Dear Attorney General Doyle:
The purpose of this letter is to request an opinion of the Attorney General. The Attorney General is directed to give opinions in writing "upon all questions of law submitted to him or her by the .....assembly committee on organization." [s.
165.015(1), Stats.] The Assembly Committee on Organization has approved this letter.
Since at least 1915, the state has not permitted nonresidents to obtain a trapping license. The relevant statute is s.
29.241, Stats., which requires the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to issue a trapping license to any
resident who applies for one.
During the 1997 Legislative Session, the DNR prepared an internal agency recommendation for an amendment to this statute to allow nonresidents to trap fur-bearing animals. However, this legislation was not drafted. 1999 Assembly Bill 889 created a nonresident trapping license. This bill failed to pass.
The first question regarding the current statute is whether it is vulnerable to challenge under U.S. constitutional provisions regarding privileges and immunities, interstate commerce and equal protection. There are no reported cases with respect to this statute on this issue in Wisconsin.
The
second question regarding this statute is whether the DNR has authority to make this change by adopting administrative rules, without the necessity of statutory amendment. The DNR has treated this issue as one which requires legislation. The DNR has broad rule-making authority under s.
29.014(1), Stats., which provides as follows:
29.014 Rule-making for this chapter. (1) The department shall establish and maintain open and closed seasons for fish and game and any bag limits, size limits, rest days and conditions governing the taking of fish and game that will conserve the fish and game supply and ensure that citizens of this state continued opportunities for good fishing, hunting and trapping.
This grant of rule-making authority stands in contrast with the specific provisions for licenses and approvals under ch.
29, Stats. It is difficult to tell whether the specific statutes constitute a legislative mandate that may be supplemented by DNR rule-making or whether the specific statutes define the full scope of DNR authority.
Enclosed with this letter is the material prepared by DNR staff in 1997. This material contains an outline of the legal arguments and a substantial list of case citations regarding nonresident hunting, fishing and trapping.
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Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Speaker Scott R. Jensen, Chair
Assembly Committee on Organization
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Committee Appointments
Each committee is followed by the number of Republicans and Democrats serving on the committee, meeting day and meeting week. The ranking minority party member of each committee is designate by an asterisk.
Aging and Long-Term Care (6, 4) Thursday (Odd)
Rhoades, Kitty (Chair)
Pettis, Mark (Vice-chair)
Hundertmark, Jean
Kedzie, Neal
Lippert, MaryAnn
Meyer, Dan
Krusick, Peggy *
Carpenter, Tim
Travis, David
Wasserman, Sheldon
Agriculture (9, 7) Thursday (Even)
Ott, Alvin (Chair)
Hahn, Eugene (Vice-chair)
Ainsworth, John
Bies, Garey
Kestell, Steve
Loeffelholz, Gabe
Petrowski, Jerry
Suder, Scott
Wade, Joan
Plouff, Joe *
Gronemus, Barbara
Hubler, Mary
Lassa, Julie
Reynolds, Marty
Schneider, Marlin
Steinbrink, John
Assembly Organization (5, 3)
Jensen, Scott (Chair)
Foti, Steven (Vice-chair)
Freese, Stephen
Ladwig, Bonnie
Vrakas, Dan
Krug, Shirley *
Black, Spencer
Bock, Peter
Campaigns and Elections (4, 2) Thursday (Even)
Freese, Stephen (Chair)
Ladwig, Bonnie (Vice-chair)
Fitzgerald, Jeff
Stone, Jeff
Travis, David *
Pocan, Mark
Census and Redistricting (5, 3) Tuesday (Odd)
Ladwig, Bonnie (Chair)
Leibham, Joseph (Vice-chair)
Freese, Stephen
Suder, Scott
Walker, Scott
Coggs, Spencer *
Huber, Greg
Williams, Polly
Children and Families (5, 3) Thursday (Even)
Kestell, Steve (Chair)
Lippert, MaryAnn (Vice-chair)
Bies, Garey
Grothman, Glenn
Jeskewitz, Suzanne
Miller, Mark *
Coggs, Spencer
Sinicki, Christine
Colleges and Universities (6, 4) Tuesday (Odd)
Kreibich, Rob (Chair)
Townsend, John (Vice-chair)
Jeskewitz, Suzanne
Krawczyk, Judy
Rhoades, Kitty
Underheim, Gregg
Boyle, Frank *
Balow, Larry
Berceau, Terese
Lassa, Julie
