99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB3098

 

Introduced , by Rep. Brandon W. Phelps

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
520 ILCS 5/2.33  from Ch. 61, par. 2.33

    Amends the Wildlife Code. Provides that unloaded guns may be carried in or on any vehicle or conveyance on game breeding and hunting preserve areas authorized by specified provisions of the Act.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning wildlife.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing Section
52.33 as follows:
 
6    (520 ILCS 5/2.33)  (from Ch. 61, par. 2.33)
7    Sec. 2.33. Prohibitions.
8    (a) It is unlawful to carry or possess any gun in any State
9refuge unless otherwise permitted by administrative rule.
10    (b) It is unlawful to use or possess any snare or
11snare-like device, deadfall, net, or pit trap to take any
12species, except that snares not powered by springs or other
13mechanical devices may be used to trap fur-bearing mammals, in
14water sets only, if at least one-half of the snare noose is
15located underwater at all times.
16    (c) It is unlawful for any person at any time to take a
17wild mammal protected by this Act from its den by means of any
18mechanical device, spade, or digging device or to use smoke or
19other gases to dislodge or remove such mammal except as
20provided in Section 2.37.
21    (d) It is unlawful to use a ferret or any other small
22mammal which is used in the same or similar manner for which
23ferrets are used for the purpose of frightening or driving any

 

 

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1mammals from their dens or hiding places.
2    (e) (Blank).
3    (f) It is unlawful to use spears, gigs, hooks or any like
4device to take any species protected by this Act.
5    (g) It is unlawful to use poisons, chemicals or explosives
6for the purpose of taking any species protected by this Act.
7    (h) It is unlawful to hunt adjacent to or near any peat,
8grass, brush or other inflammable substance when it is burning.
9    (i) It is unlawful to take, pursue or intentionally harass
10or disturb in any manner any wild birds or mammals by use or
11aid of any vehicle or conveyance, except as permitted by the
12Code of Federal Regulations for the taking of waterfowl. It is
13also unlawful to use the lights of any vehicle or conveyance or
14any light from or any light connected to the vehicle or
15conveyance in any area where wildlife may be found except in
16accordance with Section 2.37 of this Act; however, nothing in
17this Section shall prohibit the normal use of headlamps for the
18purpose of driving upon a roadway. Striped skunk, opossum, red
19fox, gray fox, raccoon and coyote may be taken during the open
20season by use of a small light which is worn on the body or
21hand-held by a person on foot and not in any vehicle.
22    (j) It is unlawful to use any shotgun larger than 10 gauge
23while taking or attempting to take any of the species protected
24by this Act.
25    (k) It is unlawful to use or possess in the field any
26shotgun shell loaded with a shot size larger than lead BB or

 

 

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1steel T (.20 diameter) when taking or attempting to take any
2species of wild game mammals (excluding white-tailed deer),
3wild game birds, migratory waterfowl or migratory game birds
4protected by this Act, except white-tailed deer as provided for
5in Section 2.26 and other species as provided for by subsection
6(l) or administrative rule.
7    (l) It is unlawful to take any species of wild game, except
8white-tailed deer and fur-bearing mammals, with a shotgun
9loaded with slugs unless otherwise provided for by
10administrative rule.
11    (m) It is unlawful to use any shotgun capable of holding
12more than 3 shells in the magazine or chamber combined, except
13on game breeding and hunting preserve areas licensed under
14Section 3.27 and except as permitted by the Code of Federal
15Regulations for the taking of waterfowl. If the shotgun is
16capable of holding more than 3 shells, it shall, while being
17used on an area other than a game breeding and shooting
18preserve area licensed pursuant to Section 3.27, be fitted with
19a one piece plug that is irremovable without dismantling the
20shotgun or otherwise altered to render it incapable of holding
21more than 3 shells in the magazine and chamber, combined.
22    (n) It is unlawful for any person, except persons who
23possess a permit to hunt from a vehicle as provided in this
24Section and persons otherwise permitted by law, to have or
25carry any gun in or on any vehicle, conveyance or aircraft,
26unless such gun is unloaded and enclosed in a case, except that

 

 

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1at field trials authorized by Section 2.34 of this Act,
2unloaded guns or guns loaded with blank cartridges only, may be
3carried on horseback while not contained in a case, and except
4that on game breeding and hunting preserve areas authorized by
5Sections 3.27 through 3.35 of this Act, unloaded guns may be
6carried in or on any vehicle or conveyance, or to have or carry
7any bow or arrow device in or on any vehicle unless such bow or
8arrow device is unstrung or enclosed in a case, or otherwise
9made inoperable.
10    (o) It is unlawful to use any crossbow for the purpose of
11taking any wild birds or mammals, except as provided for in
12Section 2.5.
13    (p) It is unlawful to take game birds, migratory game birds
14or migratory waterfowl with a rifle, pistol, revolver or
15airgun.
16    (q) It is unlawful to fire a rifle, pistol, revolver or
17airgun on, over or into any waters of this State, including
18frozen waters.
19    (r) It is unlawful to discharge any gun or bow and arrow
20device along, upon, across, or from any public right-of-way or
21highway in this State.
22    (s) It is unlawful to use a silencer or other device to
23muffle or mute the sound of the explosion or report resulting
24from the firing of any gun.
25    (t) It is unlawful for any person to take or attempt to
26take any species of wildlife or parts thereof, intentionally or

 

 

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1wantonly allow a dog to hunt, within or upon the land of
2another, or upon waters flowing over or standing on the land of
3another, or to knowingly shoot a gun or bow and arrow device at
4any wildlife physically on or flying over the property of
5another without first obtaining permission from the owner or
6the owner's designee. For the purposes of this Section, the
7owner's designee means anyone who the owner designates in a
8written authorization and the authorization must contain (i)
9the legal or common description of property for such authority
10is given, (ii) the extent that the owner's designee is
11authorized to make decisions regarding who is allowed to take
12or attempt to take any species of wildlife or parts thereof,
13and (iii) the owner's notarized signature. Before enforcing
14this Section the law enforcement officer must have received
15notice from the owner or the owner's designee of a violation of
16this Section. Statements made to the law enforcement officer
17regarding this notice shall not be rendered inadmissible by the
18hearsay rule when offered for the purpose of showing the
19required notice.
20    (u) It is unlawful for any person to discharge any firearm
21for the purpose of taking any of the species protected by this
22Act, or hunt with gun or dog, or intentionally or wantonly
23allow a dog to hunt, within 300 yards of an inhabited dwelling
24without first obtaining permission from the owner or tenant,
25except that while trapping, hunting with bow and arrow, hunting
26with dog and shotgun using shot shells only, or hunting with

 

 

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1shotgun using shot shells only, or providing outfitting
2services under a waterfowl outfitter permit, or on licensed
3game breeding and hunting preserve areas, as defined in Section
43.27, on federally owned and managed lands and on Department
5owned, managed, leased, or controlled lands, a 100 yard
6restriction shall apply.
7    (v) It is unlawful for any person to remove fur-bearing
8mammals from, or to move or disturb in any manner, the traps
9owned by another person without written authorization of the
10owner to do so.
11    (w) It is unlawful for any owner of a dog to knowingly or
12wantonly allow his or her dog to pursue, harass or kill deer,
13except that nothing in this Section shall prohibit the tracking
14of wounded deer with a dog in accordance with the provisions of
15Section 2.26 of this Code.
16    (x) It is unlawful for any person to wantonly or carelessly
17injure or destroy, in any manner whatsoever, any real or
18personal property on the land of another while engaged in
19hunting or trapping thereon.
20    (y) It is unlawful to hunt wild game protected by this Act
21between one half hour after sunset and one half hour before
22sunrise, except that hunting hours between one half hour after
23sunset and one half hour before sunrise may be established by
24administrative rule for fur-bearing mammals.
25    (z) It is unlawful to take any game bird (excluding wild
26turkeys and crippled pheasants not capable of normal flight and

 

 

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1otherwise irretrievable) protected by this Act when not flying.
2Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a person from carrying
3an uncased, unloaded shotgun in a boat, while in pursuit of a
4crippled migratory waterfowl that is incapable of normal
5flight, for the purpose of attempting to reduce the migratory
6waterfowl to possession, provided that the attempt is made
7immediately upon downing the migratory waterfowl and is done
8within 400 yards of the blind from which the migratory
9waterfowl was downed. This exception shall apply only to
10migratory game birds that are not capable of normal flight.
11Migratory waterfowl that are crippled may be taken only with a
12shotgun as regulated by subsection (j) of this Section using
13shotgun shells as regulated in subsection (k) of this Section.
14    (aa) It is unlawful to use or possess any device that may
15be used for tree climbing or cutting, while hunting fur-bearing
16mammals, excluding coyotes.
17    (bb) It is unlawful for any person, except licensed game
18breeders, pursuant to Section 2.29 to import, carry into, or
19possess alive in this State any species of wildlife taken
20outside of this State, without obtaining permission to do so
21from the Director.
22    (cc) It is unlawful for any person to have in his or her
23possession any freshly killed species protected by this Act
24during the season closed for taking.
25    (dd) It is unlawful to take any species protected by this
26Act and retain it alive except as provided by administrative

 

 

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1rule.
2    (ee) It is unlawful to possess any rifle while in the field
3during gun deer season except as provided in Section 2.26 and
4administrative rules.
5    (ff) It is unlawful for any person to take any species
6protected by this Act, except migratory waterfowl, during the
7gun deer hunting season in those counties open to gun deer
8hunting, unless he or she wears, when in the field, a cap and
9upper outer garment of a solid blaze orange color, with such
10articles of clothing displaying a minimum of 400 square inches
11of blaze orange material.
12    (gg) It is unlawful during the upland game season for any
13person to take upland game with a firearm unless he or she
14wears, while in the field, a cap of solid blaze orange color.
15For purposes of this Act, upland game is defined as Bobwhite
16Quail, Hungarian Partridge, Ring-necked Pheasant, Eastern
17Cottontail and Swamp Rabbit.
18    (hh) It shall be unlawful to kill or cripple any species
19protected by this Act for which there is a bag limit without
20making a reasonable effort to retrieve such species and include
21such in the bag limit. It shall be unlawful for any person
22having control over harvested game mammals, game birds, or
23migratory game birds for which there is a bag limit to wantonly
24waste or destroy the usable meat of the game, except this shall
25not apply to wildlife taken under Sections 2.37 or 3.22 of this
26Code. For purposes of this subsection, "usable meat" means the

 

 

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1breast meat of a game bird or migratory game bird and the hind
2ham and front shoulders of a game mammal. It shall be unlawful
3for any person to place, leave, dump, or abandon a wildlife
4carcass or parts of it along or upon a public right-of-way or
5highway or on public or private property, including a waterway
6or stream, without the permission of the owner or tenant. It
7shall not be unlawful to discard game meat that is determined
8to be unfit for human consumption.
9    (ii) This Section shall apply only to those species
10protected by this Act taken within the State. Any species or
11any parts thereof, legally taken in and transported from other
12states or countries, may be possessed within the State, except
13as provided in this Section and Sections 2.35, 2.36 and 3.21.
14    (jj) (Blank).
15    (kk) Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit the
16Director from issuing permits to paraplegics or to other
17disabled persons who meet the requirements set forth in
18administrative rule to shoot or hunt from a vehicle as provided
19by that rule, provided that such is otherwise in accord with
20this Act.
21    (ll) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the
22taking of aquatic life protected by the Fish and Aquatic Life
23Code or birds and mammals protected by this Act, except deer
24and fur-bearing mammals, from a boat not camouflaged or
25disguised to alter its identity or to further provide a place
26of concealment and not propelled by sail or mechanical power.

 

 

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1However, only shotguns not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller
2than .410 bore loaded with not more than 3 shells of a shot
3size no larger than lead BB or steel T (.20 diameter) may be
4used to take species protected by this Act.
5    (mm) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the use
6of a shotgun, not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller than a 20
7gauge, with a rifled barrel.
8    (nn) It shall be unlawful to possess any species of
9wildlife or wildlife parts taken unlawfully in Illinois, any
10other state, or any other country, whether or not the wildlife
11or wildlife parts is indigenous to Illinois. For the purposes
12of this subsection, the statute of limitations for unlawful
13possession of wildlife or wildlife parts shall not cease until
142 years after the possession has permanently ended.
15(Source: P.A. 97-645, eff. 12-30-11; 97-907, eff. 8-7-12;
1698-119, eff. 1-1-14; 98-181, eff. 8-5-13; 98-183, eff. 1-1-14;
1798-290, eff. 8-9-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 98-914, eff.
181-1-15.)