Senate Bill 2764

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-7-20.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE AN EXCEPTION TO HUNTER EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILDREN BETWEEN AGES OF 12 AND 16; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 49-7-20.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-7-20.1. (1) (a) To reduce hunting accidents of children under license age, to protect the safety of these children and to promote hunter safety, a child at least twelve (12) years of age and under sixteen (16) years of age must have a certificate of satisfactory completion of a hunter education course approved by the department before hunting in this state.

(b) A child at least twelve (12) years of age and under sixteen (16) years of age may hunt without having the certificate of hunter education required under this subsection if the child is in the presence and under the direct supervision of a licensed or exempt hunter at least twenty-one (21) years of age when hunting.

(2) A child under the age of twelve (12) must be in the presence and under the direct supervision of a licensed or exempt hunter at least twenty-one (21) years of age when the child is hunting.

(3) There is no penalty for a violation of this section, but to protect the safety of the child a conservation officer may require the child to end the hunt and may unload the firearm and may take the firearm and the child to an adult.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.