Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 100-0638
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Public Act 100-0638


 

Public Act 0638 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
Public Act 100-0638
 
HB4783 EnrolledLRB100 17790 SLF 32969 b

    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
Sections 3.1, 3.1-5, 3.1-9, 3.2, and 3.3 and by adding Section
1.2v-1 as follows:
 
    (520 ILCS 5/1.2v-1 new)
    Sec. 1.2v-1. Youth. "Youth" means a person under 18 years
of age.
 
    (520 ILCS 5/3.1)  (from Ch. 61, par. 3.1)
    Sec. 3.1. License and stamps required.
    (a) Before any person shall take or attempt to take any of
the species protected by Section 2.2 for which an open season
is established under this Act, he shall first have procured and
possess a valid hunting license, except as provided in Section
3.1-5 of this Code.
    Before any person 18 16 years of age or older shall take or
attempt to take any bird of the species defined as migratory
waterfowl by Section 2.2, including coots, he shall first have
procured a State Migratory Waterfowl Stamp.
    Before any person 18 16 years of age or older takes,
attempts to take, or pursues any species of wildlife protected
by this Code, except migratory waterfowl, coots, and
hand-reared birds on licensed game breeding and hunting
preserve areas and state controlled pheasant hunting areas, he
or she shall first obtain a State Habitat Stamp. Veterans with
disabilities and former prisoners of war shall not be required
to obtain State Habitat Stamps. Any person who obtained a
lifetime license before January 1, 1993, shall not be required
to obtain State Habitat Stamps. Income from the sale of State
Furbearer Stamps and State Pheasant Stamps received after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1992 shall be
deposited into the State Furbearer Fund and State Pheasant
Fund, respectively.
    Before any person 18 16 years of age or older shall take,
attempt to take, or sell the green hide of any mammal of the
species defined as fur-bearing mammals by Section 2.2 for which
an open season is established under this Act, he shall first
have procured a State Habitat Stamp.
    (b) Before any person who is a non-resident of the State of
Illinois shall take or attempt to take any of the species
protected by Section 2.2 for which an open season is
established under this Act, he shall, unless specifically
exempted by law, first procure a non-resident license as
provided by this Act for the taking of any wild game.
    Before a nonresident shall take or attempt to take
white-tailed deer, he shall first have procured a Deer Hunting
Permit as defined in Section 2.26 of this Code.
    Before a nonresident shall take or attempt to take wild
turkeys, he shall have procured a Wild Turkey Hunting Permit as
defined in Section 2.11 of this Code.
    (c) The owners residing on, or bona fide tenants of, farm
lands and their children, parents, brothers, and sisters
actually permanently residing on their lands shall have the
right to hunt any of the species protected by Section 2.2 upon
their lands and waters without procuring hunting licenses; but
the hunting shall be done only during periods of time and with
devices and by methods as are permitted by this Act. Any person
on active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States who
is now and who was at the time of entering the Armed Forces a
resident of Illinois and who entered the Armed Forces from this
State, and who is presently on ordinary or emergency leave from
the Armed Forces, and any resident of Illinois who has a
disability may hunt any of the species protected by Section 2.2
without procuring a hunting license, but the hunting shall be
done only during such periods of time and with devices and by
methods as are permitted by this Act. For the purpose of this
Section a person is a person with a disability when that person
has a Type 1 or Type 4, Class 2 disability as defined in
Section 4A of the Illinois Identification Card Act. For
purposes of this Section, an Illinois Person with a Disability
Identification Card issued pursuant to the Illinois
Identification Card Act indicating that the person named has a
Type 1 or Type 4, Class 2 disability shall be adequate
documentation of the disability.
    (d) A courtesy non-resident license, permit, or stamp for
taking game may be issued at the discretion of the Director,
without fee, to any person officially employed in the game and
fish or conservation department of another state or of the
United States who is within the State to assist or consult or
cooperate with the Director; or to the officials of other
states, the United States, foreign countries, or officers or
representatives of conservation organizations or publications
while in the State as guests of the Governor or Director. The
Director may provide to nonresident participants and official
gunners at field trials an exemption from licensure while
participating in a field trial.
    (e) State Migratory Waterfowl Stamps shall be required for
those persons qualifying under subsections (c) and (d) who
intend to hunt migratory waterfowl, including coots, to the
extent that hunting licenses of the various types are
authorized and required by this Section for those persons.
    (f) Registration in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Migratory
Bird Harvest Information Program shall be required for those
persons who are required to have a hunting license before
taking or attempting to take any bird of the species defined as
migratory game birds by Section 2.2, except that this
subsection shall not apply to crows in this State or
hand-reared birds on licensed game breeding and hunting
preserve areas, for which an open season is established by this
Act. Persons registering with the Program must carry proof of
registration with them while migratory bird hunting.
    The Department shall publish suitable prescribed
regulations pertaining to registration by the migratory bird
hunter in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird
Harvest Information Program.
(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
 
    (520 ILCS 5/3.1-5)
    Sec. 3.1-5. Apprentice Hunter License Program.
    (a) The Beginning 120 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, the Department
shall establish an Apprentice Hunter License Program. The
purpose of this Program shall be to extend limited hunting
privileges, in lieu of obtaining a valid hunting license, to
persons interested in learning about hunting sports.
    (b) Any resident or nonresident may apply to the Department
for an Apprentice Hunter License. The Apprentice Hunter License
shall be a one-time, non-renewable license that shall expire on
the March 31 following the date of issuance.
    (c) The For persons aged 17 and under, the Apprentice
Hunter License shall entitle the licensee to hunt while
supervised by a validly licensed resident or nonresident
parent, guardian, or grandparent. For persons 18 or older, the
Apprentice Hunter License shall entitle the licensee to hunt
while supervised by a validly licensed resident or nonresident
hunter who is 21 years of age or older. Possession of an
Apprentice Hunter License shall serve in lieu of a valid
hunting license, but does not exempt the licensee from
compliance with the requirements of this Code and any rules and
regulations adopted pursuant to this Code.
    (d) In order to be approved for the Apprentice Hunter
License, the applicant must request an Apprentice Hunter
License on a form designated and made available by the
Department and submit a $7 fee, which shall be separate from
and additional to any other stamp, permit, tag, or license fee
that may be required for hunting under this Code. The
Department shall adopt suitable administrative rules that are
reasonable and necessary for the administration of the program,
but shall not require any certificate of competency or other
hunting education as a condition of the Apprentice Hunter
License.
(Source: P.A. 95-739, eff. 7-17-08; 96-1213, eff. 7-22-10.)
 
    (520 ILCS 5/3.1-9)
    Sec. 3.1-9. Youth Hunting and Trapping License Licenses.
    (a) Before any Any resident youth age under 18 years of age
shall take or attempt to take any species protected by Section
2.2 of this Code for which an open season is established, he or
she shall first procure and possess a valid Youth Hunting and
Trapping License and under may apply to the Department for a
Youth Hunting License, which extends limited hunting
privileges. The Youth Hunting and Trapping License shall be a
renewable license that shall expire on the March 31 following
the date of issuance. The fee for a Youth Hunting and Trapping
License is $7.
    A For youth age 18 and under, the Youth Hunting and
Trapping License shall entitle the licensee to hunt while
supervised by an adult a parent, grandparent, or guardian who
is 21 years of age or older and has a valid Illinois hunting
license. Possession of a Youth Hunting License shall serve in
lieu of a valid hunting license, but does not exempt the
licensee from compliance with the requirements of this Code and
any rules adopted under this Code.
    A youth licensed under this subsection (a) shall not hunt
or carry a hunting device, including, but not limited to, a
firearm, bow and arrow, or crossbow unless the youth is
accompanied by and under the close personal supervision of an
adult a parent, grandparent, or guardian who is 21 years of age
or older and has a valid Illinois hunting license.
    At age 19 years or when the youth chooses to hunt by
himself or herself, he or she is required to successfully
complete a hunter safety course approved by the Department
prior to being able to obtain a full hunting license and
subsequently hunt by himself or herself.
    In order to be approved for the Youth Hunting License, the
applicant must request a Youth Hunting License from the
Department and submit a $7 fee, which shall be separate from
and additional to any other stamp, permit, tag, or license fee
that may be required for hunting under this Code. The
Department shall adopt rules for the administration of the
program, but shall not require any certificate of competency or
other hunting or trapping education as a condition of the Youth
Hunting and Trapping License. If a youth has a valid
certificate of competency for hunting from a hunter safety
course approved by the Department, he or she is exempt from the
supervision requirements for youth hunters in this Section.
    (b) Any resident youth age 18 and under may apply to the
Department for a Youth Trapping License, which extends limited
trapping privileges. The Youth Trapping License shall be a
renewable license that shall expire on the March 31 following
the date of issuance.
    A For youth age 18 and under, the Youth Hunting and
Trapping License shall entitle the licensee to trap while
supervised by an adult a parent, grandparent, or guardian who
is 21 years of age or older and has a valid Illinois trapping
license. Possession of a Youth Trapping License shall serve in
lieu of a valid trapping license, but does not exempt the
licensee from compliance with the requirements of this Code and
any rules adopted under this Code.
    A youth licensed under this Section subsection (b) shall
not trap or carry a hunting device, including, but not limited
to, a firearm, bow and arrow, or crossbow unless the youth is
accompanied by and under the close personal supervision of an
adult a parent, grandparent, or guardian who is 21 years of age
or older and has a valid Illinois trapping license.
    At age 19 years or when the youth chooses to trap by
himself or herself, he or she is required to successfully
complete a trapper safety course approved by the Department
prior to being able to obtain a full trapping license and
subsequently trap by himself or herself.
    In order to be approved for the Youth Trapping License, the
applicant must request a Youth Trapping License from the
Department and submit a $7 fee, which shall be separate from
and additional to any other stamp, permit, tag, or license fee
that may be required for trapping under this Code. The
Department shall adopt rules for the administration of the
program, but shall not require any certificate of competency or
other trapping education as a condition of the Youth Hunting
and Trapping License. If a youth has a valid certificate of
competency for trapping from a trapper safety course approved
by the Department, then he or she is exempt from the
supervision requirements for youth trappers in this Section.
(Source: P.A. 98-620, eff. 1-7-14; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-307,
eff. 1-1-16; 99-868, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
    (520 ILCS 5/3.2)  (from Ch. 61, par. 3.2)
    Sec. 3.2. Hunting license; application; instruction.
Before the Department or any county, city, village, township,
incorporated town clerk or his duly designated agent or any
other person authorized or designated by the Department to
issue hunting licenses shall issue a hunting license to any
person, the person shall file his application with the
Department or other party authorized to issue licenses on a
form provided by the Department and further give definite proof
of identity and place of legal residence. Each clerk
designating agents to issue licenses and stamps shall furnish
the Department, within 10 days following the appointment, the
names and mailing addresses of the agents. Each clerk or his
duly designated agent shall be authorized to sell licenses and
stamps only within the territorial area for which he was
elected or appointed. No duly designated agent is authorized to
furnish licenses or stamps for issuance by any other business
establishment. Each application shall be executed and sworn to
and shall set forth the name and description of the applicant
and place of residence.
    No hunting license shall be issued to any person born on or
after January 1, 1980 unless he presents the person authorized
to issue the license evidence that he has held a hunting
license issued by the State of Illinois or another state in a
prior year, or a certificate of competency as provided in this
Section. Persons under 18 16 years of age may be issued a
Lifetime Hunting or Sportsmen's Combination License as
provided under Section 20-45 of the Fish and Aquatic Life Code
but shall not be entitled to hunt alone, without the
supervision of an adult age 21 or order, unless they have a
certificate of competency as provided in this Section and they
shall have the certificate is in their possession while
hunting.
    The Department of Natural Resources shall authorize
personnel of the Department or certified volunteer instructors
to conduct courses, of not less than 10 hours in length, in
firearms and hunter safety, which may include training in bow
and arrow safety, at regularly specified intervals throughout
the State. Persons successfully completing the course shall
receive a certificate of competency. The Department of Natural
Resources may further cooperate with any reputable association
or organization in establishing courses if the organization has
as one of its objectives the promotion of safety in the
handling of firearms or bow and arrow.
    The Department of Natural Resources shall designate any
person found by it to be competent to give instruction in the
handling of firearms, hunter safety, and bow and arrow. The
persons so appointed shall give the course of instruction and
upon the successful completion shall issue to the person
instructed a certificate of competency in the safe handling of
firearms, hunter safety, and bow and arrow. No charge shall be
made for any course of instruction except for materials or
ammunition consumed. The Department of Natural Resources shall
furnish information on the requirements of hunter safety
education programs to be distributed free of charge to
applicants for hunting licenses by the persons appointed and
authorized to issue licenses. Funds for the conducting of
firearms and hunter safety courses shall be taken from the fee
charged for the Firearm Owners Identification Card.
    The fee for a hunting license to hunt all species for a
resident of Illinois is $12. For residents age 65 or older,
and, commencing with the 2012 license year, resident veterans
of the United States Armed Forces after returning from service
abroad or mobilization by the President of the United States,
the fee is one-half of the fee charged for a hunting license to
hunt all species for a resident of Illinois. Veterans must
provide to the Department, at one of the Department's 5
regional offices, verification of their service. The
Department shall establish what constitutes suitable
verification of service for the purpose of issuing resident
veterans hunting licenses at a reduced fee. The fee for a
hunting license to hunt all species shall be $1 for residents
over 75 years of age. Nonresidents shall be charged $57 for a
hunting license.
    Nonresidents may be issued a nonresident hunting license
for a period not to exceed 10 consecutive days' hunting in the
State and shall be charged a fee of $35.
    A special nonresident hunting license authorizing a
nonresident to take game birds by hunting on a game breeding
and hunting preserve area only, established under Section 3.27,
shall be issued upon proper application being made and payment
of a fee equal to that for a resident hunting license. The
expiration date of this license shall be on the same date each
year that game breeding and hunting preserve area licenses
expire.
    Each applicant for a State Migratory Waterfowl Stamp,
regardless of his residence or other condition, shall pay a fee
of $15 and shall receive a stamp. The fee for a State Migratory
Waterfowl Stamp shall be waived for residents over 75 years of
age. Except as provided under Section 20-45 of the Fish and
Aquatic Life Code, the stamp shall be signed by the person or
affixed to his license or permit in a space designated by the
Department for that purpose.
    Each applicant for a State Habitat Stamp, regardless of his
residence or other condition, shall pay a fee of $5 and shall
receive a stamp. The fee for a State Habitat Stamp shall be
waived for residents over 75 years of age. Except as provided
under Section 20-45 of the Fish and Aquatic Life Code, the
stamp shall be signed by the person or affixed to his license
or permit in a space designated by the Department for that
purpose.
    Nothing in this Section shall be construed as to require
the purchase of more than one State Habitat Stamp by any person
in any one license year.
    The fees for State Pheasant Stamps and State Furbearer
Stamps shall be waived for residents over 75 years of age.
    The Department shall furnish the holders of hunting
licenses and stamps with an insignia as evidence of possession
of license, or license and stamp, as the Department may
consider advisable. The insignia shall be exhibited and used as
the Department may order.
    All other hunting licenses and all State stamps shall
expire upon March 31 of each year.
    Every person holding any license, permit, or stamp issued
under the provisions of this Act shall have it in his
possession for immediate presentation for inspection to the
officers and authorized employees of the Department, any
sheriff, deputy sheriff, or any other peace officer making a
demand for it. This provision shall not apply to Department
owned or managed sites where it is required that all hunters
deposit their license, permit, or Firearm Owner's
Identification Card at the check station upon entering the
hunting areas.
(Source: P.A. 97-498, eff. 4-1-12; 98-800, eff. 8-1-14.)
 
    (520 ILCS 5/3.3)  (from Ch. 61, par. 3.3)
    Sec. 3.3. Trapping license required. Before any person
shall trap any of the mammals protected by this Act, for which
an open trapping season has been established, he shall first
procure a trapping license from the Department to do so. No
traps shall be placed in the field, set or unset, prior to the
opening day of the trapping season.
    Traps used in the taking of such mammals shall be marked or
tagged with metal tags or inscribed in lettering giving the
name and address of the owner, and absence of such mark or tag
shall be prima facie evidence that such trap or traps are
illegally used and the trap or traps shall be confiscated and
disposed of as directed by the Department.
    Before any person 18 16 years of age or older shall trap,
attempt to trap, or sell the green hides of any mammal of the
species defined as fur-bearing mammals by Section 2.2 for which
an open season is established under this Act, he shall first
have procured a State Habitat Stamp.
    Before a trapping license shall be issued to any person
under the age of sixteen years, such person shall obtain the
written consent of his father, mother or legally constituted
guardian to obtain such license.
    Beginning January 1, 2016, no trapping license shall be
issued to any person born on or after January 1, 1998 unless he
or she presents to the authorized issuer of the license
evidence that he or she has a certificate of competency
provided for in this Section.
    The Department of Natural Resources shall authorize
personnel of the Department, or volunteer instructors, found by
the Department to be competent, to provide instruction in
courses on trapping techniques and ethical trapping behavior as
needed throughout the State, which courses shall be at least 8
hours in length. Persons so authorized shall provide
instruction in such courses to individuals at no charge, and
shall issue to individuals successfully completing such
courses certificates of competency in basic trapping
techniques. The Department shall cooperate in establishing
such courses with any reputable association or organization
which has as one of its objectives the promotion of the ethical
use of legal fur harvesting devices and techniques. The
Department shall furnish information on the requirements of the
trapper education program to be distributed free of charge to
applicants for trapping licenses by the persons appointed and
authorized to issue licenses.
    The owners residing on, or bona fide tenants of farm lands,
and their children actually residing on such lands, shall have
the right to trap mammals protected by this Act, for which an
open trapping season has been established, upon such lands,
without procuring licenses, provided that such mammals are
taken during the periods of time and with such devices as are
permitted by this Act.
(Source: P.A. 98-913, eff. 1-1-15; 99-868, eff. 1-1-17.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2019