SF 281 (LSB 2587XS (2) 91)

SENATE FILE 281

BY  GREEN

A BILL FOR

An Act prohibiting hunting near public recreation areas, and making penalties applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 481A.123, subsections 1, 2, 3, and 4, Code 2025, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  A person shall not discharge a firearm or shoot or attempt to shoot a game or fur-bearing animal within two hundred yards of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock, within two hundred yards of a public recreation area, or within two hundred yards of a feedlot unless the owner or tenant has given consent. However, within the corporate limits of a city, a person may take deer with a firearm within fifty yards of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock, or a feedlot pursuant to an approved special deer population control plan, if the person obtains permission of the owner or tenant of the building or feedlot.
   2.  As used in this section, “feedlot”:
   a.  “Feedlot” means a lot, yard, corral, or other area in which livestock are present and confined, for the purposes of feeding and growth before slaughter. The term does not include areas which that are used for the raising of crops or other vegetation and upon which livestock are allowed to graze or feed.
   b.  “Public recreation area” means land acquired or developed for public recreation and identified as a public recreation area by the city, county, state, or federal government, except for public hunting areas, as defined under subsection 4.
   3.  a.  This section does not apply to the discharge of a firearm for the purpose of target shooting on premises posted as a target shooting range that is open to the public, if the premises have been used as a target shooting range prior to the erection of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock, prior to the establishment of a public recreation area, or prior to the construction of a feedlot, located within two hundred yards of the target shooting range. This subsection applies only to the erection of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock or to the construction of a feedlot located within two hundred yards of a target shooting range that is open to the public and that is identified as a target shooting range by the city, county, state, or federal government, which erection or construction occurs on or after May 14, 2004, and to the establishment of a public recreation area located within two hundred yards of a target shooting range that is open to the public and that is identified as a target shooting range by the city, county, state, or federal government, which establishment occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.
   b.  As used in this subsection, “target shooting” means the discharge of a firearm at an inanimate object, for amusement or as a test of skill in marksmanship.
   4.  a.  This section does not apply to the discharge of a firearm on premises identified as a public hunting area, if the premises have been identified as a public hunting area prior to the erection of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock, prior to the establishment of a public recreation area, or prior to the construction of a feedlot, located within two hundred yards of the public hunting area. This subsection applies only to the erection of a building inhabited by people or domestic livestock or to the construction of a feedlot located within two hundred yards of a public hunting area, which erection or construction occurs on or after May 14, 2004, and to the establishment of a public recreation area within two hundred yards of a public hunting area, which establishment occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.
   b.  As used in this subsection, “public hunting area” means public lands or waters available for hunting by the public, and identified as a public hunting area by the city, county, state, or federal government.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill prohibits hunting near public recreation areas.
   The bill prohibits a person from discharging a firearm or shooting or attempting to shoot a game or fur-bearing animal within 200 yards of a public recreation area. The bill provides exceptions for target shooting ranges and public hunting areas established before the implementation of the bill. The prohibition in the bill does not apply to the discharge of a firearm for the purpose of developing and retaining the shooting proficiency of certified law enforcement officers on premises owned by the state, a county, or a municipality, and operated by a law enforcement agency, that are not open to the general public and that were in operation prior to March 28, 2013.
   A person who violates the bill commits a simple misdemeanor punishable by a scheduled fine of $35.