[ Search ] [ PDF text ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
92_HB0402 LRB9202955MWsb 1 AN ACT in relation to deer hunting. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing 5 Sections 2.25 and 2.26 as follows: 6 (520 ILCS 5/2.25) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.25) 7 Sec. 2.25. It shall be unlawful for any person to take 8 deer except (i) with a shotgun, handgun, or muzzleloading 9 rifle or (ii)as provided by administrative rule,with a bow 10 and arrow, or crossbow device for handicapped persons as 11 defined in Section 2.33, during the open season of not more 12 than 14 days which will be set annually by the Director 13 between the dates of November 1st and December 31st, both 14 inclusive. For the purposes of this Section, legal handguns 15 include any centerfire handguns of .30 caliber or larger with 16 a minimum barrel length of 4 inches. The only legal 17 ammunition for a centerfire handgun is a cartridge of .30 18 caliber or larger with a capability of at least 500 foot 19 pounds of energy at the muzzle. Full metal jacket bullets 20 may not be used to harvest deer. 21 The Department shall make administrative rules concerning 22 management restrictions applicable to the firearm and bow and 23 arrow season. 24 It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer except 25 with a bow and arrow, or crossbow device for handicapped 26 persons (as defined in Section 2.33), during the open season 27 for bow and arrow set annually by the Director between the 28 dates of September 1st and January 31st, both inclusive. 29 It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer except 30 with (i) a muzzleloading rifle, or (ii) bow and arrow, or 31 crossbow device for handicapped persons as defined in Section -2- LRB9202955MWsb 1 2.33, during the open season for muzzleloading rifles set 2 annually by the Director. 3 The Director shall cause an administrative rule setting 4 forth the prescribed rules and regulations, including bag and 5 possession limits and those counties of the State where open 6 seasons are established, to be published in accordance with 7 Sections 1.3 and 1.13 of this Act. 8 The Department is authorized to establish a separate 9 harvest period at specific sites within the State for the 10 purpose of harvesting surplus deer that cannot be taken 11 during the regular season provided for the taking of deer. 12 This season shall be restricted to gun or bow and arrow 13 hunting only and shall be established during the period of 14 September 1st to February 15th, both inclusive. The 15 Department shall publish suitable prescribed rules and 16 regulations established by administrative rule pertaining to 17 management restrictions applicable to this special harvest 18 program. 19 (Source: P.A. 86-1188; 87-126; 87-234; 87-895; 87-1015; 20 87-1243; 87-1268.) 21 (520 ILCS 5/2.26) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.26) 22 Sec. 2.26. Any person attempting to take deer shall 23 first obtain a "Deer Hunting Permit" in accordance with 24 prescribed regulations set forth in an Administrative Rule. 25 Deer Hunting Permits shall be issued by the Department. The 26 fee for a Deer Hunting Permit to take deer with either bow 27 and arrow or gun shall not exceed $15.00 for residents of the 28 State. The Department may by administrative rule provide for 29 non-resident deer hunting permits for which the fee will not 30 exceed $100 except as provided below for non-resident 31 landowners. Permits shall be issued without charge to: 32 (a) Illinois landowners residing in Illinois who 33 own at least 40 acres of Illinois land and wish to hunt -3- LRB9202955MWsb 1 their land only, 2 (b) resident tenants of at least 40 acres of 3 commercial agricultural land where they will hunt, and 4 (c) shareholders of a corporation which owns at 5 least 40 acres of land in a county in Illinois who wish 6 to hunt on the corporation's land only. One permit shall 7 be issued without charge to one shareholder for each 40 8 acres of land owned by the corporation in a county; 9 however, the number of permits issued without charge to 10 shareholders of any corporation in any county shall not 11 exceed 15. 12 Bona fide landowners or tenants who do not wish to hunt 13 only on the land they own, rent or lease or shareholders who 14 do not wish to hunt only on the land owned by the corporation 15 shall be charged the same fee as the applicant who is not a 16 landowner, tenant or shareholder. Nonresidents of Illinois 17 who own at least 40 acres of land and wish to hunt on their 18 land only shall be charged a fee set by administrative rule. 19 The method for obtaining these permits shall be prescribed by 20 administrative rule. 21 The deer hunting permit issued without fee shall be valid 22 on all farm lands which the person to whom it is issued owns, 23 leases or rents, except that in the case of a permit issued 24 to a shareholder, the permit shall be valid on all lands 25 owned by the corporation in the county. 26 The Department may set aside, in accordance with the 27 prescribed regulations set forth in an administrative rule of 28 the Department, a limited number of Deer Hunting Permits to 29 be available to persons providing evidence of a contractual 30 arrangement to hunt on properties controlled by a bona fide 31 Illinois outfitter. The number of available permits shall be 32 based on a percentage of unfilled permits remaining after the 33 previous year's lottery. Eligible outfitters shall be those 34 having membership in, and accreditation conferred by, a -4- LRB9202955MWsb 1 professional association of outfitters approved by the 2 Department. The association shall be responsible for setting 3 professional standards and codes of conduct for its 4 membership, subject to Departmental approval. In addition to 5 the fee normally charged for resident and nonresident 6 permits, a reservation fee not to exceed $200 shall be 7 charged to the outfitter for each permit set aside in 8 accordance with this Act. The reservation fee shall be 9 deposited into the Wildlife and Fish Fund. 10 The standards and specifications for use of guns and bow 11 and arrow for deer hunting shall be established by 12 administrative rule. 13 No person may have in his possession any firearm not 14 authorized by administrative rule for a specific hunting 15 season when taking deer. 16 Persons having a firearm deer hunting permit shall be 17 permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour 18 before sunrise to sunset, and only during those days for 19 which an open season is established for the taking of deer by 20 use of shotgun, handgun, or muzzle loading rifle. 21 Persons having an archery deer hunting permit shall be 22 permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour 23 before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, and only during 24 those days for which an open season is established for the 25 taking of deer by use of bow and arrow. 26 It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer by use 27 of dogs, horses, automobiles, aircraft or other vehicles, or 28 by the use of salt or bait of any kind. An area is 29 considered as baited during the presence of and for 10 30 consecutive days following the removal of bait. 31 It shall be unlawful to possess or transport any wild 32 deer which has been injured or killed in any manner upon a 33 public highway or public right-of-way of this State unless 34 exempted by administrative rule. -5- LRB9202955MWsb 1 Persons hunting deer must have gun unloaded and no bow 2 and arrow device shall be carried with the arrow in the 3 nocked position during hours when deer hunting is unlawful. 4 It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the 5 legal limit of deer by gun, to further participate with gun 6 in any deer hunting party. 7 It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the 8 legal limit of deer by bow and arrow, to further participate 9 with bow and arrow in any deer hunting party. 10 The Department may prohibit upland game hunting during 11 the gun deer season by administrative rule. 12 It shall be legal for handicapped persons, as defined in 13 Section 2.33, to utilize a crossbow device, as defined in 14 Department rules, to take deer. 15 Any person who violates any of the provisions of this 16 Section, including administrative rules, shall be guilty of a 17 Class B misdemeanor. 18 (Source: P.A. 89-715, eff. 2-21-97; 90-225, eff. 7-25-97; 19 90-490, eff. 8-17-97; 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.) 20 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 21 becoming law.