AB61: Bill Text

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill increases the fees charged by the department of natural resources (DNR) for certain fish and game approvals. The fee increases affect all hunting approvals except bear hunting licenses, bonus deer hunting permits and wild turkey and pheasant stamps, all sports fishing licenses except fishing licenses issued to disabled state residents and sturgeon spearing licenses, all sports licenses, all conservation patron licenses, resident trapping licenses, certain duplicate licenses and certain commercial fishing licenses. Sports licenses and conservation patron licenses are licenses that confer a combination of privileges authorized by certain hunting and fishing licenses and stamps.

Under current law, a resident conservation patron license confers the privilege of being able to pursue, but not shoot at or kill, bear. Under this bill, a person with such a license no longer has these privileges.

Under current law, a wildlife damage surcharge of $1 is imposed on the fees for most hunting licenses and on the fee for sports licenses. Under current law, the wildlife damage surcharge is not imposed on the fee for conservation patron licenses. This bill imposes a $2 surcharge on the fee for these licenses.

Under current law as administered by DNR, a person applying for a conservation patron license does not have to pay the processing fee for an application for certain permits and licenses that other applicants must pay. These permits and licenses include hunter's choice and bonus deer hunting permits, wild turkey hunting licenses and bobcat hunting and trapping permits. Under the bill, a holder of a conservation patron license must pay the processing fee for a bobcat hunting and trapping permit.

Under current law, a person must have a bear hunting license in order to chase wild bear. To shoot at or kill a bear, a person must have a bear harvest permit in addition to the bear hunting license. Under current law, a preference system applies to limit the number of harvest permits issued. This system gives preference to those applicants who have applied for, in consecutive previous years, but who have not received permits due to the numerical limit and gives the most preference to those applicants who applied for but did not receive permits in the most consecutive previous seasons.

This bill changes the bear hunting approval system by establishing 2 different bear hunting licenses. Under the bill, a person who holds a Class A bear license, which is similar to the bear harvest permit under current law, may hunt bear, may bait bear and may use and train dogs to track or otherwise locate bear. A person who holds a Class B bear license, which is similar to the bear hunting license under current law, may assist a person with a Class A bear license in hunting bear but may not shoot at, shoot or otherwise take a bear. A person who holds a Class B bear license may also bait bear and use and train dogs to track or otherwise locate bear. The bill exempts a child under the age of 12 who is engaged in these bear hunting activities from holding a Class B bear license. The bill also requires a person applying for a bear hunting license to specify on the application when and where he or she will be bear hunting or training dogs to hunt bear. The bill restricts the licensed hunter engaging in these activities to the areas and times he or she specified on the application.

Under current law, hunting dogs are exempt from the requirements of wearing collars and licensing and rabies vaccination tags when they are engaged in hunting. Under this bill, this exemption does not apply to hunting dogs while they are being used or trained to hunt bear. A person who fails to have his or dogs licensed or to have their collars and tags on while hunting is subject to having his or her bear hunting license and bear hunting privileges revoked for 3 years.

Under the bill, the preference system that applies to Class A bear licenses is the same as the one that applies to bear harvest permits under current law except that the previous seasons in which the applicants applied need not be consecutive.

The bill also increases the fees for these bear hunting approvals.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB61, s. 1 Section 1. 29.01 (8) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,3,5 29.01 (8) "Hunt" or "hunting" includes shooting, shooting at, pursuing, taking, catching or killing any wild animal or animals, except that for the purposes of ss. 29.1085, 29.109 and 29.114, "hunt" or "hunting" does not include shooting, shooting at, taking, catching or killing any bear.

AB61, s. 2 Section 2. 29.09 (9m) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,4,4 29.09 (9m) (a) (intro.) If Except as provided in par. (c), if the department issues any of the following approvals, a nonrefundable processing fee, in addition to any other fee imposed under s. 29.092, shall be collected for each application for such an approval:

AB61, s. 3 Section 3. 29.09 (9m) (a) 8. of the statutes is created to read:

AB61,4,6 29.09 (9m) (a) 8. Class A bear license.

AB61, s. 4 Section 4. 29.09 (9m) (c) of the statutes is created to read:

AB61,4,10 29.09 (9m) (c) The department may waive the processing fee for the approvals specified in par. (a) 1., 1m. and 3. to 7. for persons who apply for or are holders of resident conservation patron licenses and nonresident conservation patron licenses.

AB61, s. 5 Section 5. 29.092 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,4,13 29.092 (2) (a) Resident small game. Except as provided in sub. (3v) (a) 1. and (am), the fee for a resident small game hunting license is $10.25 $12.25.

AB61, s. 6 Section 6. 29.092 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,4,16 29.092 (2) (c) Resident deer. The fee for a resident deer hunting license is $16.25 $18.25.

AB61, s. 7 Section 7. 29.092 (2) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,4,19 29.092 (2) (d) (title) Resident Class A bear. The fee for a resident Class A bear hunting license is $5 $39.25.

AB61, s. 8 Section 8. 29.092 (2) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,4,22 29.092 (2) (e) Resident archer. The fee for a resident archer hunting license is $16.25 $18.25.

AB61, s. 9 Section 9. 29.092 (2) (em) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,4,25 29.092 (2) (em) Resident wild turkey. The fee for a resident wild turkey hunting license is $7.25 $10.25.

AB61, s. 10 Section 10. 29.092 (2) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,5,3 29.092 (2) (f) Nonresident annual small game. The fee for a nonresident annual small game hunting license is $68.25 $73.25.

AB61, s. 11 Section 11. 29.092 (2) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,5,6 29.092 (2) (g) Nonresident 5-day small game. The fee for a nonresident 5-day small game hunting license is $38.25 $41.25.

AB61, s. 12 Section 12. 29.092 (2) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,5,9 29.092 (2) (h) Nonresident deer. The fee for a nonresident deer hunting license is $118.25 $128.25.

AB61, s. 13 Section 13. 29.092 (2) (i) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,5,12 29.092 (2) (i) (title) Nonresident Class A bear. The fee for a nonresident Class A bear hunting license is $20 $199.25.

AB61, s. 14 Section 14. 29.092 (2) (j) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,5,15 29.092 (2) (j) Nonresident fur-bearing animal. The fee for a nonresident fur-bearing animal hunting license is $138.25 $148.25.

AB61, s. 15 Section 15. 29.092 (2) (k) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,5,18 29.092 (2) (k) Nonresident archer. The fee for a nonresident archer hunting license is $118.25 $128.25.

AB61, s. 16 Section 16. 29.092 (2) (kd) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,5,21 29.092 (2) (kd) Nonresident wild turkey. The fee for a nonresident wild turkey hunting license is $49.25 $54.25.

AB61, s. 17 Section 17. 29.092 (2) (kg) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,5,24 29.092 (2) (kg) (title) Resident Class B bear harvest permit license. The fee for a resident Class B bear harvest permit license is $30 $6.25.

AB61, s. 18 Section 18. 29.092 (2) (kr) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,6,2 29.092 (2) (kr) (title) Nonresident Class B bear harvest permit license. The fee for a nonresident Class B bear harvest permit license is $120 $98.25.

AB61, s. 19 Section 19. 29.092 (2) (m) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,6,5 29.092 (2) (m) Waterfowl hunting stamp. The fee for a waterfowl hunting stamp is $5 $6.75.

AB61, s. 20 Section 20. 29.092 (2) (om) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,6,9 29.092 (2) (om) Bear carcass tag. There is no fee for a bear carcass tag issued with a resident Class A bear harvest permit or nonresident bear harvest permit license.

AB61, s. 21 Section 21. 29.092 (2) (or) of the statutes is created to read:

AB61,6,12 29.092 (2) (or) Bear back tag. There is no fee for a back tag issued with a Class A bear license or a Class B bear license.

AB61, s. 22 Section 22. 29.092 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,6,15 29.092 (3) (a) Resident annual. Except as provided in sub. (3v) (a) 2. and (b), the fee for a resident annual fishing license is $11.25 $13.25.

AB61, s. 23 Section 23. 29.092 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,6,18 29.092 (3) (b) Resident annual husband and wife. The fee for a resident annual husband and wife fishing license is $19.25 $23.25.

AB61, s. 24 Section 24. 29.092 (3) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,6,21 29.092 (3) (c) Resident 2-day sports fishing. The fee for a resident 2-day sports fishing license is $7.25 $9.25.

AB61, s. 25 Section 25. 29.092 (3) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,6,24 29.092 (3) (h) Nonresident annual. The fee for a nonresident annual fishing license is $27.25 $32.25.

AB61, s. 26 Section 26. 29.092 (3) (i) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,7,2 29.092 (3) (i) Nonresident annual family. The fee for a nonresident annual family fishing license is $47.25 $51.25.

AB61, s. 27 Section 27. 29.092 (3) (j) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,7,5 29.092 (3) (j) Nonresident 15-day. The fee for a nonresident 15-day fishing license is $17.25 $19.25.

AB61, s. 28 Section 28. 29.092 (3) (k) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,7,8 29.092 (3) (k) Nonresident 15-day family. The fee for a nonresident 15-day family fishing license is $27.25 $29.25.

AB61, s. 29 Section 29. 29.092 (3) (L) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,7,11 29.092 (3) (L) Nonresident 4-day. The fee for a nonresident 4-day fishing license is $12.25 $13.25.

AB61, s. 30 Section 30. 29.092 (3) (m) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,7,14 29.092 (3) (m) Nonresident 2-day sports fishing. The fee for a nonresident 2-day sports fishing license is $7.25 $9.25.

AB61, s. 31 Section 31. 29.092 (3v) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,7,16 29.092 (3v) (a) 1. Resident small game hunting license, $3.25 $5.25.

AB61, s. 32 Section 32. 29.092 (3v) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,7,18 29.092 (3v) (a) 2. Resident annual fishing license, $4.25 $6.25.

AB61, s. 33 Section 33. 29.092 (3v) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,7,21 29.092 (3v) (b) The fee for a resident annual fishing license issued to a resident aged 16 or 17 is $4.25 $6.25.

AB61, s. 34 Section 34. 29.092 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,7,25 29.092 (4) (a) Resident sports license. The minimum fee for a resident sports license is $36.25 $41.25. Any applicant, at the applicant's option, may pay a greater or additional fee for this license.

AB61, s. 35 Section 35. 29.092 (4) (am) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,8,4 29.092 (4) (am) Nonresident sports license. The minimum fee for a nonresident sports license is $222.25 $248.25. Any applicant, at the applicant's option, may pay a greater or additional fee for this license.

AB61, s. 36 Section 36. 29.092 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,8,8 29.092 (4) (b) Resident conservation patron license. The fee for a resident conservation patron license is $100 $117.25. Any applicant, at the applicant's option, may pay a greater or additional fee for this license.

AB61, s. 37 Section 37. 29.092 (4) (bn) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB61,8,12 29.092 (4) (bn) Nonresident conservation patron license. The fee for a nonresident conservation patron license is $523.25 $572.25. Any applicant, at the applicant's option, may pay a greater or additional fee for this license.

AB61, s. 38 Section 38. 29.092 (6) (a) of the statutes is amended to read: