CHAPTER 180
HOUSE BILL No. 2868
An Act concerning wildlife; relating to
certain big game permits and tags; relating to total
licensed acreage for controlled shooting areas
in a county; amending K.S.A. 32-945 and
K.S.A. 1997 Supp. 32-937 and repealing the
existing sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 1997 Supp. 32-937 is hereby amended to
read as
follows: 32-937. (a) When used in this section:
(1) ``Landowner'' means a resident owner of farm or ranch land
of
80 acres or more located in the state of Kansas.
(2) ``Tenant'' means a resident of this state who is actively
engaged
in the agricultural operation of 80 acres or more of Kansas farm or
ranch
land for the purpose of producing agricultural commodities or
livestock
and who: (A) Has a substantial financial investment in the
production of
agricultural commodities or livestock on such farm or ranch land
and the
potential to realize substantial financial benefit from such
production; or
(B) is a bona fide manager having an overall responsibility to
direct, su-
pervise and conduct such agricultural operation and has the
potential to
realize substantial benefit from such production in the form of
salary,
shares of such production or some other economic incentive based
upon
such production.
(3) ``Regular season'' means a statewide big game hunting
season au-
thorized annually which may include one or more seasons restricted
to
specific types of equipment.
(4) ``Special season'' means a big game hunting season in
addition to
a regular season authorized on an irregular basis or at different
times of
the year other than the regular season.
(5) ``General permit'' means a big game hunting permit
available to
Kansas residents not applying for big game permits as a landowner
or
tenant.
(6) ``Nonresident landowner'' means a nonresident of the state
of
Kansas who owns farm or ranch land of 80 acres or more which is
located
in the state of Kansas.
(7) ``Nonresident permit'' means a big game hunting permit
available
to individuals who are not Kansas residents.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by law or rules and
regulations of
the secretary and in addition to any other license, permit or stamp
re-
quired by law or rules and regulations of the secretary, a valid
big game
permit and game tags are required to take any big game in this
state.
(c) The fee for big game permits and game tags shall be the
amount
prescribed pursuant to K.S.A. 32-988, and amendments thereto.
(d) A big game permit and game tags are valid throughout the
state
or such portion thereof as provided by rules and regulations
adopted by
the secretary in accordance with K.S.A. 32-805 and amendments
thereto.
(e) Unless otherwise provided by law or rules and regulations
of the
secretary, a big game permit and game tags are valid from the date
of
issuance and shall expire at the end of the season for which
issued.
(f) The secretary may adopt, in accordance with K.S.A. 32-805,
and
amendments thereto, rules and regulations for each regular or
special big
game hunting season and for each management unit regarding big
game
permits and game tags. The secretary is hereby authorized to issue
big
game permits and game tags pertaining to the taking of big game.
Sep-
arate big game permits and game tags may be issued for each species
of
big game. No big game permits or game tags shall be issued until
the
secretary has established, by rules and regulations adopted in
accordance
with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments thereto, a regular or special
big
game hunting season.
(g) The secretary may authorize, by rule and regulation
adopted in
accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments thereto, landowner
or
tenant hunt-on-your-own-land big game permits. Such permits and
ap-
plications may contain provisions and restrictions as prescribed by
rule
and regulation adopted by the secretary in accordance with K.S.A.
32-
805, and amendments thereto.
(h) The secretary may authorize, by rule and regulation
adopted in
accordance with K.S.A. 32-805 and amendments thereto, special
land-
owner or tenant hunt-on-your-own-land deer permits. Such special
per-
mits shall not be issued to landowners or tenants in possession of
a hunt-
on-your-own-land deer permit as authorized in subsection (g). The
special
permits shall be transferable to any immediate family member of
the
landowner or tenant, whether or not a Kansas resident, or the
permit may
be retained for use by the landowner or tenant. The special permits
shall
be transferable through the secretary at the request of the
landowner or
tenant and by paying the required fee for a general deer permit and
the
additional payment of the permit transfer fee. The special permits
and
applications may contain provisions and restrictions as prescribed
by rule
and regulation adopted by the secretary in accordance with K.S.A.
32-
805 and amendments thereto. For the purposes of this subsection,
``mem-
ber of the immediate family'' means lineal or collateral ascendants
or
descendants, and their spouses.
(i) Fifty percent of the big game permits authorized for a
regular
season in any management unit shall be issued to landowners or
tenants,
provided that a limited number of big game permits have been
authorized
and landowner or tenant hunt-on-your-own-land big game permits
for
that unit have not been authorized. A landowner or tenant is not
eligible
to apply for a big game permit as a landowner or as a tenant in a
man-
agement unit other than the unit or units which includes such
landowner's
or tenant's land. Any big game permits not issued to landowners or
ten-
ants within the time period prescribed by rule and regulation may
be
issued without regard to the 50% limitation.
(j) Members of the immediate family who are domiciled with a
land-
owner or tenant may apply for a big game permit as a landowner or
as a
tenant, but the total number of permits issued to a landowner or
tenant
and a landowner's or tenant's immediate family shall not exceed one
per-
mit for each 80 acres owned by such landowner or operated by
such
tenant. The secretary may require proof of ownership or tenancy
from
individuals applying for a big game permit as a landowner or as a
tenant.
(k) The secretary may issue permits for deer or turkey to
nonresident
landowners, but any such permit shall be restricted to hunting only
on
lands owned by the nonresident landowner.
(l) The secretary may issue turkey hunting permits to
nonresidents
in turkey management units with unlimited turkey hunting permits
avail-
able.
(m) The secretary may issue deer hunting permits to
nonresidents,
subject to the following limitations:
(1) The total number of nonresident deer firearm permits of
each
type specified by rules and regulations that may be issued
for a deer
season in a management unit shall not exceed 5% of the total number
of
resident deer firearm permits of such type authorized for
such season in
such management unit; and
(2) the total number of nonresident deer archery permits of
each type
specified by rules and regulations that may be issued for a
deer season in
a management unit shall not exceed 5% of the total number of
resident
deer archery permits of such type authorized for such season
in such
management unit.
Nonresident deer archery permits may be restricted to a
particular deer
species without regard to resident deer archery permit species
restrictions,
or lack thereof.
If an unlimited number of resident deer permits is authorized for
a
deer season or management unit, the percentage limitations of
subsec-
tions (m)(1) and (m)(2) shall be based upon the total number of
resident
firearm permits and the total number of archery permits,
respectively,
issued in the management unit during the most recent preceding
similar
season. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this
subsection, non-
resident firearm deer permits of a particular type and
nonresident archery
deer permits of a particular type may be issued in a
firearms management
unit only if resident firearm permits of such type remained
unissued after
the close of the previous year's first permit selection
process in that man-
agement unit If in a management unit there are
an unlimited number of
game tags available to residents, the secretary, in the
secretary's discretion
and in accordance with rules and regulations, may authorize the
issuance
of an unlimited number of deer tags for such unit to
nonresidents.
(n) Any nonresident deer hunting permits authorized under
subsec-
tion (m) that remain unissued due to an insufficient number of
nonresi-
dent applications as of a deadline determined by the secretary,
shall be
made available to residents.
(o) No big game permit issued to a person under 14 years of
age shall
be valid until such person reaches 14 years of age, except that a
person
who is 12 years or 13 years of age and has been issued a
certificate of
completion of an approved hunter education course may be issued:
(1) A
deer archery permit if the person submits to the secretary
evidence, sat-
isfactory to the secretary, of completion of a bow hunting safety
education
course; or (2) a wild turkey firearm permit. Such deer archery
permit or
turkey firearm permit shall be valid only while the individual is
hunting
under the immediate supervision of an adult who is 21 years of age
or
older.
(p) A big game permit shall state the species, number and sex
of the
big game which may be killed by the permittee. The secretary may
furnish
an informational card with any big game permit and, at the
conclusion of
the open season, each permittee receiving such card shall return
the card
to the department, giving such information as is called for on the
card.
(q) The permittee shall permanently affix the game tag to the
carcass
of any big game immediately after killing and thereafter, if
required by
rules and regulations, the permittee shall immediately take such
killed
game to a check station as required in the rules and regulations,
where a
check station tag shall be affixed to the game carcass if the kill
is legal.
The tags shall remain affixed until the carcass is consumed or
processed
for storage.
(r) The provisions of this section do not apply to big game
animals
sold in surplus property disposal sales of department exhibit herds
or big
game animals legally taken outside this state.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 32-945 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 32-945.
(a) Upon receipt of an application for a license to operate a
controlled
shooting area, the secretary shall cause an inspection to be made
of:
(1) The proposed licensed area described in such
application;
(2) the premises and facilities where game birds are to be
propagated,
raised and liberated;
(3) the cover for game birds on such area; and
(4) the ability of the applicants to operate a controlled
shooting area.
(b) If the secretary finds that the area contains not less nor
more than
the number of acres required by K.S.A. 32-944 and amendments
thereto,
is contiguous and has the proper requirements and facilities for
the op-
eration of a controlled shooting area and that the issuing of the
license
will otherwise be in the public interest, the secretary may approve
the
application and issue the controlled shooting area license.
(c) A controlled shooting area license expires on June 30 of
the op-
erational year for which issued.
(d) The secretary shall limit controlled shooting areas so
that the total
acreage licensed as controlled shooting areas in a county does not
exceed
2% 3% of the total acreage of such
county.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 32-945 and K.S.A. 1997 Supp. 32-937 are
hereby re-
pealed.
Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from
and after its
publication in the Kansas register.
Approved May 14, 1998
Published in the Kansas Registers May 21, 1998
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