MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
By: Representative Lamar
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-7-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT NONRESIDENT NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE MEMBERS MAY OBTAIN A RESIDENT HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSE AND A FOURTEEN-DAY ARMED FORCES LICENSE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 49-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-7-3. (1) Any resident of the State of Mississippi shall be entitled to receive a resident fishing license.
(2) Any person domiciled within the State of Mississippi shall be entitled to receive a resident hunting license provided in Section 49-7-5. The domicile of a person is that person's principal or primary home or place of abode. A "principal or primary home or place of abode" is that home or place in which a person's habitation is fixed and to which he, whenever absent, has the present intention of returning after a departure of absence therefrom, regardless of the duration of the absence. The burden of proving domicile shall be on the person claiming such status. The following evidence or other reliable evidence may be considered in establishing, but is not necessarily determinative of, domicile: driver's license, residence for income or other tax purposes, homestead exemption receipt, or any other means prescribed by the department. In the case of minors, domicile of the parents shall be used as evidence of the minor's domicile.
(3) A nondomiciliary of the state may be issued a resident hunting or fishing license or combination resident hunting/fishing license upon providing the following:
(a) A current identification card from a Mississippi college or university; or
(b) A current military
identification card showing that the person is an active member of the United
States Armed Forces * * *, including the Reserves and the
National Guard, and proof that the person is either stationed on a
military base or is a member of a unit stationed in Mississippi.
(4) A nondomiciliary of the
state may be issued a special Armed Forces fourteen-day hunting and fishing
license with the same hunting and fishing privileges and at the same fee of a
resident sportsman's license, if the nondomiciliary is an active member of the
United States Armed Forces * * *,
including the Reserves and the National Guard, and his application is
approved by the department. The applicant must file his application for the
special fourteen-day license in the office of the department. The department
shall establish requirements for proof of active military status and any other
requirements it deems desirable. The department shall not issue more than two
(2) special fourteen-day licenses to the same applicant per license year.
(5) A holder of a resident or nonresident license is required to carry the license on his person while engaged in hunting, trapping or fishing. Any penalty for not carrying a license while engaged in hunting, trapping or fishing shall be waived if the person can verify purchase of a license prior to the date of the violation.
(6) Each application or filing made under this section shall include the social security number(s) of the applicant in accordance with Section 93-11-64.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.