Game, Inland Fisheries and Boating

Passed

P HB5

Special fishing license for handicapped. Authorizes the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to issue permits to organized groups of physically or mentally handicapped persons to fish on the second Saturday in May in designated waters stocked with trout, without members of the group having to obtain individual licenses. This is emergency legislation. This bill is identical to SB 12.
Patron - Carrico

P HB172

Control of wildlife diseases. Authorizes the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to promulgate regulations to (i) eradicate or prevent wildlife diseases and (ii) establish procedures for the condemnation and indemnification of captive wildlife.
Patron - Lingamfelter

P HB362

Composition of Board of Game and Inland Fisheries. Requires the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries to develop a Governance Manual that sets forth rules and procedures for the conduct of the Board's business. The bill also (i) delineates the duties of the chairman of the Board, (ii) requires the Board to ensure that the Auditor of Public Accounts, or any agent of the Auditor, conducts an annual audit of the accounts and transactions of the Board, and (iii) requires the Board to elect a new chairman and vice-chairman each year. The Director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will be subject to confirmation and reconfirmation by the General Assembly every four years. This bill is identical to SB 564.
Patron - Lingamfelter

P HB574

Youth trapping license. Establishes the state junior resident trapping license, which can be obtained by any resident under the age of 16 for a fee of $10. The license entitles the youth to trap throughout the state.
Patron - Nixon

P HB575

Trapping; penalty. Authorizes the Director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to allow governmental employees and persons holding a commercial Nuisance Annual Permit to visit conibear-style traps once every 72 hours. However, private trappers would continue to be required to visit their conibear traps every day. The bill also clarifies that a trapper can shoot an animal caught in his trap without having to obtain a hunting license and allows the shooting to occur every day of the week, including Sundays during the prescribed seasons.
Patron - Nixon

P HB870

Boating safety course. Requires courts to order any person who has been convicted of violating a boating law that imposes a penalty of a Class 3 misdemeanor or greater to pass a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators approved boating safety course, accepted by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Patron - Byron

P HB981

Federal funds for wildlife and fish restoration. Authorizes the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to accept federal grant money related to the Pittman-Robinson Act (wildlife restoration) and the Wallop-Breaux Act (sport fish restoration). The Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior has indicated to the Department that its audit of these federal funds found that Virginia does not have the statutory authority within the Code of Virginia to accept these funds.
Patron - Lewis

P SB12

P SB83

Visiting traps; penalty. Authorizes the Director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to allow government employees and persons holding a Commercial Nuisance Annual Permit to visit conibear-style traps once every 72 hours. However, private trappers would continue to be required to visit their conibear traps every day.
Patron - Watkins

P SB564

Failed

F HB6

Free hunting and fishing licenses. Allows every resident of the Commonwealth who has served in an armed conflict or peacekeeping mission after September 11, 2001, to obtain the state resident hunting license, the state resident fishing license, and the big game license, at no charge for one year.
Patron - Wright

F HB150

Releasing dogs upon or near posted land; penalty. Prohibits releasing dogs at the border of or upon the posted land of another without permission with the intent to cause them to run across the prohibited land for the purpose of flushing game and driving it to a place where it may be taken by persons who do not have permission to hunt on the land across which the dogs have been released.
Patron - Cole

F HB632

Hunting on Sundays. Allows hunting on Sundays west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Patron - Phillips

F HB711

Hunting on Sunday, local option. Allows localities to authorize hunting on Sunday. Currently, the law prohibits hunting on Sunday, except for raccoons, which can be hunted until 2:00 am on Sunday.
Patron - Ware, O.

F HB938

Board of Game and Inland Fisheries. Changes the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries from a supervisory board to a policy board. The bill gives the Governor and not the Board the authority to appoint the Director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. However, the person who is serving as the Director on July 1, 2006, will continue in that position until he resigns or is terminated; whereupon, the Governor will appoint the new Director. This bill was incorporated into HB 362.
Patron - Morgan

F HB939

Game wardens. Gives the Director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries the power to appoint all game wardens. Currently, the Director is required to hire from within the ranks of wardens if he is seeking to hire for a law-enforcement position above the rank of game warden. An exception to this hiring requirement is that the Director can hire from outside the agency's game warden force, if the position requires such knowledge, skill, or abilities that do not exist within the pool of applicants.
Patron - Morgan

F HB979

Governance by executive branch supervisory boards. Requires the Attorney General to meet with all appointed members of executive branch supervisory boards, commissions or councils, and explain to them their duties, responsibilities and potential liabilities. The bill also requires the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries to develop a Governance Manual that sets forth the rules and procedures for the conduct of the Board's business. In addition, the bill (i) delineates the duties of the chairman of the Board and (ii) requires an annual audit of the agency's operations. This bill was incorporated into HB 362.
Patron - Abbitt

F HB1061

Sale of bear parts. Allows the sale of bear parts from bears legally hunted in the Commonwealth by hunters or permitted resellers.
Patron - Watts

F HB1075

F HB1076

Towing persons on the water. Requires vessels towing a person on an inflatable tube to carry an observer on the vessel and the person being towed is required to wear a life preserver.
Patron - Dudley

F HB1130

Appointments to the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries. Changes the manner in which appointments are made to the 11-member Board of Game and Inland Fisheries. Currently, all members are appointed by the Governor. This bill will have the Governor appoint six members, the Speaker of the House of Delegates will appoint three members and the Senate Committee on Rules will appoint two members. The appointment will be made with the appointing authorities alternating in their selection of new members. The Governor will make the first appointment to fill a vacancy on the Board, followed by the Speaker and the Senate Committee on Rules. This bill was incorporated into HB 362.
Patron - Cline

F HB1131

Annual audit of the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries. Requires the Auditor of Public Accounts to conduct an annual audit of the accounts of the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries. This bill was incorporated into HB 362.
Patron - Cline

F SB718

Hunters for the Hungry donations. Increases the cost of the resident big game license by $1 and the nonresident big game license by $2. The amount of the increases will be allocated to the Hunters for the Hungry.
Patron - Stolle

Carried Over

C HB872

Mandatory boating safety education; penalty. Makes it a Class 4 misdemeanor for anyone to operate a motorboat without having successfully completed an approved boating safety education course. The education requirement is phased-in so that by July 1, 2015, all motorboat operators will have been required to complete and pass the course or an equivalency exam. The Board is directed to develop and administer the mandatory boating safety education program through the promulgation of regulations, taking into account comments from the public. There are a number of ways a person can comply with the law other than successfully completing an approved course, such as passing an equivalency examination, possessing a valid license issued to maritime personnel, etc.
Patron - Byron

C HB1078

Speed limits on certain lakes. Establishes a maximum speed limit of 35 miles per hour on Smith Mountain Lake between sunset and sunrise. Anyone who exceeds this limit is subject to a fine of up to $250.
Patron - Dudley

C SB387

Deer hunting on Sunday. Allows hunting on the first Sunday of early archery deer season, early muzzleloader deer season, and general firearms deer season.
Patron - Stolle

C SB528

Boating safety. Makes it a Class 4 misdemeanor for anyone to operate a motorboat on the waters of Smith Mountain Lake without having successfully completed an approved boating safety education course. The education requirement is phased in so that by July 1, 2015, all motorboat operators will have been required to complete and pass the course or an equivalency exam. The Board of Game and Inland Fisheries is directed to develop and administer the mandatory boating safety education program through the promulgation of regulations, taking into account comments from the public. There are a number of ways a person can comply with the law other than successfully completing an approved course, such as passing an equivalency examination, possessing a valid license issued to maritime personnel, etc. The bill also repeals the current law that requires at least one game warden to patrol Smith Mountain Lake during the boating season. Persons participating in regattas, races, marine parades, tournaments or exhibitions approved by the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries or the U.S. Coast Guard are exempt from having to complete a boating safety course.
Patron - Newman

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