2018 -- H 7779

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LC004762

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO FISH AND WILDLIFE -- LICENSING

     Introduced By: Representative Susan R. Donovan

     Date Introduced: February 28, 2018

     Referred To: House Corporations

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 20-2-2 and 20-2-31 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-2 entitled

"Licensing" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     20-2-2. Issuance of licenses.

     The authorized agent of any city or town and any Any person or corporation appointed by

the director as provided in § 20-2-1 shall, upon the application of any person entitled to receive a

license under this chapter and upon payment of the specified license fee, register and issue to that

person a license, either printed or displayed electronically on a mobile device, so long as the

certificate provides all of the information requested in the data fields identified by the department.

The certificate shall bear the name, age, occupation, place of residence, signature, and identifying

description of the registrant and shall authorize the registrant to fish or shellfish, or to pursue,

hunt, and kill game in the state of Rhode Island during those seasons and in those manners and

according to those conditions, as shall be provided by law; provided, however, that these

authorized agents shall not have authority to issue lobster, commercial shellfish, or commercial

fishing licenses of any kind.

     20-2-31. Hunting and fishing licenses -- Exceptions.

     (a) Every valid license to hunt or fish in this state that is held by any resident of this state

upon joining the armed forces or the merchant marine of the United States is hereby extended and

is in force and valid until six (6) months following the termination of his or her service.

     (b) Every member of the armed forces or of the merchant marine of the United States

may hunt or fish in this state if that person procures a hunting or fishing license issued by the

state of Rhode Island, the fee for which is that charged for a resident civilian.

     (c) Every man or woman who was a part of the armed forces of the United States

government and is now a one hundred percent (100%) disabled veteran, and any man or woman

who is one hundred percent (100%) permanently disabled, is entitled, subject to the provisions of

this title, to receive a license to hunt and/or fish in this state; and upon the presentation of his or

her necessary military discharge identification and/or disability papers, as prescribed by the

department of environmental management, shall, at the discretion of the licensing authority,

receive, without the payment of any license fee, a continuing special form of license authorizing

the man or woman to hunt and/or fish in this state in accordance with the provisions of this title

and regulations issued pursuant to this title for so long as he or she so desires; provided, however,

that the man or woman, having once made application for this license, shall not again be required

to appear before the licensing authority to present his or her papers.

     (d) A freshwater fishing license is not required of any blind person. For the purposes of

this section, a person is blind only if his or her central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the

better eye with correcting lenses or if his or her visual acuity is greater than 20/200 but is

accompanied by a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual

field subtends an angle no greater than twenty degrees (20°).

     (e) Every resident man or woman over the age of sixty-five (65) years is entitled, subject

to the provisions of this title and the regulations issued pursuant to this title, to receive a special

permanent license to hunt and/or fish in this state for which there is no fee.

     (f) Any man or woman who is one hundred percent (100%) permanently disabled may

apply to the clerk of any city or town to receive a license to fish in this state, and upon

presentation of a proof of his or her disability as prescribed by the department of environmental

management, receive, without the payment of any license fee, a continuing special form of

license authorizing the man or woman to fish in this state for so long as he or she so desires;

provided, however, that the man or woman, having once made application for this license, shall

not again be required to appear before the licensing authority to present his or her papers.

     (g) The director may, by regulation, designate no more than two (2) days in each year,

which may or may not be consecutive, during which residents and nonresidents may, without

having a license and without payment of any fee, exercise the privileges of a holder of a

freshwater fishing license. These persons are subject to all other limitations, restrictions,

conditions, laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the holder of a freshwater fishing license.

     (h) For the purpose of this section, "man or woman who is one hundred percent (100%)

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permanently disabled" means an individual who has a physical or mental impairment and is

receiving:

     (1) Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits (SSDI);

     (2) Supplemental Security Income benefits (SSI).

     All licenses that are issued to persons who qualify pursuant to this subsection shall be

issued without the requirement of the payment of a fee and shall expire annually on February 28

of each year. Persons seeking the issuance or reissuance of licenses shall be required to present

documentation establishing that the applicant is qualified, or remains qualified, pursuant to this

subsection.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO FISH AND WILDLIFE -- LICENSING

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     This act would remove the requirement that hunting and fishing licenses may be issued

only by town and city clerks.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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