Req. No. 10891 Page 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 STATE OF OKLAHOMA 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025) HOUSE BILL 2741 By: Caldwell (Trey) AS INTRODUCED An Act relating to game and fish; amending 29 O.S. 2021, Section 4-101; providing for nonresident landowners to qualify for re sidential hunting licenses; requiring certain documentation; amending 29 O.S. 2021, Section 4 -112; allowing nonresidential landowners to qualify for residential hunting licenses; requiring certain documentation; providing an effective date. BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 29 O.S. 2021, Section 4 -101, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 208, O.S.L. 2022 (29 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 4-101), is amended to read as follows: Section 4-101. A. All licenses and permits issued by the Director of Wildlife Conservation, the Department of Wildlife Conservation or by any of its agents shall be used only in conformity with the provisions of this title and the rules promulgated by the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission. B. All persons making application for any l icenses required by this section shall produce a valid license to operate a motor Req. No. 10891 Page 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 vehicle or other positive proof of identification, age and residency and any such license issued shall show such data as well as the date and time of issuance. C. Instead of proof of residency, a nonresident who owns a minimum of eighty (80) acres of noncommercial lands in Oklahoma, may show proof of land ownership and property taxes paid on said property for the previous year to qualify for residential hunting license rates. Such proof must be provided to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. C. D. All licenses are nontransferable. No person shall alter, change, lend or transfer any license. No person shall use or borrow a license which has not been issued to that person by the Director, the Department or by any of its agents pursuant to the provisions of this section. D. E. No person may engage in activities requiring a license without that person's carrying such license on their person and producing the same for an inspection upon the demand of any Oklahoma citizen or game warden. E. F. Any person required to produce a license must also identify themselves as the person to whom su ch license was issued, and failure or refusal to comply shall be deemed prima facie evidence of a violation of this section. F. G. Unless otherwise provided in this Code: Req. No. 10891 Page 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1. Licenses issued pursuant to paragraph 1 of subsection C and paragraphs 1 and 2 o f subsection E of Section 4 -112 of this title and paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsec tion B of Section 4-113 of this title and paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsection C and paragraph 1 of subsection E of Section 4 -110 of this title shall expire one (1) year after the date issued. Unless otherwise specified, all other licenses shall expire December 31 for the year issued; and 2. Any person convicted of violating any of the provisions of this title may have any or all licenses held by that person or the privilege of applying for, purchasing or exercising the benefits conferred by the licenses revo ked by the Department in accordance with rules promulgated by the Commission or by a court of competent jurisdiction for a period of not less than one (1) year. For purposes of this paragraph, a court conviction, a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, the imposition of a deferred or suspended sentence by a court, or forfeiture of bond shall be deemed a conviction. G. H. Should any license or permit issued pursuant to Part 1 of Article IV of this title be lost or destroyed, duplicates will be issued by the Department at a fee of One Dollar and fifty cents ($1.50). H. I. Upon harvesting any whitetail or mule deer, or any other wildlife where the hunter, according to Commissi on rules, is Req. No. 10891 Page 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 required to check the wildlife in at a Department check station, the taker of the wildlife shall: 1. Securely attach the name of the taker, time of harvest, date of harvest and license number to the carcass of the wildlife; 2. Check in the carcass of the wildlife electronically using the online check station provided on the official website of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation or as prescribed by rule of the Commission, within twenty -four (24) hours of leaving the hunt area and in all cases prior to processing the carcass; and 3. Not remove evidence of the sex of the animal until after the carcass of the animal has been checked in. I. J. It shall be unlawful for any license or permit holder to knowingly make a false statement or give false information to any authorized hunter check station or to an auth orized Department employee when complying with the provisions of subsection H of this section. Information which may be collected at a Department check station shall include but not be limited to the name, address, license or permit number and signature of the taker, the date, time, county, method or weapon of the kill, sex and weight of carcass, whether or not the animal was taken on public hunting land and if so in what area, or any other information which may be required by the Commission. J. K. 1. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this section or of making a false statement or giving any false Req. No. 10891 Page 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 information in order to acquire any license or permit, pursuant to the provisions of this section, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed ten (10) days, or by both su ch fine and imprisonment. Any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of the provisions of this section or of making a false statement or giving any false information in order to acquire any license or permit, pursuant to the provisions of th is section, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) nor more than Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed ten (10) days, or by both such fine and imp risonment. 2. Any hunting or fishing license issued to a person by the Department of Wildlife Conservation shall be automatically revoked upon conviction of the person of violating the provisions of this section. The revocation shall be for a period set by the court of not less than one (1) year nor more than ten (10) years. If the court does not set a period, the revocation shall be for one (1) year from the date of the conviction. During this period of revocation, the Department shall not issue the pe rson a hunting or fishing license. If the court does not set a revocation per iod, the Department shall not issue that person a license within one (1) year of the conviction of the person pursuant to this section. A person Req. No. 10891 Page 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 who has a license or permit revo ked pursuant to this section shall surrender the revoked license or permit to the court, or the court may order the defendant to surrender the license or permit directly to an officer from the Department of Wildlife Conservation present at the hearing. If the license or permit is surrendered to the court, the court shall send the D epartment of Wildlife Conservation the revoked license. The court shall also send the Department a copy of the judgment of conviction. For purposes of this section, "conviction" shall include a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to an offense or the imposition of deferred adjudication for an offense. In lieu of sending a paper copy of the documents and information required by this subsection, the court clerk may transmit the conviction information by using an electronic method authorized by the Department of Wildlife Conservation. K. L. Any person who has had their license privileges revoked shall not be entitled to purchase, apply for, or exercise the benefits conferred by any license until the revocation period has expired or the person has obtained approval from the Director. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term of not more than ninety (90) days or by both the fine and imprisonment. Upon conviction under this subsection, the previously granted Req. No. 10891 Page 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 license revocation period shall be extended by two (2) additional years. SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 29 O.S. 2021, Section 4 -112, as last amended by Section 3, Chapter 6, O.S.L. 2024 (29 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 4-112), is amended to read as follows: Section 4-112. A. Except as otherwise provided for in the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Code or the Oklahoma Farmed Cervidae Act, no person may hunt, pursue, trap, harass, catch, kill, take or attempt to take in any manner, use, have in possession, sell, or transport all or any portion of any wildlife except fish , without having first procured a license from the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission shall designate a consecutive Saturday and Sunday in September of each year as free hunting days in which residents of th is state may hunt without first procuring a hunting license pursuant to the pr ovisions of this section. B. The following legal residents of Oklahoma shall be exempt from the annual hunting license requirement of paragraph 1 of subsection F of this section and the following nonresidents shall be exempt from the annual nonresident hunting licenses required pursuant to paragraph 1 of subsection C of this section: 1. Legal residents under eighteen (18) years of age; 2. Legal residents sixty -five (65) years of age or older provided they have obtained a senior citizen lifetime hunting o r Req. No. 10891 Page 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 combination hunting and fishing license pursuant to the provisions of Section 4-114 of this title; 3. Legal resident veterans having a disability of sixty percent (60%) or more and registered with the veterans registry created by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs; provided, that if the veteran has previously received an exemption pursuant to this paragraph, no registration with the veterans registry shall be required; 4. Legal resident owners or tenants who hunt on land owned or leased by them; 5. Any nonresident under eighteen (18) years of age; 6. Legal residents having a proven disability which renders them nonambulatory and confines them to a wheelchair, as cert ified by a physician licensed in this state or in any state which borders this state; 7. Any legal resident or nonresident under eighteen (18) years of age who is in the physical custody of a child care facility as defined by Section 402 of Title 10 of th e Oklahoma Statutes; and 8. Any legal resident or nonresident hunting, pursui ng, trapping, harassing, catching, killing, taking, or attempting to take in any manner any species of rattlesnake during an organized rattlesnake-hunting event or festival and w ho has a rattlesnake permit issued pursuant to Section 4 -143 of this title. Req. No. 10891 Page 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 C. Except as otherwise provided for in the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Code, the nonresident hunting licenses issued pursuant to this section and the fee for each license shall be: 1. Annual hunting license for nonresidents which expires one (1) year after the date of issuance – Two Hundred Eight Dollars ($208.00); 2. Gun hunting license for deer for nonresidents which shall be valid for hunting all deer allowed during the cur rent calendar year deer gun season - Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) in addition to the nonresident annual hunting license required in paragraph 1 of this subsection; 3. Archery hunting license for deer for nonresidents which shall expire on January 15 of the calendar year after the year purchased or, if purchased during the deer ar chery season, it shall expire at the end of that deer archery season - Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) in addition to the nonresident annual hunting license required in paragraph 1 of this subsection; 4. Primitive firearms hunting license for deer for nonresidents which shall be valid for hunting all deer allowed during the current calendar year deer primitive firearms season - Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) in addition to the non resident annual hunting license required in paragraph 1 of this subsection; 5. Hunting license for antelope for nonresidents – Five Hundred Five Dollars ($505.00); Req. No. 10891 Page 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 6. Hunting license for elk for nonresidents – Five Hundred Five Dollars ($505.00); 7. Five-day hunting license for nonresidents hunting game other than deer, antelope, elk, quail, turkey, bear, or waterfowl – Seventy-four Dollars ($74.00); 8. Annual youth hunting license for nonresidents under eighteen (18) years of age, which shall include a ll species and all seasons for which a hunting license is required – One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00); 9. Five-day youth hunting license for nonresidents under eighteen (18) years of age, which shall include all species and all seasons for which a hunt ing license is required – Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00); and 10. Five-day hunting license for nonresidents hunting winged upland game, excluding wild turkey, in a commercial hunting area – Fifteen Dollars ($15.00). D. These licenses shall be required for hunting in a commercial hunt area: 1. Five-day hunting license for nonreside nts hunting big game or combination big game – Seventy-four Dollars ($74.00); 2. Ten-day hunting license for nonresidents hunting small game and upland winged game, excluding tu rkeys – Twenty Dollars ($20.00); Req. No. 10891 Page 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 3. Annual hunting license for nonresidents hunting big game or combination big game – One Hundred Seventy-five Dollars ($175.00); and 4. Five-day hunting license for nonresidents hunting winged upland game, excluding wild turkey, in a commercial hunting area – Fifteen Dollars ($15.00). E. For the purpose of hunting in a commercial hunting area, nonresidents who acquire a license pursuant to subsection D of this section shall be exempted from licensure requirements in subs ection C of this section. F. Except as otherwise provided, the resident hunting licenses issued pursuant to this section and the fee for each license shall be: 1. Annual hunting license for residents eighteen (18) years of age and older – Thirty-five Dollars ($35.00); 2. Annual youth hunting license for residents under eighteen (18) years of age, which shall include all species and all season for which a hunting license is required – Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00); 3. Ten-day hunting license for residents for small game and upland winged game, excluding wild turkeys in a commercial hunting area - Five Dollars ($5.00); 4. Five-year disability hunting combination hunting/fishing license for residents for at least six (6) months who are receiving Req. No. 10891 Page 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Social Security Disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income benefits or disability benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act, 45 U.S.C.A., Section 231a, or residents who are one -hundred-percent disabled and are receiving disability payments from the Multiple Injury Trust Fund pursuant to Section 31 of Title 85A of the Oklahoma Statutes - Twenty Dollars ($20.00); 5. Gun hunting license for deer for residents eighteen (18) years of age or older, which shall include all deer allowed for harvesting during gun seas on - Thirty-five Dollars ($35.00). The following persons shall be exempt: a. residents with proper certification from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor, certifying that the person is a disabled veteran in receipt of compens ation at the one-hundred- percent rate and registered with the veterans registry created by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs; provided that if the veteran has previously received an exemption pursuant to this subparagraph, no registration with th e veterans registry shall be required, and b. residents hunting in big game or combination big game and upland game commercial hunting areas; 6. Archery hunting license for deer for residents eighteen (18) years of age or older, which shall include all de er allowed for Req. No. 10891 Page 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 harvesting during archery season - Thirty-five Dollars ($35.00). The following persons shall be exempt: a. residents with proper certification from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor, certifying that the perso n is a disabled veteran in receipt of compensation at the one -hundred- percent rate and registered with the veterans registry created by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs; provided that if the veteran has previously received an exemption pursuant to this subparagraph, no registration with the veterans registry shall be required, and b. residents hunting in big game or combination big game and upland game commercial hunting areas; 7. Primitive firearms hunting license for deer for residents eighteen (18) years of age or older, which shall include all deer allowed for harvesting during primitive firearm season - Thirty-five Dollars ($35.00). The following persons shall be exempt: a. residents with proper certification from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor, certifying that the person is a disabled veteran in receipt of compensation at the one -hundred- percent rate and registered with the veterans registry created by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Req. No. 10891 Page 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Affairs; provided that if the veteran has previously received an exemption pursuant to this subp aragraph, no registration with the veterans registry shall be required, and b. residents hunting in big game or combination big game and upland game commercial hunting areas; 8. Hunting license for elk for residents - Fifty Dollars ($50.00). Residents hunting in big game or combination big game and upland game commercial hunting areas shall be exempt from this license; 9. Hunting license for antelope for residents – Fifty Dollars ($50.00). Residents hunting in big game or combination big game and upland game commercial hunting areas shall be exempt from this license. G. For all resident hunting licenses, a nonresident may qualify for residential license if that person owns a minimum of eighty (80) acres of noncommercial land in Oklahoma, has paid property tax on that land for the previous year, and has provided proof of both ownership and paid taxes to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. H. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to require a hunting license, resident or nonr esident, of any person merely because the person participates, as owner or handler of an entry, as an official, or as a spectator in the conduct of a field Req. No. 10891 Page 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 trial or performance t est of dogs, whether a resident or nonresident of the State of Oklahoma. No license to hunt shall be required of any person engaged in training or working dogs, provided that person is in no way engaged in hunting and does not take or attempt to take in any manner any game. H. I. 1. Any person arrested for hunting game other than deer, antelope, elk, bear or turkey without a valid hunting license as required by the provisions of subsection A of this section may purchase a substitute temporary thirty -day license from the arresting game warden in lieu of posting bond. Proof of hunter safety certification will not be required for the temporary substitute license. The fee for a substitute license purchased pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall be: a. for legal residents, One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), and b. for nonresidents, Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00). 2. Except as otherwise provided for by this subsection, the fees from licenses purchased pursuant to the provisions of this subsection shall be deposited in the Wildlife Conservation Fund to be used exclusively for developing, managing, preserving, and protecting wildlife and wildlife habitat. I. J. Any person producing proof in court that a current hunting license issued by the Department of Wildlife Conservation to Req. No. 10891 Page 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 that person was in force at the time of the alleg ed offense shall be entitled to dismissal of a charge of violating this section upon payment of court costs. If proof of a current hunting license issued by the Department to th e person that was in force at the time of the alleged offense is presented to the court or district attorney within seventy -two (72) hours after the violation, the charge shall be dismissed without payment of court costs. J. K. Unless a substitute license is purchased as provided for by subsection H I of this section, any resident convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall be punished by the imposition of a fine of not less than Twenty -five Dollars ($25.00) nor more than Two Hundred Dollar s ($200.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days, or by both. K. L. Unless a substitute license is purchased as provided for by subsection H I of this section, any nonresident convicted of violating the provis ions of this section shall be punished by the imposition of a fine of not less than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed six (6) months, or by both. L. M. The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission shall promulgate any rules necessary to implement the provisions of this section. Req. No. 10891 Page 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025. 60-1-10891 MKS 01/15/25