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AN ACT relating to hunting and fishing licenses and declaring an emergency. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 150.170 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Except as provided in the following subsections of this section, and subject to 4
administrative regulations promulgated under this chapter, no person, resident, or 5
nonresident shall do any act authorized by any kind of license or permit or assist in 6
any way any person in doing any act provided for in this chapter with respect to 7
wildlife unless he or she holds the kind of license or permit, resident or nonresident, 8
that authorizes the act. It shall be the specific purpose of this chapter to prohibit the 9
taking or pursuing of any wildlife, protected or unprotected, or the fishing in any 10
stream or body of water whether public or private, without first procuring the 11
license provided for in KRS 150.175, except to the extent as may be otherwise 12
provided in this section. 13
(2) A person under sixteen (16) years of age may, without a sport fishing license, take 14
fish by angling, or take minnows by the use of a minnow seine, minnow trap, or dip 15
net. 16
(3) A person under twelve (12) years of age shall be exempt from being required to 17
obtain a sport hunting or sport trapping license as required by this chapter. 18
(4) The resident owner of farmlands[ of five (5) or more acres] or his or her spouse or 19
dependent children shall, without procuring any sport hunting or sport fishing 20
licenses, have the right to take fish or hunt during the open season, except trapping, 21
on farmlands[ of five (5) or more acres] of which they are bona fide owners. 22
Tenants or their dependent children residing upon these farmlands shall have the 23
same privilege. 24
(5) Residents or nonresidents observing and participating in field trials, training 25
exercises, or other competitions as authorized by the department may observe and 26
participate without obtaining a hunting or guide's license so long as game is not 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 211
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taken. 1
(6) Any resident serviceman on furlough of more than three (3) days in this state may, 2
without any Kentucky sport hunting or sport fishing licenses, do any act authorized 3
by the licenses, but while so doing he or she shall carry on his or her person proper 4
identification and papers showing his or her furlough status. 5
(7) Landowners, their spouses or dependent children, or their designee who must be 6
approved by the commissioner, who kill or trap on their lands any wildlife causing 7
damage to the lands or any personal property situated thereon shall not be required 8
to have a hunting or trapping license and may do so during periods other than the 9
open season for the particular species without a tag and dispose of the carcass on-10
site. Tenants, their spouses, their dependent children, or other persons approved by 11
the commissioner, shall also have the same privilege. Upon destruction of any 12
wildlife by the above-specified individuals, the act shall be reported to a 13
conservation officer within twenty-four (24) hours of the kill. Individuals wishing 14
to transport the carcass from the property upon which it was killed shall contact 15
personnel of the department to request a disposal tag or other authorization. 16
Inedible parts from wildlife taken under the authorization of this section shall not be 17
utilized for any purpose and shall be destroyed or left afield. The department shall 18
promulgate administrative regulations establishing procedures for the designee 19
appointment process, including request and approval deadlines. 20
(8) If a reciprocal agreement is entered into by the commissioner, with the approval of 21
the commission, and promulgated as an administrative regulation by the department 22
and similar action is taken by the appropriate authority in Missouri, Tennessee, 23
Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, or Illinois, persons holding a resident or 24
nonresident fishing or a resident or nonresident hunting license issued in these 25
states shall be permitted to perform the acts authorized by the license upon certain 26
contiguous waters and land areas adjacent to the common boundaries of the above-27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 211
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mentioned states and the State of Kentucky. A resident of the State of Kentucky 1
shall purchase a proper Kentucky license to conform with the reciprocal agreement. 2
(9) Any member of the Kentucky Army or Air National Guard, active duty or Reserve 3
Component, in any branch in the United States Armed Forces that is based in the 4
Commonwealth of Kentucky, shall have the right to take fish or hunt on any 5
military property belonging to the Commonwealth without procuring any sport 6
hunting or sport fishing license. 7
(10) A person not otherwise exempted from hunter safety education or from procuring 8
any sport hunting or sport fishing license shall be exempt from the department-9
sanctioned live-fire exercise component of the hunter education course requirement 10
if he or she: 11
(a) Is a current member of the Armed Forces of the United States; 12
(b) Has served in the Armed Forces of the United States and was discharged or 13
released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable; or 14
(c) Is a peace officer certified pursuant to KRS 15.380 to 15.404. 15
Section 2. Whereas it is critical to the wildlife management goals of the 16
Commonwealth that farmland sport hunting and sport fishing license exemptions not be 17
limited by the size of the farmland, an emergency is declared to exist, and this Act takes 18
effect upon its passage and approval by the Governor or upon its otherwise becoming a 19
law. 20