98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB2841

 

Introduced , by Rep. Brandon W. Phelps

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
520 ILCS 5/2.11  from Ch. 61, par. 2.11
520 ILCS 5/2.26  from Ch. 61, par. 2.26

    Amends the Wildlife Code. Provides that permits for wild turkey hunting and deer hunting shall be issued without charge to certain individuals or groups provided that the individual or group owns or is a resident tenant of at least 20 acres (instead of 40 acres) of Illinois land.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2841LRB098 09812 CEL 39963 b

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
5Sections 2.11 and 2.26 as follows:
 
6    (520 ILCS 5/2.11)  (from Ch. 61, par. 2.11)
7    Sec. 2.11. Before any person may lawfully hunt wild turkey,
8he shall first obtain a "Wild Turkey Hunting Permit" in
9accordance with the prescribed regulations set forth in an
10administrative rule of the Department. The fee for a Resident
11Wild Turkey Hunting Permit shall not exceed $15.
12    Upon submitting suitable evidence of legal residence in any
13other state, non-residents shall be charged a fee not to exceed
14$125 for wild turkey hunting permits, except as provided below
15for non-resident land owners.
16    Permits shall be issued without charge to:
17        (a) Illinois landowners residing in Illinois who own at
18    least 20 40 acres of Illinois land and wish to hunt on
19    their land only,
20        (b) resident tenants of at least 20 40 acres of
21    commercial agricultural land, and
22        (c) bona fide equity shareholders of a corporation,
23    bona fide equity members of a limited liability company, or

 

 

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1    bona fide equity partners of a general or limited
2    partnership which owns at least 20 40 acres of land in a
3    county in Illinois who wish to hunt on the corporation's,
4    company's, or partnership's land only. One permit shall be
5    issued without charge to one bona fide equity shareholder,
6    one bona fide equity member, or one bona fide equity
7    partner for each 20 40 acres of land owned by the
8    corporation, company, or partnership in a county; however,
9    the number of permits issued without charge to bona fide
10    equity shareholders of any corporation or bona fide equity
11    members of a limited liability company in any county shall
12    not exceed 15, and shall not exceed 3 in the case of bona
13    fide equity partners of a partnership.
14    The turkey hunting permit issued without fee shall be valid
15on all lands upon which the person to whom it is issued owns,
16leases or rents, except that in the case of a permit issued
17without charge to a shareholder of a corporation, the permit
18shall be valid on all lands owned by the corporation in the
19county.
20    The Department may by administrative rule allocate and
21issue non-resident Wild Turkey Permits and establish fees for
22such permits.
23    It shall be unlawful to take wild turkey except by use of a
24bow and arrow or a shotgun of not larger than 10 nor smaller
25than 20 gauge with shot size not larger than No. 4, and no
26person while attempting to so take wild turkey may have in his

 

 

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1possession any other gun.
2    It shall be unlawful to take, or attempt to take wild
3turkey except during the time from 1/2 hour before sunrise to
41/2 hour after sunset or during such lesser period of time as
5may be specified by administrative rule, during those days for
6which an open season is established.
7    It shall be unlawful for any person to take, or attempt to
8take, wild turkey by use of dogs, horses, automobiles, aircraft
9or other vehicles, or conveyances, or by the use or aid of bait
10or baiting of any kind. For the purposes of this Section,
11"bait" means any material, whether liquid or solid, including
12food, salt, minerals, and other products that can be ingested,
13placed, or scattered in such a manner as to attract or lure
14wild turkeys. "Baiting" means the placement or scattering of
15bait to attract wild turkeys. An area is considered as baited
16during the presence of and for 10 consecutive days following
17the removal of the bait.
18    It is unlawful for any person to take in Illinois or have
19in his possession more than one wild turkey per valid permit.
20    For purposes of this Section "bona fide equity
21shareholder", "bona fide equity member", and "bona fide equity
22partner" shall have the same meaning as provided in Section
232.26 of this Act.
24    For the purposes of calculating acreage under this Section,
25the Department shall, after determining the total acreage of
26the applicable tract or tracts of land, round remaining

 

 

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1fractional portions of an acre greater than or equal to half of
2an acre up to the next whole acre.
3    For the purposes of taking wild turkey, nothing in this
4Section shall be construed to prevent the manipulation,
5including mowing or cutting, of standing crops as a normal
6agricultural or soil stabilization practice, food plots, or
7normal agricultural practices, including planting, harvesting,
8and maintenance such as cultivating. Such manipulation for the
9purpose of taking wild turkey may be further modified by
10administrative rule.
11(Source: P.A. 96-162, eff. 1-1-10; 97-564, eff. 8-25-11.)
 
12    (520 ILCS 5/2.26)  (from Ch. 61, par. 2.26)
13    Sec. 2.26. Deer hunting permits. In this Section, "bona
14fide equity shareholder" means an individual who (1) purchased,
15for market price, publicly sold stock shares in a corporation,
16purchased shares of a privately-held corporation for a value
17equal to the percentage of the appraised value of the corporate
18assets represented by the ownership in the corporation, or is a
19member of a closely-held family-owned corporation and has
20purchased or been gifted with shares of stock in the
21corporation accurately reflecting his or her percentage of
22ownership and (2) intends to retain the ownership of the shares
23of stock for at least 5 years.
24    In this Section, "bona fide equity member" means an
25individual who (1) (i) became a member upon the formation of

 

 

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1the limited liability company or (ii) has purchased a
2distributional interest in a limited liability company for a
3value equal to the percentage of the appraised value of the LLC
4assets represented by the distributional interest in the LLC
5and subsequently becomes a member of the company pursuant to
6Article 30 of the Limited Liability Company Act and who (2)
7intends to retain the membership for at least 5 years.
8    In this Section, "bona fide equity partner" means an
9individual who (1) (i) became a partner, either general or
10limited, upon the formation of a partnership or limited
11partnership, or (ii) has purchased, acquired, or been gifted a
12partnership interest accurately representing his or her
13percentage distributional interest in the profits, losses, and
14assets of a partnership or limited partnership, (2) intends to
15retain ownership of the partnership interest for at least 5
16years, and (3) is a resident of Illinois.
17    Any person attempting to take deer shall first obtain a
18"Deer Hunting Permit" issued by the Department in accordance
19with its administrative rules. Those rules must provide for the
20issuance of the following types of resident deer archery
21permits: (i) a combination permit, consisting of one either-sex
22permit and one antlerless-only permit, (ii) a single
23antlerless-only permit, and (iii) a single either-sex permit.
24The fee for a Deer Hunting Permit to take deer with either bow
25and arrow or gun shall not exceed $25.00 for residents of the
26State. The Department may by administrative rule provide for

 

 

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1non-resident deer hunting permits for which the fee will not
2exceed $300 in 2005, $350 in 2006, and $400 in 2007 and
3thereafter except as provided below for non-resident
4landowners and non-resident archery hunters. The Department
5may by administrative rule provide for a non-resident archery
6deer permit consisting of not more than 2 harvest tags at a
7total cost not to exceed $325 in 2005, $375 in 2006, and $425
8in 2007 and thereafter. Permits shall be issued without charge
9to:
10        (a) Illinois landowners residing in Illinois who own at
11    least 20 40 acres of Illinois land and wish to hunt their
12    land only,
13        (b) resident tenants of at least 20 40 acres of
14    commercial agricultural land where they will hunt, and
15        (c) Bona fide equity shareholders of a corporation,
16    bona fide equity members of a limited liability company, or
17    bona fide equity partners of a general or limited
18    partnership which owns at least 20 40 acres of land in a
19    county in Illinois who wish to hunt on the corporation's,
20    company's, or partnership's land only. One permit shall be
21    issued without charge to one bona fide equity shareholder,
22    one bona fide equity member, or one bona fide equity
23    partner for each 20 40 acres of land owned by the
24    corporation, company, or partnership in a county; however,
25    the number of permits issued without charge to bona fide
26    equity shareholders of any corporation or bona fide equity

 

 

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1    members of a limited liability company in any county shall
2    not exceed 15, and shall not exceed 3 in the case of bona
3    fide equity partners of a partnership.
4    Bona fide landowners or tenants who do not wish to hunt
5only on the land they own, rent, or lease or bona fide equity
6shareholders, bona fide equity members, or bona fide equity
7partners who do not wish to hunt only on the land owned by the
8corporation, limited liability company, or partnership shall
9be charged the same fee as the applicant who is not a
10landowner, tenant, bona fide equity shareholder, bona fide
11equity member, or bona fide equity partner. Nonresidents of
12Illinois who own at least 20 40 acres of land and wish to hunt
13on their land only shall be charged a fee set by administrative
14rule. The method for obtaining these permits shall be
15prescribed by administrative rule.
16    The deer hunting permit issued without fee shall be valid
17on all farm lands which the person to whom it is issued owns,
18leases or rents, except that in the case of a permit issued to
19a bona fide equity shareholder, bona fide equity member, or
20bona fide equity partner, the permit shall be valid on all
21lands owned by the corporation, limited liability company, or
22partnership in the county.
23    The standards and specifications for use of guns and bow
24and arrow for deer hunting shall be established by
25administrative rule.
26    No person may have in his possession any firearm not

 

 

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1authorized by administrative rule for a specific hunting season
2when taking deer.
3    Persons having a firearm deer hunting permit shall be
4permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour
5before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, and only during those
6days for which an open season is established for the taking of
7deer by use of shotgun, handgun, or muzzle loading rifle.
8    Persons having an archery deer hunting permit shall be
9permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour
10before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, and only during those
11days for which an open season is established for the taking of
12deer by use of bow and arrow.
13    It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer by use of
14dogs, horses, automobiles, aircraft or other vehicles, or by
15the use or aid of bait or baiting of any kind. For the purposes
16of this Section, "bait" means any material, whether liquid or
17solid, including food, salt, minerals, and other products that
18can be ingested, placed, or scattered in such a manner as to
19attract or lure white-tailed deer. "Baiting" means the
20placement or scattering of bait to attract deer. An area is
21considered as baited during the presence of and for 10
22consecutive days following the removal of bait. Nothing in this
23Section shall prohibit the use of a dog to track wounded deer.
24Any person using a dog for tracking wounded deer must maintain
25physical control of the dog at all times by means of a maximum
2650 foot lead attached to the dog's collar or harness. Tracking

 

 

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1wounded deer is permissible at night, but at no time outside of
2legal deer hunting hours or seasons shall any person handling
3or accompanying a dog being used for tracking wounded deer be
4in possession of any firearm or archery device. Persons
5tracking wounded deer with a dog during the firearm deer
6seasons shall wear blaze orange as required. Dog handlers
7tracking wounded deer with a dog are exempt from hunting
8license and deer permit requirements so long as they are
9accompanied by the licensed deer hunter who wounded the deer.
10    It shall be unlawful to possess or transport any wild deer
11which has been injured or killed in any manner upon a public
12highway or public right-of-way of this State unless exempted by
13administrative rule.
14    Persons hunting deer must have gun unloaded and no bow and
15arrow device shall be carried with the arrow in the nocked
16position during hours when deer hunting is unlawful.
17    It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the legal
18limit of deer by gun, to further participate with gun in any
19deer hunting party.
20    It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the legal
21limit of deer by bow and arrow, to further participate with bow
22and arrow in any deer hunting party.
23    The Department may prohibit upland game hunting during the
24gun deer season by administrative rule.
25    The Department shall not limit the number of non-resident
26either sex archery deer hunting permits to less than 20,000.

 

 

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1    Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
2Section, including administrative rules, shall be guilty of a
3Class B misdemeanor.
4    For the purposes of calculating acreage under this Section,
5the Department shall, after determining the total acreage of
6the applicable tract or tracts of land, round remaining
7fractional portions of an acre greater than or equal to half of
8an acre up to the next whole acre.
9    For the purposes of taking white-tailed deer, nothing in
10this Section shall be construed to prevent the manipulation,
11including mowing or cutting, of standing crops as a normal
12agricultural or soil stabilization practice, food plots, or
13normal agricultural practices, including planting, harvesting,
14and maintenance such as cultivating or the use of products
15designed for scent only and not capable of ingestion, solid or
16liquid, placed or scattered, in such a manner as to attract or
17lure deer. Such manipulation for the purpose of taking
18white-tailed deer may be further modified by administrative
19rule.
20(Source: P.A. 96-162, eff. 1-1-10; 96-831, eff. 1-1-10;
2196-1042, eff. 1-1-11; 97-564, eff. 8-25-11; 97-907, eff.
228-7-12.)