1997 SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION

NATURAL RESOURCES & OUTDOOR RECREATION

NATURAL RESOURCES & OUTDOOR RECREATION LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 95 - Water and Ice Vessel Accident Reports (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act increases, from $100 to $500, the amount of property damage that requires a vessel accident report to be filed. The Act also provides that a copy of a written report of an accident involving water or ice vessels, which is submitted to the Department of Natural Resources by an operator, shall be made available upon request to the operator. A written report of a water or ice vessel accident filed by a law enforcement officer is available upon request and payment of a fee to any party to the accident, a party's insurance company, or the party's attorney. The operator's written report is confidential and cannot be used in a civil or criminal action. The law enforcement officer's written report is confidential only to a very limited degree provided under Code Section 22.7, subsection 5, and Code Section 622.11.
The Act takes effect April 22, 1997.

SENATE FILE 174 - Motorboats on Artificial Lakes (full text of act)

BY DEARDEN. This Act removes Big Creek Lake from the list in Code Section 462A.31 of two artificial lakes upon which motorboats with power units exceeding 10 horsepower are prohibited from operating by rule of the Natural Resource Commission between the Friday before Memorial Day and the succeeding Labor Day. During other times under that Code section, motorboats with power units exceeding 10 horsepower can be operated on the remaining lake only when permitted by rule of the commission.
The Act takes effect May 1, 1997.

SENATE FILE 246 - Snowmobiles and All-Terrain Vehicles (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act requires certain snowmobiles to have certificates of title, provides for point-of-sale registration for snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles, and increases the registration fees for snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.
The Act requires that snowmobiles acquired on or after January 1, 1998, have certificates of title unless the snowmobile is used exclusively as a farm implement. The certificate of title will be issued by a county recorder for a $10 fee. A security interest in a snowmobile with a certificate of title is perfected by noting the security interest on the certificate of title. The application fee for a security interest is $10. Five dollars of each fee is to be deposited in the special conservation fund administered by the Department of Natural Resources to be used for state snowmobile programs. The remaining $5 of each fee is to be deposited into the general fund of the county.
The Act also requires a snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle dealer to complete the application for registration and pay the registration fees on behalf of the purchaser.
The Act increases the snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle registration fee from $20 to $25 for each biennium and increases the snowmobile registration fee from $10 to $12.50 for less than a year.
The Act adds to the definition of "all-terrain vehicle," for the purposes of Code Chapter 321, the requirement that a vehicle be designed primarily for off-road recreational use, and excludes farm equipment from the definition. All-terrain vehicles are also defined to include two-wheeled, off-road motorcycles for the purposes of Code Chapter 321G.
The Act takes effect January 1, 1998.

SENATE FILE 362 - Wild Animal Depredation Permits and Related Matters (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act amends Code Section 461A.42 to allow the discharge of firearms in state parks for special events such as historical reenactments, educational programs, and special hunts for deer population control.
The Act authorizes an additional free deer hunting license for landowners and tenants if the Department of Natural Resources creates an additional deer hunting season for the first quarter of a calendar year that is separate from a deer hunting season that begins in the last quarter of a calendar year but extends into the succeeding first quarter.
The Act also establishes a wild animal depredation unit within the Fish and Wildlife Division of the Department of Natural Resources. The unit is comprised of two wild animal depredation biologists. The Director of Natural Resources shall enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal Damage Control Division, to have the wild animal depredation unit serve and act as the liaison to the department for producers in this state who suffer crop and nursery damage due to wild animals. The wild animal depredation unit will be funded from the first license revenue received from the sale of nonresident deer and wild turkey hunting license fees. The remaining revenue from the nonresident deer and wild turkey hunting license will be used to meet the requirements of Code Section 483A.30, which funds the employment of new conservation officers. Code Section 483A.30 is repealed effective December 31, 1999. The department shall report, during January 1998, to the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Environment the number of applications received for depredation permits and the number of permits issued during calendar year 1997.
This Act takes effect May 26, 1997.

HOUSE FILE 81 - Hunter Safety and Ethics Education (full text of act)

BY EDDIE. This Act authorizes a person 11 years of age or older to enroll in an approved hunter safety and ethics education course to qualify for a hunting license and, upon successful completion, receive a certificate of completion. For a recipient who is 11 years old, the certificate does not become valid until the recipient's twelfth birthday. To successfully complete an approved hunter safety and ethics education course, an applicant must complete 10 hours of training, pass an individual oral or written test provided by the Department of Natural Resources, and demonstrate safe handling of a firearm.

HOUSE FILE 142 - Hunting Deer With Pistol or Revolver (full text of act)

BY EDDIE, MERTZ, MAY, TYRRELL, MUNDIE, DOTZLER, GREIG, GREINER, DRAKE, BODDICKER, WITT, HOUSER, HUSEMAN, TEIG, VAN FOSSEN, BARRY, VANDE HOEF, VAN MAANEN, WELTER, MEYER, DREES, RAYHONS, DOLECHECK, HAHN, CORMACK, WEIDMAN, KLEMME, AND FREVERT. This Act directs the Natural Resource Commission of the Department of Natural Resources to establish pistol or revolver seasons for deer hunting. The seasons are to be separate firearm seasons or to coincide with one or more firearm seasons. The pistols or revolvers must fire a magnum .357 of an inch caliber or larger, centerfire, straight wall ammunition propelling an expanding-type bullet. The commission shall adopt rules to allow black powder pistols or revolvers and to prohibit shoulder-stock or long-barrel modifications. The barrel length shall be at least four inches. A person who is 16 years of age or less is prohibited from deer hunting with a pistol or revolver.
A scheduled fine of $100 is provided for hunters using prohibited types of pistols or revolvers.

HOUSE FILE 615 - Abandoned Coal Mines (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES. This Act relates to abandoned coal mine expenditures by amending provisions concerning reclamation of land and drainage abatement expenditures.
The Act amends Code Section 207.21, making certain coal lands and water damaged by coal mining after August 3, 1977, eligible for reclamation or drainage abatement expenditures. The Act provides that reclamation or drainage abatement moneys are available to damaged lands or water left in either an unreclaimed or inadequately reclaimed condition between August 4, 1977, and April 10, 1981, where moneys available pursuant to a bond or other form of financial guarantee are not sufficient to provide adequate reclamation or abatement. The Act provides that reclamation or drainage abatement moneys are available to damaged lands or water left in either an unreclaimed or inadequately reclaimed condition between August 4, 1977, and November 5, 1990, where the surety of the mining operator became insolvent during that period and, as of November 5, 1990, moneys immediately available from proceedings relating to such insolvency or from any financial guarantee or other source are not sufficient to provide for adequate reclamation or abatement.
The Act provides that at the request of the Governor, the Division of Soil Conservation of the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship may fill voids and seal tunnels, shafts and entryways resulting from any previous noncoal mining operation, and may reclaim surface impacts of any such noncoal mining or surface mines that were mined prior to August 3, 1977, and constitute an extreme danger to the public health and safety. Reclamation and abatement moneys will not be available to sites designated or listed for remedial action pursuant to federal law.
The Act removes research and demonstration projects relating to the development of surface mining reclamation and water quality control program methods and techniques from the list of priorities for which the abandoned mine reclamation moneys may be used.
The Act amends Code Section 207.23 to provide that within six months after the completion of a project to restore, reclaim, abate, control, or prevent adverse effects of past coal mining practices on privately owned land, the division shall itemize the money expended and may file a lien statement together with a notarized appraisal by an independent appraiser of the value of the land prior to the project if the money so expended results in a significant increase in property value. The Act provides that the lien shall not exceed the amount determined by the appraiser to be the increase in the market value of the land as a result of the project.
The Act provides that the division no longer must report to the General Assembly annually on the operations of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program, should the division participate in the program.

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 542 -- Supplemental and Other Appropriations and Miscellaneous Provisions

(Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS)

This Act makes supplemental appropriations for FY 1996-1997 and appropriations for other fiscal years. The Act includes an appropriation to the Department of Natural Resources for allocation to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be used for animal damage control in Iowa.

SENATE FILE 544 -- Rural Improvement Zones

(Complete summary under LOCAL GOVERNMENT)

This Act allows a county with a private lake development and a population between 10,500 and 11,500 residents to designate an unincorporated area as a rural improvement zone. The improvements allowed to be made in the zone relate to the private lake development and include dredging, installation of erosion control measures, land acquisition, and related improvements.

HOUSE FILE 708 -- Appropriations — Agriculture and Natural Resources

(Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS)

This Act relates to agriculture and natural resources by making appropriations to support related entities including the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Department of Natural Resources.

HOUSE FILE 733 -- Appropriations — Infrastructure and Capital Projects

(Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS)

This Act establishes the Restore the Outdoors Program in the Department of Natural Resources to provide maintenance and infrastructure improvements to existing state parks and other public facilities managed by the department.

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Last update: Mon July 28, 1997
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