HB4621 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 18462 BDA 31904 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4621

Introduced 2/3/2026, by Rep. Dave Severin

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

520 ILCS 5/2.26

from Ch. 61, par. 2.26

Amends the Wildlife Code. Provides that there shall be no fee for one Deer Hunting Permit to take one deer in one season with either bow and arrow or gun for a resident of the State who receives assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning wildlife.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing Section 2.26 as follows:

(520 ILCS 5/2.26) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.26)

Sec. 2.26. Deer hunting permits. Any person attempting to take deer shall first obtain a "Deer Hunting Permit" issued by the Department in accordance with its administrative rules. Those rules must provide for the issuance of the following types of resident deer archery permits: (i) a combination permit, consisting of one either-sex permit and one antlerless-only permit, (ii) a single antlerless-only permit, and (iii) a single either-sex permit. The fee for a Deer Hunting Permit to take deer with either bow and arrow or gun shall not exceed $25 for residents of the State. There shall be no fee for one Deer Hunting Permit to take one deer in one season with either bow and arrow or gun for a resident of the State who receives assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. The Department may by administrative rule provide for non-resident deer hunting permits for which the fee will not exceed $300 in 2005, $350 in 2006, and $400 in 2007 and thereafter except as provided below for non-resident landowners and non-resident archery hunters. The Department may by administrative rule provide for a non-resident archery deer permit consisting of not more than 2 harvest tags at a total cost not to exceed $325 in 2005, $375 in 2006, and $425 in 2007 and thereafter. The fees for a youth resident and non-resident archery deer permit shall be the same.

The Department shall create a pilot program during the special 3-day, youth-only deer hunting season to allow for youth deer hunting permits that are valid statewide, excluding those counties or portions of counties closed to firearm deer hunting. The Department shall adopt rules to implement the pilot program. Hunters qualifying to participate in a youth-only deer season shall be eligible for one either-sex permit and one antlerless-only permit. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit the Department from issuing Special Hunt Area Permits for the youth-only deer hunting season or establishing, through administrative rule, additional requirements pertaining to the youth-only deer hunting season on Department-owned or Department-managed sites, including site-specific quotas or drawings. The provisions of this paragraph are inoperative on and after January 1, 2023.

The standards and specifications for use of guns and bow and arrow for deer hunting shall be established by administrative rule.

No person may have in his or her possession any firearm not authorized by administrative rule for a specific hunting season when taking deer unless in accordance with the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.

Persons having a firearm deer hunting permit shall be permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, and only during those days for which an open season is established for the taking of deer by use of shotgun, handgun, rifle, or muzzle loading rifle.

Persons having an archery deer hunting permit shall be permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, and only during those days for which an open season is established for the taking of deer by use of bow and arrow.

It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer by use of dogs, horses, automobiles, aircraft, or other vehicles, or by the use or aid of bait or baiting of any kind. For the purposes of this Section, "bait" means any material, whether liquid or solid, including food, salt, minerals, and other products, except pure water, that can be ingested, placed, or scattered in such a manner as to attract or lure white-tailed deer. "Baiting" means the placement or scattering of bait to attract deer. An area is considered as baited during the presence of and for 10 consecutive days following the removal of bait. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the use of a dog to track wounded deer. Any person using a dog for tracking wounded deer must maintain physical control of the dog at all times by means of a maximum 50-foot lead attached to the dog's collar or harness. Tracking wounded deer is permissible at night, but at no time outside of legal deer hunting hours or seasons shall any person handling or accompanying a dog being used for tracking wounded deer be in possession of any firearm or archery device. Persons tracking wounded deer with a dog during the firearm deer seasons shall wear blaze orange or solid blaze pink color as required. Dog handlers tracking wounded deer with a dog are exempt from hunting license and deer permit requirements so long as they are accompanied by the licensed deer hunter who wounded the deer.

It shall be unlawful to possess or transport any wild deer which has been injured or killed in any manner upon a public highway or public right-of-way of this State unless exempted by administrative rule.

Persons hunting deer must have the gun unloaded and no bow and arrow device shall be carried with the arrow in the nocked position during hours when deer hunting is unlawful.

It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the legal limit of deer by gun, to further participate with a gun in any deer hunting party.

It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the legal limit of deer by bow and arrow, to further participate with bow and arrow in any deer hunting party.

The Department may prohibit upland game hunting during the gun deer season by administrative rule.

The Department shall not limit the number of non-resident, either-sex archery deer hunting permits to less than 20,000.

Any person who violates any of the provisions of this Section, including administrative rules, shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.

For the purposes of calculating acreage under this Section, the Department shall, after determining the total acreage of the applicable tract or tracts of land, round remaining fractional portions of an acre greater than or equal to half of an acre up to the next whole acre.

For the purposes of taking white-tailed deer, nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent the manipulation, including mowing or cutting, of standing crops as a normal agricultural or soil stabilization practice, food plots, or normal agricultural practices, including planting, harvesting, and maintenance such as cultivating or the use of products designed for scent only and not capable of ingestion, solid or liquid, placed or scattered, in such a manner as to attract or lure deer. Such manipulation for the purpose of taking white-tailed deer may be further modified by administrative rule.

(Source: P.A. 104-361, eff. 1-1-26; 104-417, eff. 8-15-25.)