House Bill 37

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-7-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT RESIDENTS OF THIS STATE WHO ARE ACTIVE DUTY MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES AND WHO ARE ON LEAVE IN THIS STATE SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM PROCURING A HUNTING OR FISHING LICENSE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 49-7-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-5. (1) (a) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a combination resident hunting and fishing license for the sum of Seventeen Dollars ($17.00). Such license shall qualify the licensee to hunt under this chapter all game and fowl, including deer and turkey, and to fish in any county of the state.

(b) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a resident combination small game hunting and fishing license for the sum of Thirteen Dollars ($13.00) together with the fee provided in Section 49-7-17 to the office or agent issuing such license. Such hunting license shall qualify the licensee to hunt and fish under this chapter all game and fowl, except deer and turkey, in any county in the state.

(c) Any resident of the State of Mississippi, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a resident small game license, and for it shall pay the issuing officer or agent the sum of Thirteen Dollars ($13.00), together with the fee provided in Section 49-7-17 to the officer or agent issuing such license. Such hunting license shall qualify the person holding the same to hunt under the provisions of this chapter, and in season, all game and fowl, except deer and turkey, in any county in the state.

(d) Any resident, as defined in Section 49-7-3, upon application, shall receive a sportsman's license for the sum of Thirty-two Dollars ($32.00). Such license shall qualify the licensee to hunt under this chapter all game and fowl, including deer and turkey, and to fish as provided by law, in any county in the state, and to hunt using primitive weapons and bow and arrow in the manner provided by law. The commission may notify the licensee of the expiration of his license, and the licensee may renew the license by mailing the sum of Thirty-two Dollars ($32.00) to the commission. A licensee who has not renewed the license within thirty (30) days after the expiration date shall be removed from the commission's records, and the licensee must apply to be placed on the renewal list.

(2) (a) Any resident citizen of the State of Mississippi who has not reached the age of sixteen (16) years or who has reached the age of sixty-five (65) years, or any resident citizen who is blind, paraplegic, or a multiple amputee, or who has been adjudged by the Veterans Administration as having a total service-connected disability, or has been adjudged to be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration shall not be required to purchase or have in his possession, a hunting or fishing license while engaged in such activities. A person exempt by reason of total service-connected disability, as adjudged by the Veterans Administration or who has been adjudged to be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration or who is blind, paraplegic or a multiple amputee, shall have in their possession and on their person proof of their age, residency, disability status or other respective physical impairment while engaged in the activities of hunting or fishing.

(b) All exempt hunting and fishing licenses previously issued for disabilities shall be null and void effective July 1, 1993.

(c) The commission may offer a youth all-game hunting and fishing license for exempt youths who have a hunter education certificate and an all-game hunting and fishing license for other persons exempted under paragraph (a). Youths and other exempt persons shall not be required to purchase this license or have it in possession while hunting or fishing. The commission may establish a fee not to exceed Five Dollars ($5.00) for such licenses.

(3) No license shall be required of residents to hunt, fish or trap on lands in which the record title is vested in such person.

(4) A resident of the State of Mississippi who is an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces and who is on leave in this state is exempt from procuring a license under this chapter to hunt all game and fowl, including deer and turkey, and to fish in any county of the state; however, such person must have in his possession, at all times while engaged in such activities, sufficient papers or documentation evidencing his membership in the Armed Forces and his current leave status.

(5) Any person or persons exempt under this section from procuring a license shall be subject to and must comply with all other terms and provisions of this chapter.

(6) Any person authorized to issue any license under this section may collect and retain for the issuance of each license the additional fee authorized under Section 49-7-17.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004.