KS
Kansas Senate Bill SB80

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB80 Compare Versions

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11 Session of 2025
22 SENATE BILL No. 80
33 By Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources
44 1-27
55 AN ACT concerning wildlife and parks; relating to hunting; eliminating
66 the authority of the secretary of wildlife and parks to issue nonresident
77 landowner deer permits; amending K.S.A. 32-937 and repealing the
88 existing section.
99 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
1010 Section 1. K.S.A. 32-937 is hereby amended to read as follows: 32-
1111 937. (a) When As used in this section:
1212 (1) "Landowner" means a resident owner of farm or ranch land of 80
1313 acres or more located in the state of Kansas.
1414 (2) "Tenant" means an individual who is actively engaged in the
1515 agricultural operation of 80 acres or more of Kansas farm or ranch land for
1616 the purpose of producing agricultural commodities or livestock and who:
1717 (A) Has a substantial financial investment in the production of
1818 agricultural commodities or livestock on such farm or ranch land and the
1919 potential to realize substantial financial benefit from such production; or
2020 (B) is a bona fide manager having an overall responsibility to direct,
2121 supervise and conduct such agricultural operation and has the potential to
2222 realize substantial benefit from such production in the form of salary,
2323 shares of such production or some other economic incentive based upon
2424 such production. Evidence of tenancy, if requested, shall be provided to
2525 the department and may include, but is not limited to, natural resource
2626 conservation services records, farm service agency records, or written
2727 agricultural contract or lease documentation.
2828 (3) "Regular season" means a statewide big game hunting season
2929 authorized annually which may include one or more seasons restricted to
3030 specific types of equipment.
3131 (4) "Special season" means a big game hunting season in addition to a
3232 regular season authorized on an irregular basis or at different times of the
3333 year other than the regular season.
3434 (5) "General permit" means a big game hunting permit available to
3535 Kansas residents not applying for big game permits as a landowner or
3636 tenant.
3737 (6) "Nonresident landowner" means a nonresident of the state of
3838 Kansas who owns farm or ranch land of 80 acres or more which is located
3939 in the state of Kansas.
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7676 (7) "Nonresident permit" means a big game hunting permit available
7777 to individuals who are not Kansas residents.
7878 (b) Except as otherwise provided by law or rules and regulations of
7979 the secretary and in addition to any other license, permit or stamp required
8080 by law or rules and regulations of the secretary, valid big game permits are
8181 required to take any big game in this state.
8282 (c) The fee for big game permits and game tags shall be the amount
8383 prescribed pursuant to K.S.A. 32-988, and amendments thereto.
8484 (d) Big game permits are valid throughout the state or such portion
8585 thereof as provided by rules and regulations adopted by the secretary in
8686 accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments thereto.
8787 (e) Unless otherwise provided by law or rules and regulations of the
8888 secretary, big game permits are valid from the date of issuance and shall
8989 expire at the end of the season for which issued.
9090 (f) The secretary may adopt, in accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and
9191 amendments thereto, rules and regulations for each regular or special big
9292 game hunting season and for each management unit regarding big game
9393 permits. The secretary is hereby authorized to issue big game permits
9494 pertaining to the taking of big game. Separate big game permits may be
9595 issued for each species of big game. No big game permits shall be issued
9696 until the secretary has established, by rules and regulations adopted in
9797 accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments thereto, a regular or
9898 special big game hunting season.
9999 (g) The secretary may authorize, by rules and regulations adopted in
100100 accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments thereto, regular
101101 landowner or tenant hunt-on-your-own-land big game permits. Members
102102 of the landowner's or tenant's immediate family who are domiciled with
103103 the landowner or tenant may apply for resident big game permits as
104104 landowners or tenants, but the total number of landowner or tenant regular
105105 hunt-on-your-own-land permits issued to a landowner or tenant and a
106106 landowner's or tenant's immediate family members for each big game
107107 species shall not exceed one permit for each 80 acres owned by such
108108 landowner or operated by such tenant. Evidence of ownership or tenancy,
109109 if requested, shall be provided to the department. Such permits and
110110 applications may contain provisions and restrictions as prescribed by rules
111111 and regulations adopted by the secretary in accordance with K.S.A. 32-
112112 805, and amendments thereto.
113113 (h) Special hunt-on-your-own-land deer permits may be issued to a
114114 landowner's or tenant's siblings and lineal ascendants or descendants, and
115115 their spouses, whether or not a Kansas resident, by paying the required fee
116116 for a general deer permit. The total number of regular and special hunt-on-
117117 your-own-land deer permits issued to a landowner's or tenant's siblings and
118118 lineal ascendants or descendants, and their spouses, shall not exceed one
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162162 deer permit for each 80 acres owned by such landowner or operated by
163163 such tenant. Evidence of ownership or tenancy, and sibling or lineal
164164 ascending or descending relations, if requested, shall be provided to the
165165 department.
166166 (i) Fifty percentThe secretary shall issue 50% of the big game permits
167167 authorized for a regular season in any management unit shall be issued to
168168 landowners or tenants, provided that a limited number of big game permits
169169 have been authorized and landowner or tenant hunt-on-your-own-land big
170170 game permits for that unit have not been authorized. A landowner or tenant
171171 is not eligible to apply for a big game permit as a landowner or as a tenant
172172 in a management unit other than the unit or units which includes such
173173 landowner's or tenant's land. Any big game permits not issued to
174174 landowners or tenants within the time period prescribed by rules and
175175 regulations may be issued without regard to the 50% limitation.
176176 (j) The secretary may issue, by rules and regulations adopted in
177177 accordance with K.S.A. 32-805, and amendments thereto, resident deer
178178 hunting permits available on a limited basis and valid for a designated
179179 species and sex in designated units, and antlerless-only deer permits in
180180 designated units as necessary for management purposes, and, any of the
181181 following options:
182182 (1) Either sex white-tailed deer permits valid statewide during any
183183 season with the equipment legal for that season;
184184 (2) either species, either sex archery permits valid statewide;
185185 (3) either species, either sex muzzle loader permits valid in
186186 designated units; or
187187 (4) either species, either sex firearm permits valid in designated units.
188188 (k) The secretary may issue permits for deer to nonresident
189189 landowners, but any such permit shall be restricted to hunting only on
190190 lands owned by the nonresident landowner.
191191 (l) The secretary may issue deer hunting permits to nonresidents,
192192 subject to the following limitations:
193193 (1) The total number of nonresident deer permits that may be issued
194194 for a deer season in a management unit and which may be used to take
195195 antlered deer shall be established with the goal of meeting demand for
196196 those permits, using a formula developed by the department that will
197197 consider adjustment factors, including deer population trends, deer-related
198198 vehicle accidents, age structure in the harvest, deer damage, landowner
199199 desire for nonresident deer permits, general public desires and health of
200200 habitat. The 2008 permit numbers shall be based on the adjustment factors
201201 and an average of nonresident demand for permits in each management
202202 unit from the previous six years, establishing at least a 10% increase but
203203 not more than 50% increase in permit numbers in each management unit,
204204 except in unit 16, where permit numbers shall not increase more than
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248248 100%. In subsequent years, the formula shall be used to determine permit
249249 allocations based on demand and the adjustment factors.
250250 (2) Nonresident deer permits may be restricted to a particular deer
251251 species.
252252 (3) Nonresident deer permits shall be restricted to two adjacent deer
253253 management units.
254254 (4) Nonresident deer hunters shall select one season at the time of
255255 application.
256256 (5) For an additional fee, nonresident deer hunters applying for a
257257 whitetail either sex archery or muzzle loader permit in a designated mule
258258 deer unit may also apply for one of the limited number of mule deer
259259 stamps. If they are successful in both drawings, they would be issued a
260260 permit that will allow them to take either a whitetail deer or a mule deer in
261261 that unit.
262262 (m)(l) A big game permit shall state the species, number and sex of
263263 the big game which may be killed by the permittee. The secretary may
264264 require any big game permittee to provide survey information at the
265265 conclusion of the open season.
266266 (n) (1)(m) Prior to April 30, 2013, The secretary shall develop and
267267 implement a combination antlered and antlerless deer permit and adopt
268268 rules and regulations for the administration thereof.
269269 (2) Prior to April 30, 2013, the secretary shall develop and implement
270270 a pre-rut antlerless deer rifle season by deer management unit. The
271271 provisions of this paragraph shall expire on July 1, 2015.
272272 (3) The secretary shall develop and implement a deer crossbow
273273 hunting pilot project. Such pilot project shall be implemented in no more
274274 than four deer management units. The secretary of wildlife, parks and
275275 tourism shall study the effects of such pilot project on the deer population
276276 and the number of crossbow users in such deer management units and
277277 report to the house committee on agriculture and natural resources and the
278278 senate committee on natural resources prior to January 31, 2014. The
279279 provisions of this paragraph shall expire on January 31, 2014.
280280 (o)(n) The permittee shall permanently affix the carcass tag to the
281281 carcass of any big game animal immediately after killing and thereafter
282282 take such killed game to a check station as may be required in the rules
283283 and regulations, where a check station tag shall be affixed to the big game
284284 carcass if the kill is legal. The tags shall remain affixed to the carcass until
285285 the carcass is processed for storage or consumption. The permittee shall
286286 retain the carcass tag until the carcass is consumed, given to another or
287287 otherwise disposed of.
288288 (p)(o) The provisions of this section do not apply to big game animals
289289 sold in surplus property disposal sales of department exhibit herds or big
290290 game animals legally taken outside this state.
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334334 Sec. 2. K.S.A. 32-937 is hereby repealed.
335335 Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
336336 publication in the statute book.
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