2018 -- S 2507 | |
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LC004786 | |
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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 | |
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Introduced By: Senators Seveney, Coyne, DiPalma, and Felag | |
Date Introduced: March 01, 2018 | |
Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Sections 20-2-2 and 20-2-31 of the General Laws in Chapter 20-2 entitled |
2 | "Licensing" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 20-2-2. Issuance of licenses. |
4 | The authorized agent of any city or town and any Any person or corporation appointed by |
5 | the director as provided in § 20-2-1 shall, upon the application of any person entitled to receive a |
6 | license under this chapter and upon payment of the specified license fee, register and issue to that |
7 | person a license, either printed or displayed electronically on a mobile device, so long as the |
8 | certificate provides all of the information requested in the data fields identified by the department. |
9 | The certificate shall bear the name, age, occupation, place of residence, signature, and identifying |
10 | description of the registrant and shall authorize the registrant to fish or shellfish, or to pursue, |
11 | hunt, and kill game in the state of Rhode Island during those seasons and in those manners and |
12 | according to those conditions, as shall be provided by law; provided, however, that these |
13 | authorized agents shall not have authority to issue lobster, commercial shellfish, or commercial |
14 | fishing licenses of any kind. |
15 | 20-2-31. Hunting and fishing licenses -- Exceptions. |
16 | (a) Every valid license to hunt or fish in this state that is held by any resident of this state |
17 | upon joining the armed forces or the merchant marine of the United States is hereby extended and |
18 | is in force and valid until six (6) months following the termination of his or her service. |
19 | (b) Every member of the armed forces or of the merchant marine of the United States |
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1 | may hunt or fish in this state if that person procures a hunting or fishing license issued by the |
2 | state of Rhode Island, the fee for which is that charged for a resident civilian. |
3 | (c) Every man or woman who was a part of the armed forces of the United States |
4 | government and is now a one hundred percent (100%) disabled veteran, and any man or woman |
5 | who is one hundred percent (100%) permanently disabled, is entitled, subject to the provisions of |
6 | this title, to receive a license to hunt and/or fish in this state; and upon the presentation of his or |
7 | her necessary military discharge identification and/or disability papers, as prescribed by the |
8 | department of environmental management, shall, at the discretion of the licensing authority, |
9 | receive, without the payment of any license fee, a continuing special form of license authorizing |
10 | the man or woman to hunt and/or fish in this state in accordance with the provisions of this title |
11 | and regulations issued pursuant to this title for so long as he or she so desires; provided, however, |
12 | that the man or woman, having once made application for this license, shall not again be required |
13 | to appear before the licensing authority to present his or her papers. |
14 | (d) A freshwater fishing license is not required of any blind person. For the purposes of |
15 | this section, a person is blind only if his or her central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the |
16 | better eye with correcting lenses or if his or her visual acuity is greater than 20/200 but is |
17 | accompanied by a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual |
18 | field subtends an angle no greater than twenty degrees (20°). |
19 | (e) Every resident man or woman over the age of sixty-five (65) years is entitled, subject |
20 | to the provisions of this title and the regulations issued pursuant to this title, to receive a special |
21 | permanent license to hunt and/or fish in this state for which there is no fee. |
22 | (f) Any man or woman who is one hundred percent (100%) permanently disabled may |
23 | apply to the clerk of any city or town to receive a license to fish in this state, and upon |
24 | presentation of a proof of his or her disability as prescribed by the department of environmental |
25 | management, receive, without the payment of any license fee, a continuing special form of |
26 | license authorizing the man or woman to fish in this state for so long as he or she so desires; |
27 | provided, however, that the man or woman, having once made application for this license, shall |
28 | not again be required to appear before the licensing authority to present his or her papers. |
29 | (g) The director may, by regulation, designate no more than two (2) days in each year, |
30 | which may or may not be consecutive, during which residents and nonresidents may, without |
31 | having a license and without payment of any fee, exercise the privileges of a holder of a |
32 | freshwater fishing license. These persons are subject to all other limitations, restrictions, |
33 | conditions, laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the holder of a freshwater fishing license. |
34 | (h) For the purpose of this section, "man or woman who is one hundred percent (100%) |
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1 | permanently disabled" means an individual who has a physical or mental impairment and is |
2 | receiving: |
3 | (1) Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits (SSDI); |
4 | (2) Supplemental Security Income benefits (SSI). |
5 | All licenses that are issued to persons who qualify pursuant to this subsection shall be |
6 | issued without the requirement of the payment of a fee and shall expire annually on February 28 |
7 | of each year. Persons seeking the issuance or reissuance of licenses shall be required to present |
8 | documentation establishing that the applicant is qualified, or remains qualified, pursuant to this |
9 | subsection. |
10 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC004786 | |
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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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1 | This act would remove the requirement that hunting and fishing licenses may be issued |
2 | only by town and city clerks. |
3 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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LC004786 | |
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