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92_HB0417gms
STATE OF ILLINOIS
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
SPRINGFIELD, 62706
GEORGE H. RYAN
GOVERNOR
August 10, 2001
To the Honorable Members of the
Illinois House of Representatives
92nd General Assembly
Pursuant to Article IV, Section 9 (b) of the Illinois
Constitution of 1970, I hereby veto House Bill 417 entitled
"AN ACT concerning wildlife."
House Bill 417 amends the Wildlife Code to delete the
statutory provisions setting the time frames during which
certain public seasons for deer hunting by gun, and bow and
arrow, may be set. Specifically, the bill removes the 14-day
limits for certain deer hunting seasons. The bill also
provides that while deer hunting, no person may possess any
type of gun (now firearm) not authorized by the appropriate
administrative rule. House Bill 417 will allow the Director
of the Department of Natural Resources to set the deer
hunting season by Administrative Rule annually, at his
direction.
Although the main purpose of House Bill 417 is to provide
the Department of Natural Resources with more flexibility in
managing the white-tailed deer population, I do not believe
the benefit of such flexibility outweighs the confusion that
may result if specific timeframes for hunting are removed
from the Wildlife Code. The current Wildlife Code allows the
hunting season to be set annually between the dates of
November 1st and December 31st by the Director of the
Department of Natural Resources. It is my belief that these
set timeframes help the sportsmen more consistently plan
their hunting season. This consistency ensures that sportsmen
will know when open season hunting will take place year after
year, and would result in more consistent hunting. I do not
feel that eliminating the dates in which open season is
allowed will have any more of a beneficial effect on managing
the deer populations. Indeed, I do feel that changing the
dates could have an adverse effect by having fewer sportsmen
participate due to the inconsistency of the season, from year
to year.
For these reasons, I hereby veto and return House Bill
417.
Sincerely,
s/GEORGE H. RYAN
Governor