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Public Act 101-0066
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| HB2777 Enrolled | LRB101 06836 SLF 51865 b |
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AN ACT concerning wildlife.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing Section |
2.25 as follows:
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(520 ILCS 5/2.25) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.25)
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Sec. 2.25. It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer |
except (i) with
a shotgun, handgun, or muzzleloading rifle or |
(ii) as provided by
administrative rule,
with a bow and arrow, |
during the open season of not more than 14 days which will
be |
set annually by the Director between the dates of
November 1st |
and December 31st, both inclusive, or a special 3-day, |
youth-only season between the dates of September 1 and October |
31.
For the purposes of this Section, legal handguns include |
any centerfire
handguns of .30
caliber or larger with a minimum |
barrel length of 4 inches. The only legal
ammunition
for a |
centerfire handgun is a cartridge of .30 caliber or larger with |
a
capability of at least
500 foot pounds of energy at the |
muzzle. Full metal jacket bullets may not be
used to
harvest |
deer.
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The Department shall make administrative rules concerning |
management
restrictions applicable to the firearm and bow and |
arrow season.
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It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer except |
with a bow and
arrow during the open season for bow and arrow |
set annually by the Director
between the dates of September 1st |
and January 31st, both inclusive.
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It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer except |
with (i) a
muzzleloading rifle or (ii) bow and arrow during the |
open season for
muzzleloading rifles set annually by the |
Director.
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The Director shall cause an administrative rule setting |
forth the
prescribed rules and regulations, including bag and |
possession limits and
those counties of the State where open |
seasons are established, to be
published in accordance with |
Sections 1.3 and 1.13 of this Act.
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The Department may establish separate harvest periods for |
the purpose of
managing or eradicating disease that has been |
found in the deer herd. This
season shall be restricted to gun |
or bow and arrow hunting only. The Department
shall publicly |
announce, via statewide news release, the season dates and
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shooting hours, the counties and sites open to hunting, permit |
requirements,
application dates, hunting rules, legal weapons, |
and reporting requirements.
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The Department is authorized to establish a separate |
harvest period at
specific sites within the State for the |
purpose of harvesting
surplus deer that cannot be taken during |
the regular season provided for
the taking of deer. This season |
shall be restricted to gun or bow and
arrow hunting only and |
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shall be established during the period of September 1st
to |
February 15th, both inclusive. The Department shall publish |
suitable
prescribed rules and regulations established by |
administrative rule pertaining
to management restrictions |
applicable to this special harvest program. The Department |
shall allow unused gun deer permits that are left over from a |
regular season for the taking of deer to be rolled over and |
used during any separate harvest period held within 6 months of |
the season for which those tags were issued at no additional |
cost to the permit holder subject to the management |
restrictions applicable to the special harvest program.
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Beginning July 1, 2019, and on an annual basis thereafter, |
the Department shall provide a report to the General Assembly |
providing information regarding deer management programs |
established by the Code or by administrative rule that |
includes: (1) the number of surplus deer taken during each |
separate harvest season; (2) the number of deer found to have a |
communicable disease or other abnormality; and (3) what happens |
to the deer taken during each separate harvest season.
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(Source: P.A. 97-907, eff. 8-7-12; 98-368, eff. 8-16-13.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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