House File 390 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY WINDSCHITL
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to hunting by certain nonresident landowners on
2 land owned by them.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 481C.2, Code 2009, is amended to read
1 2 as follows:
1 3 481C.2 DUTIES.
1 4 1. The director of the department of natural resources
1 5 shall enter into a memorandum of agreement with the United
1 6 States department of agriculture, animal damage control
1 7 division. The wild animal depredation unit shall serve and
1 8 act as the liaison to the department for the producers owners
1 9 and tenants in the state, as defined in section 483A.24, who
1 10 suffer crop, horticultural product, tree, or nursery damage
1 11 due to wild animals.
1 12 2. The department shall issue depredation permits to any
1 13 landowner owner or tenant, as defined in section 483A.24, who
1 14 incurs agricultural crop, horticultural product, tree, or
1 15 nursery damage of one thousand dollars or more due to wild
1 16 animals.
1 17 3. The criteria for issuing depredation licenses and
1 18 permits shall be established in administrative rules in
1 19 consultation with the farmer advisory committee created in
1 20 section 481A.10A. The administrative rules adopted pursuant
1 21 to this section shall not require a producer an owner or
1 22 tenant to erect or maintain fencing at a cost exceeding one
1 23 thousand dollars as a requisite for receiving a depredation
1 24 license or permit or for participation in a depredation plan.
1 25 Sec. 2. Section 481C.2A, subsections 1, 2, 3, and 7, Code
1 26 2009, are amended to read as follows:
1 27 1. Deer depredation licenses shall be available for
1 28 issuance as follows:
1 29 a. Deer depredation licenses shall be available for
1 30 issuance to resident hunters and to owners and tenants or
1 31 family members of owners and tenants as defined in section
1 32 483A.24.
1 33 b. Depredation licenses issued pursuant to this subsection
1 34 shall be valid to harvest antlerless deer only. Depredation
1 35 licenses that are issued to a landowner and owners and tenants
2 1 or family members of owners and tenants as defined in section
2 2 483A.24 shall be in addition to the number of free licenses
2 3 that are available for issuance to such persons under section
2 4 483A.24. A landowner An owner or tenant or a family member of
2 5 an owner or tenant may obtain one free depredation license for
2 6 each deer hunting season that is established by the
2 7 commission. Deer may be harvested with a rifle pursuant to a
2 8 depredation license in any area and in any season where the
2 9 commission authorizes the use of rifles.
2 10 c. Licenses issued pursuant to this subsection may be
2 11 issued at any time to a resident hunter who has permission to
2 12 hunt on the land for which the license is valid pursuant to
2 13 this subsection.
2 14 d. A producer An owner or tenant who enters into a
2 15 depredation agreement with the department of natural resources
2 16 shall be issued a set of authorization numbers. Each
2 17 authorization number authorizes the owner or tenant, a family
2 18 member of the owner or tenant, or a resident hunter to obtain
2 19 a depredation license that is valid only for taking antlerless
2 20 deer on the land designated in the producer's owner's or
2 21 tenant's depredation plan. A producer An owner or tenant may
2 22 transfer an authorization number issued to that producer
2 23 person to a resident hunter who has permission to hunt on the
2 24 land for which the authorization number is valid. An
2 25 authorization number shall be valid to obtain a depredation
2 26 license in any season. The provisions of this paragraph shall
2 27 be implemented by August 15, 2008. A transferee who receives
2 28 an authorization number pursuant to this paragraph "d" shall
2 29 be otherwise qualified to hunt deer in this state, have a
2 30 hunting license, pay the wildlife habitat fee, and pay the one
2 31 dollar fee for the purpose of the deer herd population
2 32 management program.
2 33 2. Deer shooting permits shall be available for issuance
2 34 as follows:
2 35 a. Deer shooting permits shall be available for issuance
3 1 to landowners owners or tenants who incur crop, horticultural
3 2 product, tree, or nursery damage as provided in section 481C.2
3 3 and shall be available for issuance for use on areas where
3 4 public safety may be an issue.
3 5 b. Deer shooting permits issued pursuant to this
3 6 subsection shall be valid and may be used outside of
3 7 established deer hunting seasons.
3 8 3. Notwithstanding section 481C.2, subsection 3, a
3 9 producer an owner or tenant shall not be required to erect or
3 10 maintain fencing as a requisite for receiving a deer
3 11 depredation permit or for participation in a deer depredation
3 12 plan pursuant to this section.
3 13 7. The department shall conduct outreach programs for
3 14 farmers and farm and commodity organizations that explain the
3 15 deer depredation management program. The department shall
3 16 develop, by rule, a master hunter program and maintain a list
3 17 of master hunters who are available to assist producers owners
3 18 or tenants in the deer depredation management program by
3 19 increasing the harvest of antlerless deer on the producer's
3 20 owner's or tenant's property.
3 21 Sec. 3. Section 483A.24, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code
3 22 2009, is amended to read as follows:
3 23 a. As used in this subsection:
3 24 (1) "Family member" means a resident of Iowa person who is
3 25 the spouse or child of the owner or tenant and who resides
3 26 with the owner or tenant.
3 27 (2) "Farm unit" means all parcels of land which are
3 28 certified by the commission pursuant to rule as meeting all of
3 29 the following requirements:
3 30 (a) Are in tracts of two or more contiguous acres.
3 31 (b) Are operated as a unit for agricultural purposes.
3 32 (c) Are under the lawful control of the owner or the
3 33 tenant.
3 34 (3) "Owner" means an owner of a farm unit who is a
3 35 resident of Iowa and who is one of the following:
4 1 (a) Is the sole operator of the farm unit.
4 2 (b) Makes all of the farm operation decisions but
4 3 contracts for custom farming or hires labor for all or part of
4 4 the work on the farm unit.
4 5 (c) Participates annually in farm operation decisions or
4 6 cropping practices on specific fields of the farm unit that
4 7 are rented to a tenant.
4 8 (d) Raises specialty crops on the farm unit including, but
4 9 not limited to, orchards, nurseries, or tree farms that do not
4 10 always produce annual income but require annual operating
4 11 decisions about maintenance or improvement.
4 12 (e) Has all or part of the farm unit enrolled in a
4 13 long=term agricultural land retirement program of the federal
4 14 government.
4 15 (f) An "owner" does not mean a person who owns Owns a farm
4 16 unit and who employs a farm manager or third party to operate
4 17 the farm unit, or a person who owns a farm unit and who rents
4 18 the entire farm unit to a tenant who is responsible for all
4 19 farm operations. However, this paragraph does not apply to an
4 20 owner who is a parent of the tenant and who resides in this
4 21 state.
4 22 (4) "Tenant" means a person who is a resident of Iowa and
4 23 who rents and actively farms a farm unit owned by another
4 24 person. A member of the owner's family may be a tenant. A
4 25 person who works on the farm for a wage and is not a family
4 26 member does not qualify as a tenant.
4 27 EXPLANATION
4 28 This bill relates to hunting, particularly deer hunting, by
4 29 certain nonresident landowners on land owned by them.
4 30 Code chapter 481C, concerning the state's wild animal
4 31 depredation procedures, is amended to apply to nonresident
4 32 owners of farm units as defined in Code section 483A.24. The
4 33 bill provides that depredation licenses and permits, and in
4 34 particular deer depredation licenses and permits, be available
4 35 for issuance to resident and nonresident owners who incur
5 1 agricultural crop, horticultural product, tree, or nursery
5 2 damage of $1,000 or more due to wild animals, particularly
5 3 deer.
5 4 Deer depredation licenses may be transferred by a resident
5 5 or nonresident owner or tenant to a resident hunter for use on
5 6 the land designated in the depredation plan. Deer shooting
5 7 permits are available to resident and nonresident owners and
5 8 tenants who incur such damage, for use on areas where public
5 9 safety may be an issue, and outside of established deer
5 10 hunting seasons.
5 11 Code section 483A.24 is amended to allow a nonresident
5 12 owner of a farm unit, or a family member of such an owner to
5 13 hunt, fish, and trap on the farm unit without a license and to
5 14 obtain special licenses to hunt deer and wild turkey on that
5 15 farm unit, just as resident owners and their families do.
5 16 The bill also changes the definition of "owner" of a farm
5 17 unit to include a person who owns a farm unit and employs a
5 18 farm manager or third party to operate the farm unit or who
5 19 rents the entire farm unit to a tenant who is responsible for
5 20 all farm operations. "Farm unit" means all parcels of land
5 21 which are certified by the natural resource commission as
5 22 being in tracts of two or more contiguous acres, operated as a
5 23 unit for agricultural purposes, and under the lawful control
5 24 of the owner or tenant.
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