Public Act 095-0118
 
SB0498 Enrolled LRB095 09869 CMK 30080 b

    AN ACT concerning hunting.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Hunting Heritage Protection Act is
amended by changing Section 15 as follows:
 
    (520 ILCS 30/15)
    Sec. 15. Recreational hunting.
    (a) Subject to valid existing rights, Department-managed
lands shall be open to access and use for recreational hunting
except as limited by the Department for reasons of public
safety, fish or wildlife management, or homeland security or as
otherwise limited by law.
    (b) The Department shall exercise its authority,
consistent with subsection (a), in a manner to support,
promote, and enhance recreational hunting opportunities, to
the extent authorized by State law. The Department is not
required to give preference to hunting over other uses of
Department-managed lands or over land or water management
priorities established by Department regulations or State law.
    (c) Department land management decisions and actions may
not, to the greatest practical extent, result in any net loss
of habitat land acreage available for hunting opportunities on
Department-managed lands that exists on the effective date of
this Act.
    (d) By October 1 of each year, the Director shall submit to
the General Assembly a written report describing:
        (1) the acreage administered by the Department that has
    been closed during the previous year to recreational
    hunting and the reasons for the closures; and
        (2) the acreage administered by the Department that, in
    order to comply with subsection (c), was opened to
    recreational hunting to compensate for those acreage
    closed under paragraph (1).
(Source: P.A. 93-837, eff. 1-1-05.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.