MINIMUM HUNTING AGE; FIREARM H.B. 4225 (H-2): COMMITTEE SUMMARY




House Bill 4225 (Substitute H-2 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Sue Tabor
House Committee: Conservation and Outdoor Recreation
Senate Committee: Natural Resources and Environmental Protection


Date Completed: 9-13-04

CONTENT The bill would amend Part 435 (Hunting and Fishing Licensing) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to do the following:

-- Allow a license to hunt deer, bear, or elk with a firearm to be issued to a person who is under 14 years old (but meets the minimum hunting age).
-- Allow an 11-year-old to obtain a hunting license if he or she would turn 12 in the year in which the license was issued.


Part 435 authorizes the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to issue a hunting license to a minor child (a person under 17 years old) under certain circumstances. A license to hunt, however, may not be issued to a person who is less than 12 years of age. Under the bill, a hunting license could not be issued to a person unless he or she were at least 12 years old or would become 12 in the calendar year in which the license was issued.


Presently, the DNR may not issue a license to hunt deer, bear, or elk with a firearm to a person who under 14 years old. The bill would delete that restriction.


Part 435 also requires the DNR to issue a combination deer license that allows a person to hunt deer both during the firearm deer seasons and the bow and arrow seasons, in compliance with the rules for each season. A combination deer license issued to a person under 14 years old is valid only for taking deer with a bow and arrow, until the person is 14 or older. The bill would delete that provision.


MCL 324.43520 et al. Legislative Analyst: Suzanne Lowe

FISCAL IMPACT
The bill could result in a slight increase in revenue to the Game and Fish Protection Fund and the Youth Hunting and Fishing Education and Outreach Fund if additional hunting licenses were sold for minor children who are 11 years old, but will be 12 years old by the end of the calendar year, and if minors between the ages of 12 and 14 were allowed to hunt with firearms in addition to bows and arrows. In 2002, 114,696 hunting and fishing licenses were sold for minor children.

Fiscal Analyst: Jessica Runnels

Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. hb4225/0304