House File 117 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY PETTENGILL
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to hunting by landowners on certain land owned by
2 them.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
4 TLSB 1775HH 83
5 av/nh/5
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 483A.24, subsection 2, paragraph a,
1 2 Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
1 3 a. As used in this subsection:
1 4 (1) "Family member" means a resident of Iowa person who is
1 5 the spouse or child of the owner or tenant and who resides
1 6 with the owner or tenant.
1 7 (2) "Farm unit" means all parcels of land which are
1 8 certified by the commission pursuant to rule as meeting all of
1 9 the following requirements:
1 10 (a) Are in tracts of two or more contiguous acres.
1 11 (b) Are operated as a unit for agricultural purposes.
1 12 (c) Are under the lawful control of the owner or the
1 13 tenant.
1 14 (3) "Owner" means an owner of a farm unit who is a
1 15 resident of Iowa and who is one of the following:
1 16 (a) Is the sole operator of the farm unit.
1 17 (b) Makes all of the farm operation decisions but
1 18 contracts for custom farming or hires labor for all or part of
1 19 the work on the farm unit.
1 20 (c) Participates annually in farm operation decisions or
1 21 cropping practices on specific fields of the farm unit that
1 22 are rented to a tenant.
1 23 (d) Raises specialty crops on the farm unit including, but
1 24 not limited to, orchards, nurseries, or tree farms that do not
1 25 always produce annual income but require annual operating
1 26 decisions about maintenance or improvement.
1 27 (e) Has all or part of the farm unit enrolled in a
1 28 long=term agricultural land retirement program of the federal
1 29 government.
1 30 (f) An "owner" does not mean a person who owns Owns a farm
1 31 unit and who employs a farm manager or third party to operate
1 32 the farm unit, or a person who owns a farm unit and who rents
1 33 the entire farm unit to a tenant who is responsible for all
1 34 farm operations. However, this paragraph does not apply to an
1 35 owner who is a parent of the tenant and who resides in this
2 1 state.
2 2 (4) "Tenant" means a person who is a resident of Iowa and
2 3 who rents and actively farms a farm unit owned by another
2 4 person. A member of the owner's family may be a tenant. A
2 5 person who works on the farm for a wage and is not a family
2 6 member does not qualify as a tenant.
2 7 EXPLANATION
2 8 This bill relates to hunting by a landowner or a family
2 9 member of a landowner on certain land owned by the landowner.
2 10 Currently, a landowner of a farm unit who is a resident of
2 11 Iowa or a family member of a landowner who is a resident of
2 12 Iowa is eligible to hunt, fish, and trap on the farm unit
2 13 without a license and is eligible to obtain special licenses
2 14 to hunt deer and wild turkey on that farm unit.
2 15 The bill allows any landowner or family member of a
2 16 landowner, even a nonresident, to hunt, fish, and trap, on the
2 17 farm unit without a license and to obtain special deer and
2 18 turkey hunting licenses for use only on the farm unit. The
2 19 bill also changes the definition of "owner" of a farm unit to
2 20 include a person who owns a farm unit and employs a farm
2 21 manager or third party to operate the farm unit or rents the
2 22 entire farm unit to a tenant who is responsible for all farm
2 23 operations.
2 24 "Farm unit" means all parcels of land which are certified
2 25 by the natural resource commission as being in tracts of two
2 26 or more contiguous acres, are operated as a unit for
2 27 agricultural purposes, and are under the lawful control of the
2 28 owner or tenant.
2 29 LSB 1775HH 83
2 30 av/nh/5