2001 Summary of Legislation NATURAL RESOURCES AND OUTDOOR RECREATION Published by the Iowa General Assembly -- Legislative Service Bureau

NATURAL RESOURCES AND OUTDOOR RECREATION LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 84 - Purple Loosestrife - Ban on Import, Sale, or Distribution (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act prohibits the importation, sale or distribution of purple loosestrife (lythrum virgatum) or the seeds of the plant for any purpose. Under current law, purple loosestrife can be used for ornamental gardens and retailers of the plant must keep accurate records of sales and varieties of the plant distributed.

SENATE FILE 125 - Interstate Wildlife Violators Compact Membership (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act authorizes the Department of Natural Resources to enter into an Interstate Wildlife Violators Compact with one or more other states to enforce state laws and rules relating to the protection and conservation of wildlife subject to Code Section 28E.9.

SENATE FILE 339 - Hunting and Fishing Violations - Fines (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act provides that the scheduled fine of $100 for violations of Code sections listed in Code Section 805.8, subsection 5, paragraph "e," does not apply to violations of Code Chapters 482 ("Commercial Fishing") and 483A ("Fishing and Hunting Licenses, Contraband, and Guns") for which another scheduled fine is specified elsewhere in Code Section 805.8, subsection 5.

SENATE FILE 407 - Licenses and Fees Regulated by Department of Natural Resources (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act amends Code Section 481A.38 to eliminate the mandatory drawings for deer and wild turkey licenses which have limited quotas and strikes a subsection that guarantees the issuance of a wild turkey license to landowners and tenants upon payment of the required fee.

   The Act also amends various provisions of Code Chapter 483A relating to the electronic licensing of hunters, fishers, and fur harvesters. The terms "license," "license agent," and "license document" are defined. A number of coordinating amendments are included to apply the terms "license," "license agent," and "license document." A license or license document may extend one or more privileges to the licensee and one or more of these license privileges may be suspended or revoked by a magistrate for violations. A requirement that wild turkey and deer license tags be separable into two parts is stricken. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is authorized to charge an administrative fee related to the issuance of hunting, fishing, and fur?harvesting licenses. The Director of the DNR is authorized to designate license agents, which could include individuals, businesses, county recorders, or other governmental agencies. Code Section 483A.24 is amended to provide that nonresident fishers under 16 years of age are not required to have a fishing license. This is the same age requirement for resident fishers. Both residents and nonresidents under 16 years of age must pay the trout fee for trout fishing unless they are accompanied by an adult licensed for trout.

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 6 - Nullification of Administrative Rule - Unprotected Nongame Status of Reptiles (full text of resolution)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Joint Resolution nullifies an amendment to an administrative rule of the Department of Natural Resources that removes timber rattlesnakes and garter snakes from a list of unprotected nongame wildlife.

   The Joint Resolution takes effect April 2, 2001.

HOUSE FILE 43 - Mourning Dove Hunting - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES. This bill would have authorized the Natural Resource Commission to establish, by rule, a hunting season for mourning doves. However, the commission's rules would have to prohibit the taking of a mourning dove while the dove is perched on a power line.

HOUSE FILE 597 - Meat and Poultry Processors - Unclaimed Deer Venison (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES. This Act provides that any deer venison deposited for processing and which remains unclaimed for two months after the licensed meat and poultry processor has attempted to contact the venison owner shall be presumed to be abandoned. The licensed processor may donate the abandoned deer venison to a local nonprofit, charitable organization. The licensed processor is exempt from civil or criminal liability arising from the condition of the meat if the donor reasonably inspects the deer venison at the time of donation and finds the venison fit for human consumption.

HOUSE FILE 720 - Licenses Issued by the Department of Natural Resources - Fees (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS. This Act increases the fees for nonresidents who wish to hunt, fish or fur harvest in this state. The fee increases range from $.50 for a fur dealer license to $69.50 for a deer hunting license. Nonresidents who wish to hunt deer or wild turkey must also purchase, in addition to the nonresident deer or wild turkey hunting license, a regular hunting license for $80, or $30 if under 18, and pay a wildlife habitat fee of $8.

   The Act increases the wildlife habitat fee and the migratory game bird fee for residents from $5.50 to $8.

   The Act adds a fish habitat fee of $3 for both resident and nonresident fishers. The revenue must be used for developing fish habitat. The Natural Resource Commission must use not less than 50 percent of the revenue for funding agreements with county conservation boards to carry out the purposes of fish habitat development. Fishers who are less than 16 years of age or 65 years of age or older and persons fishing in private ponds are not required to pay the fish habitat fee.

   The Act increases the number of nonresident wild turkey licenses from 2,000 to 2,300 annually. Of the 2,300 nonresident wild turkey licenses authorized, 150 licenses shall be valid for hunting with muzzle loading shotguns only.

   The Act increases the number of nonresident deer licenses from 7,500 to 8,500 annually. A nonresident owning land in this state may apply for one of the 6,000 nonresident licenses offered annually for hunting deer of either sex. If unsuccessful, the landowner shall be given preference for one of the 2,500 antlerless only nonresident deer licenses and the license shall be valid to hunt on the nonresident's land only. The annual antlerless only fees for nonresident deer hunting licenses shall apply to the nonresident landowners. A nonresident owning land in this state is eligible for only one nonresident deer license annually. If one or more parcels of land have multiple nonresident owners, only one of the nonresident owners is eligible for a nonresident antlerless only deer license. If a nonresident jointly owns land in this state with a resident, the nonresident shall not be given preference for a nonresident antlerless only deer license.

   The Act also allows an owner of a farm unit or a member of the owner's family and the tenant or a member of the tenant's family to purchase two antlerless deer hunting licenses for a fee of $10 each. These licenses are in addition to the free deer hunting licenses the owner and tenant or one of their respective family members are entitled to receive. The licenses are valid only on an owner's or tenant's farm unit.

   This Act takes effect December 15, 2001, and applies to licenses and fees for wildlife and game activities for the years beginning on or after January 1, 2002.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 11 - Nullification of Administrative Rule - Wild Turkey Harvest Reports (full text of resolution)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES. This Joint Resolution nullifies two administrative rules of the Department of Natural Resources that require the filing of a harvest report by a resident or nonresident hunter upon taking a wild turkey. The rules require the hunter to take a completed harvest report to a licensing agent within 48 hours of the taking of a wild turkey and receive a verification tag, which is to be attached to the wild turkey along with the transportation tag.

   The Joint Resolution takes effect April 11, 2001.

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 499 -- Scheduled Fines - Miscellaneous Changes (Complete summary under CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE & CORRECTIONS.)

   This Act reorganizes scheduled fines related to natural resources and outdoor recreation.

HOUSE FILE 561 -- All-Terrain Vehicle and Snowmobile Operating Requirements - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (Complete summary under TRANSPORTATION.)

   This bill would have repealed the requirement that the operator of an all-terrain vehicle or snowmobile on a public road or street fly a flag or pennant on the all-terrain vehicle or snowmobile. The bill also would have repealed the prohibition on operating an all-terrain vehicle while carrying a passenger.

HOUSE FILE 725 -- 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 Natural Resources. The Act appropriates moneys to the department from various funds and fees including the General Fund of the State and the Fish and Game Protection Fund. The Act requires that the department keep open state parks with moneys produced from the department's increases in fees for parks and recreation areas.

HOUSE FILE 737 -- Keep Iowa Beautiful Fund - Income Tax Checkoff (Complete summary under TAXATION.)

   This Act allows taxpayers filing individual income tax returns to designate on the return that $1 or more be paid to the Keep Iowa Beautiful Fund. Moneys in the fund are subject to appropriation annually by the General Assembly to the Iowa Department of Transportation for the purpose of awarding financial assistance to an applicant who submits a plan for litter prevention, improving waste management and recycling efforts, or a beautification project along with its application.

HOUSE FILE 742 -- Appropriations - Infrastructure and Capital Projects (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act requires the Loess Hills Development and Conservation Authority and the Southern Iowa Development and Conservation Authority to submit annual reports.

© 1998 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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