WILDLIFE CD-SNAP DEER PERMIT

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB4621

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HB4621 - 104th General Assembly

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4621

Introduced 2/3/2026, by Rep. Dave Severin

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

520 ILCS 5/2.26

from Ch. 61, par. 2.26

Amends the Wildlife Code. Provides that there shall be no fee for one
Deer Hunting Permit to take one deer in one season with either bow and
arrow or gun for a resident of the State who receives assistance under the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the
Food Stamp Program.
LRB104 18462 BDA 31904 b

A BILL FOR

HB4621
LRB104 18462 BDA 31904 b
1

AN ACT concerning wildlife.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 5.
The Wildlife Code is amended by changing
5
Section 2.26 as follows:

6

(520 ILCS 5/2.26)

(from Ch. 61, par. 2.26)
7

Sec. 2.26.
Deer hunting permits.
Any person attempting to
8
take deer shall first obtain a "Deer Hunting Permit" issued by
9
the Department in accordance with its administrative rules.
10
Those rules must provide for the issuance of the following
11
types of resident deer archery permits: (i) a combination
12
permit, consisting of one either-sex permit and one
13
antlerless-only permit, (ii) a single antlerless-only permit,
14
and (iii) a single either-sex permit. The fee for a Deer
15
Hunting Permit to take deer with either bow and arrow or gun
16
shall not exceed $25 for residents of the State.
There shall be
17
no fee for one Deer Hunting Permit to take one deer in one
18
season with either bow and arrow or gun for a resident of the
19
State who receives assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition
20
Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp
21
Program.
The Department may by administrative rule provide for
22
non-resident deer hunting permits for which the fee will not
23
exceed $300 in 2005, $350 in 2006, and $400 in 2007 and

HB4621
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LRB104 18462 BDA 31904 b
1
thereafter except as provided below for non-resident
2
landowners and non-resident archery hunters. The Department
3
may by administrative rule provide for a non-resident archery
4
deer permit consisting of not more than 2 harvest tags at a
5
total cost not to exceed $325 in 2005, $375 in 2006, and $425
6
in 2007 and thereafter. The fees for a youth resident and
7
non-resident archery deer permit shall be the same.
8

The Department shall create a pilot program during the
9
special 3-day, youth-only deer hunting season to allow for
10
youth deer hunting permits that are valid statewide, excluding
11
those counties or portions of counties closed to firearm deer
12
hunting. The Department shall adopt rules to implement the
13
pilot program. Hunters qualifying to participate in a
14
youth-only deer season shall be eligible for one either-sex
15
permit and one antlerless-only permit. Nothing in this
16
paragraph shall be construed to prohibit the Department from
17
issuing Special Hunt Area Permits for the youth-only deer
18
hunting season or establishing, through administrative rule,
19
additional requirements pertaining to the youth-only deer
20
hunting season on Department-owned or Department-managed
21
sites, including site-specific quotas or drawings. The
22
provisions of this paragraph are inoperative on and after
23
January 1, 2023.
24

The standards and specifications for use of guns and bow
25
and arrow for deer hunting shall be established by
26
administrative rule.

HB4621
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LRB104 18462 BDA 31904 b
1

No person may have in his or her possession any firearm not
2
authorized by administrative rule for a specific hunting
3
season when taking deer unless in accordance with the Firearm
4
Concealed Carry Act.
5

Persons having a firearm deer hunting permit shall be
6
permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour
7
before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, and only during those
8
days for which an open season is established for the taking of
9
deer by use of shotgun, handgun, rifle, or muzzle loading
10
rifle.
11

Persons having an archery deer hunting permit shall be
12
permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour
13
before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, and only during those
14
days for which an open season is established for the taking of
15
deer by use of bow and arrow.
16

It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer by use of
17
dogs, horses, automobiles, aircraft, or other vehicles, or by
18
the use or aid of bait or baiting of any kind. For the purposes
19
of this Section, "bait" means any material, whether liquid or
20
solid, including food, salt, minerals, and other products,
21
except pure water, that can be ingested, placed, or scattered
22
in such a manner as to attract or lure white-tailed deer.
23
"Baiting" means the placement or scattering of bait to attract
24
deer. An area is considered as baited during the presence of
25
and for 10 consecutive days following the removal of bait.
26
Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the use of a dog to

HB4621
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LRB104 18462 BDA 31904 b
1
track wounded deer. Any person using a dog for tracking
2
wounded deer must maintain physical control of the dog at all
3
times by means of a maximum 50-foot lead attached to the dog's
4
collar or harness. Tracking wounded deer is permissible at
5
night, but at no time outside of legal deer hunting hours or
6
seasons shall any person handling or accompanying a dog being
7
used for tracking wounded deer be in possession of any firearm
8
or archery device. Persons tracking wounded deer with a dog
9
during the firearm deer seasons shall wear blaze orange or
10
solid blaze pink color as required. Dog handlers tracking
11
wounded deer with a dog are exempt from hunting license and
12
deer permit requirements so long as they are accompanied by
13
the licensed deer hunter who wounded the deer.
14

It shall be unlawful to possess or transport any wild deer
15
which has been injured or killed in any manner upon a public
16
highway or public right-of-way of this State unless exempted
17
by administrative rule.
18

Persons hunting deer must have the gun unloaded and no bow
19
and arrow device shall be carried with the arrow in the nocked
20
position during hours when deer hunting is unlawful.
21

It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the
22
legal limit of deer by gun, to further participate with a gun
23
in any deer hunting party.
24

It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the
25
legal limit of deer by bow and arrow, to further participate
26
with bow and arrow in any deer hunting party.

HB4621
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LRB104 18462 BDA 31904 b
1

The Department may prohibit upland game hunting during the
2
gun deer season by administrative rule.
3

The Department shall not limit the number of non-resident,
4
either-sex archery deer hunting permits to less than 20,000.
5

Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
6
Section, including administrative rules, shall be guilty of a
7
Class B misdemeanor.
8

For the purposes of calculating acreage under this
9
Section, the Department shall, after determining the total
10
acreage of the applicable tract or tracts of land, round
11
remaining fractional portions of an acre greater than or equal
12
to half of an acre up to the next whole acre.
13

For the purposes of taking white-tailed deer, nothing in
14
this Section shall be construed to prevent the manipulation,
15
including mowing or cutting, of standing crops as a normal
16
agricultural or soil stabilization practice, food plots, or
17
normal agricultural practices, including planting, harvesting,
18
and maintenance such as cultivating or the use of products
19
designed for scent only and not capable of ingestion, solid or
20
liquid, placed or scattered, in such a manner as to attract or
21
lure deer. Such manipulation for the purpose of taking
22
white-tailed deer may be further modified by administrative
23
rule.
24
(Source: P.A. 104-361, eff. 1-1-26; 104-417, eff. 8-15-25
.)

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