(4) After March 27, 1987, a A person may lawfully take only one grizzly bear in Montana with a license authorized by 87-2-701.

(4)(5)  (a) A person who receives a moose, mountain goat, or limited mountain sheep license, with the exception of an adult ewe license, as authorized by 87-2-701, is not eligible to receive another special license for that species for the next 7 years. For the purposes of this subsection (a), "limited mountain sheep license" means a license that is valid for an area in which the number of licenses issued is restricted.

(b)  A person who takes a mountain sheep using an unlimited mountain sheep license, with the exception of a mountain sheep taken pursuant to an adult ewe license, as authorized by 87-2-701, is not eligible to receive another special license for that species for the next 7 years. For the purposes of this subsection (b), "unlimited mountain sheep license" means a license that is valid for an area in which the number of licenses issued is not restricted."



Section 4.  Section 87-2-704, MCA, is amended to read:

"87-2-704.   Regulation of special elk permits. (1) The department may:

(a)  provide for the refund of resident elk tag license fees to persons applying for special elk permits in hunting districts where there is no general elk hunting and set time limits and describe area restrictions; and

(b)  designate special elk permit areas where priority will be given to applicants who have not held special elk permits for a period of years to be determined by the department.

(2)  The department shall provide that a person who is issued a special elk permit to hunt antlerless elk during the regular hunting season is:

(a)  limited to the hunting and taking of only an antlerless elk in the hunting district or portion of a hunting district where the permit is valid; and

(b)  entitled to the general elk hunting privileges for a holder of a Class A-5 license in all other hunting districts.

(3)  The fee for a special elk permit is $2 beginning March 1, 1992, and $3 beginning March 1, 1994.

(4)  The department shall annually determine, based on the previous year's license applications, in which hunting districts the odds of an applicant drawing a special elk permit are greater than 15 to 1. Those hunting districts must be designated as "golden areas" on the department's hunting map. A person who receives a special elk permit for a hunting district designated as a golden area under the provisions of this subsection may not apply for another special elk permit for any golden area for the next 5 years.

(5) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement this section."

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