Eliminating the authority of the secretary of wildlife and parks to issue nonresident landowner deer permits.

Session of 2025
SENATE BILL No. 80
By Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources
1-27
AN ACT concerning wildlife and parks; relating to hunting; eliminating
the authority of the secretary of wildlife and parks to issue nonresident
landowner deer permits; amending K.S.A. 32-937 and repealing the
existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 32-937 is hereby amended to read as follows: 32-
937. (a) When As used in this section:
(1) "Landowner" means a resident owner of farm or ranch land of 80
acres or more located in the state of Kansas.
(2) "Tenant" means an individual who is actively engaged in the
agricultural operation of 80 acres or more of Kansas farm or ranch land for
the purpose of producing agricultural commodities or livestock and who:
(A) Has a substantial financial investment in the production of
agricultural commodities or livestock on such farm or ranch land and the
potential to realize substantial financial benefit from such production; or
(B) is a bona fide manager having an overall responsibility to direct,
supervise and conduct such agricultural operation and has the potential to
realize substantial benefit from such production in the form of salary,
shares of such production or some other economic incentive based upon
such production. Evidence of tenancy, if requested, shall be provided to
the department and may include, but is not limited to, natural resource
conservation services records, farm service agency records, or written
agricultural contract or lease documentation.
(3) "Regular season" means a statewide big game hunting season
authorized annually which may include one or more seasons restricted to
specific types of equipment.
(4) "Special season" means a big game hunting season in addition to a
regular season authorized on an irregular basis or at different times of the
year other than the regular season.
(5) "General permit" means a big game hunting permit available to
Kansas residents not applying for big game permits as a landowner or
tenant.
(6) "Nonresident landowner" means a nonresident of the state of
Kansas who owns farm or ranch land of 80 acres or more which is located
in the state of Kansas.
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(7) "Nonresident permit" means a big game hunting permit available
to individuals who are not Kansas residents.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by law or rules and regulations of
the secretary and in addition to any other license, permit or stamp required
by law or rules and regulations of the secretary, valid big game permits are
required to take any big game in this state.
(c) The fee for big game permits and game tags shall be the amount
prescribed pursuant to K.S.A. 32-988, and amendments thereto.
(d) Big game permits are valid throughout the state or such portion
thereof as provided by rules and regulations adopted by the secretary in
accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments thereto.
(e) Unless otherwise provided by law or rules and regulations of the
secretary, big game permits are valid from the date of issuance and shall
expire at the end of the season for which issued.
(f) The secretary may adopt, in accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and
amendments thereto, rules and regulations for each regular or special big
game hunting season and for each management unit regarding big game
permits. The secretary is hereby authorized to issue big game permits
pertaining to the taking of big game. Separate big game permits may be
issued for each species of big game. No big game permits shall be issued
until the secretary has established, by rules and regulations adopted in
accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments thereto, a regular or
special big game hunting season.
(g) The secretary may authorize, by rules and regulations adopted in
accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments thereto, regular
landowner or tenant hunt-on-your-own-land big game permits. Members
of the landowner's or tenant's immediate family who are domiciled with
the landowner or tenant may apply for resident big game permits as
landowners or tenants, but the total number of landowner or tenant regular
hunt-on-your-own-land permits issued to a landowner or tenant and a
landowner's or tenant's immediate family members for each big game
species shall not exceed one permit for each 80 acres owned by such
landowner or operated by such tenant. Evidence of ownership or tenancy,
if requested, shall be provided to the department. Such permits and
applications may contain provisions and restrictions as prescribed by rules
and regulations adopted by the secretary in accordance with K.S.A. 32-
805, and amendments thereto.
(h) Special hunt-on-your-own-land deer permits may be issued to a
landowner's or tenant's siblings and lineal ascendants or descendants, and
their spouses, whether or not a Kansas resident, by paying the required fee
for a general deer permit. The total number of regular and special hunt-on-
your-own-land deer permits issued to a landowner's or tenant's siblings and
lineal ascendants or descendants, and their spouses, shall not exceed one
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deer permit for each 80 acres owned by such landowner or operated by
such tenant. Evidence of ownership or tenancy, and sibling or lineal
ascending or descending relations, if requested, shall be provided to the
department.
(i) Fifty percentThe secretary shall issue 50% of the big game permits
authorized for a regular season in any management unit shall be issued to
landowners or tenants, provided that a limited number of big game permits
have been authorized and landowner or tenant hunt-on-your-own-land big
game permits for that unit have not been authorized. A landowner or tenant
is not eligible to apply for a big game permit as a landowner or as a tenant
in a management unit other than the unit or units which includes such
landowner's or tenant's land. Any big game permits not issued to
landowners or tenants within the time period prescribed by rules and
regulations may be issued without regard to the 50% limitation.
(j) The secretary may issue, by rules and regulations adopted in
accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments thereto, resident deer
hunting permits available on a limited basis and valid for a designated
species and sex in designated units, and antlerless-only deer permits in
designated units as necessary for management purposes, and, any of the
following options:
(1) Either sex white-tailed deer permits valid statewide during any
season with the equipment legal for that season;
(2) either species, either sex archery permits valid statewide;
(3) either species, either sex muzzle loader permits valid in
designated units; or
(4) either species, either sex firearm permits valid in designated units.
(k) The secretary may issue permits for deer to nonresident
landowners, but any such permit shall be restricted to hunting only on
lands owned by the nonresident landowner.
(l) The secretary may issue deer hunting permits to nonresidents,
subject to the following limitations:
(1) The total number of nonresident deer permits that may be issued
for a deer season in a management unit and which may be used to take
antlered deer shall be established with the goal of meeting demand for
those permits, using a formula developed by the department that will
consider adjustment factors, including deer population trends, deer-related
vehicle accidents, age structure in the harvest, deer damage, landowner
desire for nonresident deer permits, general public desires and health of
habitat. The 2008 permit numbers shall be based on the adjustment factors
and an average of nonresident demand for permits in each management
unit from the previous six years, establishing at least a 10% increase but
not more than 50% increase in permit numbers in each management unit,
except in unit 16, where permit numbers shall not increase more than
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100%. In subsequent years, the formula shall be used to determine permit
allocations based on demand and the adjustment factors.
(2) Nonresident deer permits may be restricted to a particular deer
species.
(3) Nonresident deer permits shall be restricted to two adjacent deer
management units.
(4) Nonresident deer hunters shall select one season at the time of
application.
(5) For an additional fee, nonresident deer hunters applying for a
whitetail either sex archery or muzzle loader permit in a designated mule
deer unit may also apply for one of the limited number of mule deer
stamps. If they are successful in both drawings, they would be issued a
permit that will allow them to take either a whitetail deer or a mule deer in
that unit.
(m)(l) A big game permit shall state the species, number and sex of
the big game which may be killed by the permittee. The secretary may
require any big game permittee to provide survey information at the
conclusion of the open season.
(n) (1) (m) Prior to April 30, 2013, The secretary shall develop and
implement a combination antlered and antlerless deer permit and adopt
rules and regulations for the administration thereof.
(2) Prior to April 30, 2013, the secretary shall develop and implement
a pre-rut antlerless deer rifle season by deer management unit. The
provisions of this paragraph shall expire on July 1, 2015.
(3) The secretary shall develop and implement a deer crossbow
hunting pilot project. Such pilot project shall be implemented in no more
than four deer management units. The secretary of wildlife, parks and
tourism shall study the effects of such pilot project on the deer population
and the number of crossbow users in such deer management units and
report to the house committee on agriculture and natural resources and the
senate committee on natural resources prior to January 31, 2014. The
provisions of this paragraph shall expire on January 31, 2014.
(o)(n) The permittee shall permanently affix the carcass tag to the
carcass of any big game animal immediately after killing and thereafter
take such killed game to a check station as may be required in the rules
and regulations, where a check station tag shall be affixed to the big game
carcass if the kill is legal. The tags shall remain affixed to the carcass until
the carcass is processed for storage or consumption. The permittee shall
retain the carcass tag until the carcass is consumed, given to another or
otherwise disposed of.
(p)(o) The provisions of this section do not apply to big game animals
sold in surplus property disposal sales of department exhibit herds or big
game animals legally taken outside this state.
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Sec. 2. K.S.A. 32-937 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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