2012 -- H 7610

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LC01420

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2012

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A N A C T

RELATING TO FISH AND WILDLIFE - HUNTING AND HUNTING SAFETY

     Introduced By: Representative Donald J. Lally

     Date Introduced: February 16, 2012

     Referred To: House Judiciary

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 20-13-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-13 entitled "Hunting

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and Hunting Safety" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     20-13-5. Issuance of licenses. -- (a) The clerk of every town or city, or a special agent,

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shall, upon the application of any eligible person and the payment of the license fee, issue to that

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person a license to pursue, hunt, and kill game in the state during the open season with firearms or

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by bow and arrow with an archer's permit; provided, however, that no license shall be granted to

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or possessed by:

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      (1) Any person under fifteen (15) years of age; provided, however, a junior hunting

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license may be obtained for persons age twelve (12) to fourteen (14) years of age upon the

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completion of a basic hunter's safety course; and further provided, that they shall hunt only in the

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immediate company of a qualified licensed adult twenty-one (21) years of age or over;

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      (2) Any person who has been convicted of a crime of violence or who is a fugitive from

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justice, as defined in section 11-47-2 of the Firearms Act; provided, however, this disqualification

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shall not apply to a person solely seeking an archer's permit; or

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      (3) Any person who is under guardianship, treatment or confinement by virtue of being a

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mental incompetent, or who has been adjudicated or is under treatment or confinement as a drug

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addict, or who has been adjudicated or is under treatment or confinement as a habitual drunkard.

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      (b) Any person affected by the provisions of subsection (a)(3), other than a person who

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has been pronounced criminally insane by a competent medical authority, after a lapse of a period

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of five (5) years from the date of being pronounced cured by a competent medical authority, may

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obtain a license upon the presentation of an affidavit issued by a competent medical authority to

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the effect that that person is a mentally stable person and a proper person to possess a hunting

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license. If that person has no other disqualifying record, he or she will be allowed to purchase and

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possess a hunting license.

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      (c) Every hunting license shall be printed or stamped upon some durable material and

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shall bear the name, age, occupation, place of residence, and an identifying description of the

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licensee, and shall expire on the last day of February next succeeding the date of issue, and may

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be revoked within the discretion of the director of environmental management. Every hunting

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license shall plainly and conspicuously indicate upon its face the year of issuance and shall be in

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the form prescribed by the director.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC01420

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO FISH AND WILDLIFE - HUNTING AND HUNTING SAFETY

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     This act would exempt from the disqualification of obtaining a bow and arrow license a

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person solely seeking an archer's permit.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC01420

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