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12  AN ACT concerning hunting [or fishing] by persons with disabilities
13    [certain persons]; amending K.S.A. 32-932 [and K.S.A. 1996 Supp.
14    32-937] and repealing the existing section [sections].
15
16  Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
17    Section 1.  K.S.A. 32-932 is hereby amended to read as follows: 32-
18  932. (a) Any person having a permanent disability to the extent that such
19  person cannot physically use a conventional long bow or compound bow,
20  as certified by a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery in this
21  state, shall be authorized to hunt and take deer or, antelope, elk or wild
22  turkey with a crossbow.
23    (b)  The secretary of wildlife and parks shall adopt, in accordance with
24  K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments thereto, rules and regulations requiring
25  permits to hunt deer or, antelope, elk or wild turkey pursuant to subsec-
26  tion (a) and providing for the approval of applicants for such permits and
27  the issuance thereof. In addition, the secretary may adopt rules and reg-
28  ulations limiting the times and areas for hunting and taking deer and,
29  antelope, elk and wild turkey and limiting the number of deer and, an-
30  telope, elk and wild turkey which may be taken pursuant to subsection
31    (a).
32    (c)  Falsely obtaining or using a permit authorized by this section is a
33  class C misdemeanor.
34    [New Sec. 2.  (a) Any person having a permanent physical or
35  visual disability such that the person cannot safely hunt or fish in
36  accordance with law and rules and regulations of the department,
37  as certified by a person licensed to practice optometry or medicine
38  and surgery in this state, shall be eligible to obtain a disability
39  assistance permit. The permit shall allow the permitholder to des-
40  ignate another person to take, on behalf of and while accompanied
41  by the permitholder, the permitholder's legal limit of game or fish.
42  The person designated shall hold all licenses, permits, stamps or
43  other issues of the department required for the activity being en-
HB 2303--Am. by SCW
                                     

 1  gaged in and the permitholder shall remain subject to all other
 2  laws and rules and regulations of the department for the activity
 3  being engaged in. On the determination of the secretary, the dis-
 4  ability assistance permit may designate the hunting or fishing ac-
 5  tivity for which assistance to the permitholder may be provided.
 6    [(b)  The secretary shall adopt, in accordance with K.S.A. 32-
 7  805, and amendments thereto, rules and regulations providing for
 8  the approval of applicants for permits pursuant to subsection (a)
 9  and for the issuance of such permits.
10    [(c)  Falsely obtaining or using a permit authorized by this sec-
11  tion is a class C misdemeanor.]
12    [Sec. 3.  K.S.A. 1996 Supp. 32-937 is hereby amended to read
13  as follows: 32-937. (a) When used in this section:
14    [(1)  ``Landowner'' means a resident owner of farm or ranch land
15  of 80 acres or more located in the state of Kansas.
16    [(2)  ``Tenant'' means a resident of this state who is actively en-
17  gaged in the agricultural operation of 80 acres or more of Kansas
18  farm or ranch land for the purpose of producing agricultural com-
19  modities or livestock and who: (A) Has a substantial financial in-
20  vestment in the production of agricultural commodities or livestock
21  on such farm or ranch land and the potential to realize substantial
22  financial benefit from such production; or (B) is a bona fide man-
23  ager having an overall responsibility to direct, supervise and con-
24  duct such agricultural operation and has the potential to realize
25  substantial benefit from such production in the form of salary,
26  shares of such production or some other economic incentive based
27  upon such production.
28    [(3)  ``Regular season'' means a statewide big game hunting sea-
29  son authorized annually which may include one or more seasons
30  restricted to specific types of equipment.
31    [(4)  ``Special season'' means a big game hunting season in ad-
32  dition to a regular season authorized on an irregular basis or at
33  different times of the year other than the regular season.
34    [(5)  ``General permit'' means a big game hunting permit avail-
35  able to Kansas residents not applying for big game permits as a
36  landowner or tenant.
37    [(6)  ``Nonresident landowner'' means a nonresident of the state
38  of Kansas who owns farm or ranch land of 80 acres or more which
39  is located in the state of Kansas.
40    [(7)  ``Nonresident permit'' means a big game hunting permit
41  available to individuals who are not Kansas residents.
42    [(b)  Except as otherwise provided by law or rules and regula-
43  tions of the secretary and in addition to any other license, permit
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 1  or stamp required by law or rules and regulations of the secretary,
 2  a valid big game permit and game tags are required to take any big
 3  game in this state.
 4    [(c)  The fee for big game permits and game tags shall be the
 5  amount prescribed pursuant to K.S.A. 32-988, and amendments
 6  thereto.
 7    [(d)  A big game permit and game tags are valid throughout the
 8  state or such portion thereof as provided by rules and regulations
 9  adopted by the secretary in accordance with K.S.A. 32-805 and
10  amendments thereto.
11    [(e)  Unless otherwise provided by law or rules and regulations
12  of the secretary, a big game permit and game tags are valid from
13  the date of issuance and shall expire at the end of the season for
14  which issued.
15    [(f)  The secretary may adopt, in accordance with K.S.A. 32-805,
16  and amendments thereto, rules and regulations for each regular or
17  special big game hunting season and for each management unit re-
18  garding big game permits and game tags. The secretary is hereby
19  authorized to issue big game permits and game tags pertaining to
20  the taking of big game. Separate big game permits and game tags
21  may be issued for each species of big game. No big game permits or
22  game tags shall be issued until the secretary has established, by
23  rules and regulations adopted in accordance with K.S.A. 32-805,
24  and amendments thereto, a regular or special big game hunting sea-
25  son.
26    [(g)  The secretary may authorize, by rule and regulation
27  adopted in accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments
28  thereto, landowner or tenant hunt-on-your-own-land big game per-
29  mits. Such permits and applications may contain provisions and
30  restrictions as prescribed by rule and regulation adopted by the
31  secretary in accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments
32  thereto.
33    [(h)  The secretary may authorize, by rule and regulation
34  adopted in accordance with K.S.A. 32-805 and amendments thereto,
35  special landowner or tenant hunt-on-your-own-land deer permits.
36  Such special permits shall not be issued to landowners or tenants
37  in possession of a hunt-on-your-own-land deer permit as authorized
38  in subsection (g). The special permits shall be transferable to any
39  immediate family member of the landowner or tenant, whether or
40  not a Kansas resident, or the permit may be retained for use by the
41  landowner or tenant. The special permits shall be transferable
42  through the secretary at the request of the landowner or tenant and
43  by paying the required fee for a general or nonresident deer permit
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 1  and the additional payment of the permit transfer fee. The special
 2  permits and applications may contain provisions and restrictions as
 3  prescribed by rule and regulation adopted by the secretary in ac-
 4  cordance with K.S.A. 32-805 and amendments thereto. For the pur-
 5  poses of this subsection, ``member of the immediate family'' means
 6  lineal ascendants or descendants, and their spouses.
 7    [(i)  Fifty percent of the big game permits authorized for a reg-
 8  ular season in any management unit shall be issued to landowners
 9  or tenants, provided that a limited number of big game permits have
10  been authorized and landowner or tenant hunt-on-your-own-land
11  big game permits for that unit have not been authorized. A land-
12  owner or tenant is not eligible to apply for a big game permit as a
13  landowner or as a tenant in a management unit other than the unit
14  or units which includes such landowner's or tenant's land. Any big
15  game permits not issued to landowners or tenants within the time
16  period prescribed by rule and regulation may be issued without
17  regard to the 50% limitation.
18    [(j)  Members of the immediate family who are domiciled with a
19  landowner or tenant may apply for a big game permit as a land-
20  owner or as a tenant, but the total number of permits issued to a
21  landowner or tenant and a landowner's or tenant's immediate fam-
22  ily shall not exceed one permit for each 80 acres owned by such
23  landowner or operated by such tenant. The secretary may require
24  proof of ownership or tenancy from individuals applying for a big
25  game permit as a landowner or as a tenant.
26    [(k)  The secretary may issue permits for deer or turkey to non-
27  resident landowners, but any such permit shall be restricted to
28  hunting only on lands owned by the nonresident landowner.
29    [(l)  The secretary may issue turkey hunting permits to nonres-
30  idents in turkey management units with unlimited turkey hunting
31  permits available.
32    [(m)  The secretary may issue deer hunting permits to nonresi-
33  dents, subject to the following limitations:
34    [(1)  The total number of nonresident deer firearm permits is-
35  sued for a deer season in a management unit shall not exceed 5% of
36  the total number of resident deer firearm permits authorized for
37  such season in such management unit; and
38    [(2)  the total number of nonresident deer archery permits is-
39  sued for a deer season in a management unit shall not exceed 5% of
40  the total number of resident deer archery permits authorized for
41  such season in such management unit.
42    [If an unlimited number of resident deer permits is authorized
43  for a deer season or management unit, the percentage limitations of
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 1  subsections (l)(1) and (l)(2) (m)(1) and (m)(2) shall be based upon the
 2  total number of resident firearm permits and the total number of
 3  archery permits, respectively, issued in the management unit during
 4  the most recent preceding similar season. Notwithstanding the fore-
 5  going provisions of this subsection, nonresident firearm deer per-
 6  mits of a particular type and nonresident archery deer permits of a
 7  particular type may be issued in a firearms management unit only
 8  if resident firearm permits of such type remained unissued after the
 9  close of the previous year's first permit selection process in that
10  management unit.
11    [(n)  Any recipient of a nonresident deer hunting permit as au-
12  thorized under subsection (l) (m) shall be ineligible to apply for or
13  to receive a nonresident deer hunting permit for any deer season
14  established for the following year.
15    [(o)  No big game permit issued to a person under 14 years of
16  age shall be valid until such person reaches 14 years of age, except
17  that a person who is 12 years or 13 years of age and has been issued a
18  certificate of completion of an approved hunter education course may be
19  issued:  (1) A deer archery permit if the person submits to the secretary
20  evidence, satisfactory to the secretary, of completion of a bow hunting
21  safety education course; or (2) a wild turkey firearm permit may be
22  issued to any individual who is 12 years of age or older but is under 14
23  years of age if the individual has been issued a certificate of completion
24  of an approved hunter education course. Such deer archery permit or
25  turkey firearm permit shall be valid only while the individual is
26  hunting under the immediate supervision of an adult who is 21 years
27  of age or older.
28    [(p)  A big game permit shall state the species, number and sex
29  of the big game which may be killed by the permittee. The secretary
30  may furnish an informational card with any big game permit and,
31  at the conclusion of the open season, each permittee receiving such
32  card shall return the card to the department, giving such informa-
33  tion as is called for on the card.
34    [(q)  The permittee shall permanently affix the game tag to the
35  carcass of any big game immediately after killing and thereafter, if
36  required by rules and regulations, the permittee shall immediately
37  take such killed game to a check station as required in the rules and
38  regulations, where a check station tag shall be affixed to the game
39  carcass if the kill is legal. The tags shall remain affixed until the
40  carcass is consumed or processed for storage.
41    [(r)  The provisions of this section do not apply to big game an-
42  imals sold in surplus property disposal sales of department exhibit
43  herds or big game animals legally taken outside this state.]
HB 2303--Am. by SCW
                                     

 1    Sec. 2 [3] [4].  K.S.A. 32-932 is [and K.S.A. 1996 Supp. 32-937
 2  are] hereby repealed.
 3    Sec. 3 [4] [5].  This act shall take effect and be in force from and
 4  after its publication in the statute book.