Wild bison hunting licenses-preference point system.

2018
STATE OF WYOMING
18LSO-0316
Numbered
1.7

HOUSE BILL

NO.
HB0121

Wild bison hunting licenses-preference point system.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Edwards, Biteman, Blackburn, Haley, Hunt, Jennings, Laursen, Lone, Loucks and Steinmetz and Senator(s) Driskill and Hicks

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to game and fish; establishing a preference point system for the issuance of wild bison hunting licenses; prohibiting the issuance of complimentary wild bison licenses; making conforming amendments; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section
1
.

W.S.
23
‑
1
‑
705(a),
23
‑
2
‑
101(k)
and (m)
,
23
‑
2
‑
107(c)
(i
) and by creating
new subsection
s
(g
)
through (k
)
and 23
‑
2
‑
109 are
amended to read:

23
‑
1
‑
705
.

Complimentary licenses; one
‑
shot antelope hunt licenses; gunpowder and buckskin hunt licenses; gratuitous licenses; donated licenses.

(a)

At the request of the governor, the commission shall annually issue up to twenty
‑
five (25) complimentary hunting and twenty
‑
five (25) complimentary fishing licenses. Not more than five (5) big horn sheep
,

and

five (5) moose
and five (5)

licenses shall be issued under this subsection
.
No

wild bison licenses shall be issued under this subsection. The five (5) year restriction imposed on the receipt of a moose or big horn sheep license by W.S. 23
‑
1
‑
703(b) and any restr
iction imposed on taking of wild bison under commission rule and regulation shall not be applicable in any manner to a license issued pursuant to this subsection. Except as provided under subsection (g) of this section, no complimentary licenses may be issued at the request of the appointed commissioners. Immediately upon issuance of any of these licenses, the commission shall submit to the secretary of state for maintenance as a public record, the name and address of each licensee and the type of license issued.

23
‑
2
‑
101
.

Fees; restrictions; nonresident application fee; nonresident licenses; verification of residency required.

(k)

Any resident qualified to purchase a moose or ram big horn sheep hunting license under subsection (j) of this section
or a
ny
wild bison
hunting license
under W.S. 23
‑
2
‑
107

may pay a fee of seven dollars ($7.00) in lieu of applying for a moose
, wild bison
or ram big horn sheep hunting license. Payment of the fee for a particular species under this subsection shall authorize the person to accumulate points under W.S. 23
‑
1
‑
703(b)

or 23
‑
2
‑
107(g
), as applicable,
for that year in the same manner as if he had unsuccessfully applied for a hunting license for that species. Payment of the fee shall be made in compliance with application dates.

(m)

Subject to the provisions of this subsection, as part of any preference point program for nonresident antelope, nonresident ram bighorn sheep, nonresident moose, nonresident deer
, nonresident wild bison
or nonresident
elk, the commission may establish a nonrefundable fee to be either withheld from the license fee
,
remitted or submitted separately when application for a license or preference point is made through electronic licensing, and may also establish a fee to be paid in lieu of applying for licenses that are limited in quota. Retention of the established fee or payment of the fee in lieu of applying shall authorize the person to accumulate a preference point for future drawings for licenses that are limited in quota for the applicable species in accordance with rules of the commission. The rules may provide for the loss of all accumulated points for persons failing to apply or to pay the in lieu fee in two (2) consecutive calendar years. The fee for any program under this subsection for antelope, deer or elk shall be established by rule and shall not exceed seventy
‑
five dollars ($75.00) per species. Payment of the fee shall be made in compliance with application dates. Nothing in this subsection authorizes the commission to establish or retain a fee for resident moose
, resident wild bison
or resident ram bighorn sheep license preference points in addition to the fee established by subsection (k) of this section or to establish rules for ram bighorn
sheep
, wild bison
or moose preference point drawings in conflict with the provisions of W.S. 23
‑
1
‑
703(b)
or 23
‑
2
‑
107(g
)
. For nonresident ram bighorn sheep
, nonresident wild bison
and nonresident moose licenses, the commission may establish by rule a nonrefundable preference point fee to be withheld from either the license fee remitted or submitted separately when application for a license or preference point is made through electronic licensing and may establish a fee in lieu of making application in an amount greater than that established under subsection (k) of this section, but neither fee shall exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00). Fees established under this subsection may be set at lower amounts for youth license applicants.

23
‑
2
‑
107
.

Wild bison licenses
; promulgation of rules; preference point system; fees; restrictions
.

(c)

The commission shall promulgate reasonable rules and regulations regulating wild bison licenses and the management of wild bison. The rules shall provide for:

(i)

License drawing procedures
, in accordance with subsections
(g
)
through (k
)
of this section
;

(g
)

The department shall issue wild bison licenses under this section for both bulls and cows.
Except as
otherwise
provided
in
this subsection,
subsection (j
) of this section
and W.S. 23
‑
1
‑
705(a)
, no person may receive more than one
(1)
bull
wild bison license in
their lifetime
and not more than one (1) cow wild bison license in any consecutive five (5) year period. Each
bull or cow
type of license
issued under this subsection shall be issued partially through a preference point drawing and partially through a random drawing of all remaining unsuccessful applicants for that year. The department shall assign points to each wild bison license applicant
within a license type which is

equal to
the number of years the applicant has unsuccessfully applied for a license

of
that type
. The calculation used to assign points to a wild bison license applicant under this subsection shall include any year the applicant does not apply for a wild bison hunting license
of that type
, provided in the case of a resident the applicant pays the fee specified in W.S. 23
‑
2
‑
101(k)
and in the case of a nonresident the applicant pays the appropriate fee established by the commission under W.S. 23
‑
2
‑
101(m). License applicants within each hunt area shall be grouped according to the number of assigned points for wild bison
of that type
. Not less than seventy
‑
five percent (75%) of available licenses
of a type
within any hunt area shall be randomly selected through a preference point drawing from among the group of applicants with the largest number of assigned points
within that type
and shall continue until all applicants within that group have been exhausted or until all available licenses have been issued, whichever occurs first. If any applicant grouping has been exhausted and licenses
of that type
remain available within that hunt area, selection shall continue from among the group of applicants
within that type
with the next largest number of assigned points. After the selections through the preference point drawing have been completed within a hunt area, the remaining licenses
of that type
available from that drawing and the licenses available for the random drawing for that hunt area
shall
be issued through a random selection from among all applicants
of that type
in the hunt area who were not selected for
the
issuance of a wild
bison license
of that type
through the preference point drawing in that hunt area. For purposes of assigning points under this subsection, any unsuccessful license applicant failing to apply for a license, or pay the applicable fee in lieu of applying, during the second calendar year shall be considered to be a first year applicant for any subsequent calendar year in which the applicant submits a license application for wild bison
of the
type
.

(h
)

The commission shall reserve seventy
‑
five percent (75%) of the
wild bison
licenses
of each type under subsection (g) of this section
to be issued in any one (1) year for resident hu
nters.

(j
)

Notwithstanding W.S. 23
‑
1
‑
704, any person who is issued and purchases a wild bison license
of any type
and is unable to use
that license,
for good cause as provided by regulations
,
for the year in which
the license was
issued, may reserve a wild bison license
of the same type
for use during the immediately succeeding calendar year by applying to the commission before the opening date of the season during the year for which the initial license is
issued. The initial wild bison license shall accompany the application. Upon receipt, the commission shall cancel the initial license and prior to the season opening date for wild bison during the immediately succeeding calendar year, issue to the applicant at an administrative cost not less than ten dollars ($10.00) and not to exceed four percent (4%) of the cost of the initial license, a wild bison license valid for that year
of the same type
.

(k
)

This section shall not apply to
privately owned bison.

23
‑
2
‑
109
.

Multiple applications for limited licenses prohibited; penalty.

Except as otherwise authorized by law or rule of the commission, no person shall submit more than one (1) application for a license for the same big or trophy game species or for wild turkey
or wild bison
, if the issuance of the license has been limited by
the commission.
A violation of this subsection shall be punishable as a high misdemeanor punishable as provided in W.S. 23
‑
6
‑
202(a)(ii),
by the loss of all points then assigned to the person pursuant to W.S. 23
‑
1
‑
703(b) or (g)

or 23
‑
2
‑
107(g)
, and disqualification in the year of submission for any license for the species for which the multiple applications were submitted.

Section 2
.

This act applies to
a wild bison license
issued on or after July 1, 2018.

Section 3
.

This act is effective July 1, 201
8
.

(END)

1
HB0121