House Bill No. 289

Introduced By pavlovich, quilici, harrington, tropila, rose, menahan, beck, lynch, beaudry, halligan, peck, shea, squires, hayne, cocchiarella, tuss, sliter, mills, mccarthy, simpson, wyatt, ryan, gage, j. johnson, barnett, grady, mcculloch, ohs, hibbard, devaney, devlin, galvin, marshall



A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act providing for 4-day free fishing permits for members of the legion of valor participating in a convention in Montana from August 27, 1997, to August 31, 1997; and providing a termination date."



WHEREAS, the Legion of Valor is comprised of recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Army Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, and the Air Force Cross; and

WHEREAS, members of the Legion of Valor have bravely served their country above and beyond the call of duty; and

WHEREAS, there are 800 members of the Legion of Valor, five of whom reside in Montana; and

WHEREAS, Legion of Valor members from all over the country plan to convene in Montana from August 27, 1997, to August 31, 1997, to participate in a convention; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to Article II, section 35, of the Montana Constitution, special considerations that the Legislature may give the five Montana Legion of Valor members should be extended to their distinguished out-of-state guests; and

WHEREAS, the people of Montana can show their appreciation to these medal recipients by granting them 4 days of fishing without having to obtain licenses.



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



NEW SECTION. Section 1.  Legion of valor -- free fishing -- requirement to comply with regulations. (1) The department of fish, wildlife, and parks shall issue to members of the legion of valor applications for 4-day free fishing permits on a body or bodies of water specified by the department. The application must require validation that the applicant is an official member of the legion of valor.

(2) Each recipient of a 4-day free fishing permit shall comply with all state fishing regulations as published by the department.

(3) The permits must be clearly marked that they are valid only for 4 days of the legion of valor convention, and the department shall specify the body or bodies of water on which the participants may fish.



NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Termination. [This act] terminates September 1, 1997.

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