Full Text of HJR0065 95th General Assembly
HJ0065 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Illinois is one of the premiere white tailed deer | 3 |
| hunting states in the nation; and
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| WHEREAS, During the 2006-07 deer seasons, hunters took | 5 |
| approximately 197,000 deer; and
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| WHEREAS, A total of 67 counties were open to the | 7 |
| Late-Winter Antlerless-only Deer Season, which is restricted | 8 |
| to those counties that the Department of Natural Resources | 9 |
| considers overpopulated; and
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| WHEREAS, Deer overpopulation is rampant in some counties in | 11 |
| Illinois, causing accidents on our highways, increasing crop | 12 |
| damage for Illinois farmers, and making it easier for disease | 13 |
| and starvation to afflict our deer populations; and
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| WHEREAS, It is estimated that 1.5 million car-deer crashes | 15 |
| occur every year in the United States, causing more than 150 | 16 |
| deaths and $1.1 billion in property damage; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, Illinois had approximately 23,700 car-deer | 18 |
| accidents in 2005; and
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| WHEREAS, In 2005, Illinois recorded 11 deaths from these |
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| accidents, nearly double the previous high of 6; and
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| WHEREAS, Eight of those killed were on motorcycles; and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, Car-deer accidents can occur almost anywhere, and | 4 |
| urban areas are not immune; and
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| WHEREAS, Cook County topped Illinois with nearly 1,000 | 6 |
| crashes in 2005, almost double the 572 recorded in Pike County, | 7 |
| highly regarded by hunters for its share of the State's | 8 |
| estimated 800,000 deer; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 10 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 11 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is established a Joint | 12 |
| Task Force on Deer Population Control to examine and make | 13 |
| recommendations on ways to manage the Illinois deer population; | 14 |
| issues that shall be addressed include, but are not limited to, | 15 |
| maintaining and increasing deer hunting opportunities in | 16 |
| Illinois, reducing car-deer accidents and examining how these | 17 |
| accidents affect insurance rates, reducing agricultural crop | 18 |
| and other property damage, and maintaining and increasing the | 19 |
| health of the Illinois deer herd; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Joint Task Force shall be under the | 21 |
| Department of Natural Resources, which will provide staff |
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| support; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the members of the Joint Task Force shall | 3 |
| include: the chairmen and minority spokesmen of the House and | 4 |
| Senate Agriculture and Conservation Committees or their | 5 |
| designees; one member appointed by the President of the Senate; | 6 |
| one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; one | 7 |
| member appointed by the Speaker of the House; one member | 8 |
| appointed by the Minority Leader of the House; the Director of | 9 |
| Natural Resources or his or her designee; one member | 10 |
| representing conservation police officers appointed by the | 11 |
| Director of Natural Resources; the Director of State Police or | 12 |
| his or her designee; one member appointed by an association | 13 |
| representing firearm deer hunters; one member appointed by an | 14 |
| association representing Illinois archery deer hunters; one | 15 |
| member appointed by an association representing the insurance | 16 |
| industry; and one member appointed by an association | 17 |
| representing farmers; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Director of Natural Resources shall | 19 |
| serve as the Chair; the Joint Task Force shall meet with the | 20 |
| call of the Chair; and the members shall serve without | 21 |
| compensation; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Joint Task Force shall report its | 23 |
| findings and recommendations to the Secretary of the Senate and |
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| the Clerk of the House by January 1, 2009; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to | 3 |
| the Director of Natural Resources.
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