AN ACT relating to the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
     Amend and create various sections of KRS Chapter 150, relating to fish and wildlife resources, to prohibit a person whose privilege to hunt or fish has been suspended or revoked by any jurisdiction within the United States or Canada from performing those acts in Kentucky during the period of suspension or revocation; replace big game permits with species-specific permits; state that the department shall, through administrative regulation, prescribe reasonable fees for the licenses, permits, and registrations authorized by KRS Chapters 150 and 235, and remove the lower and upper limits for those fees; declare that a person who collects fees for the department's licenses and permits acts in a fiduciary capacity for the Commonwealth and require all moneys collected from sales, except agent fees, to be held in trust for the department; require a person who takes wildlife to make every reasonable effort to retrieve the downed wildlife, and tag it if required; allow the department to suspend a license or license privileges for up to 3 additional license years for violations of the chapter; require a person who violates any provision of the chapter or administrative regulations for which no definite fine or imprisonment is fixed to be fined fifty to five hundred dollars; if the violation involves the taking of wildlife, require the person to be fined one hundred to one thousand dollars and imprisoned for up to six months or both, and in addition, require the person to be liable to the department in an amount not to exceed the greater of the replacement cost of wildlife taken or double any monetary gain realized from the illegal activity; require any person who violates the provisions of KRS 150.180, 150.520, 150.525, or administrative regulations issued thereunder, for the second offense to be fined five hundred to one thousand dollars and for any subsequent offense, be fined two thousand dollars, plus the additional penalties for wildlife replacement costs or double the cost of monetary gain realized; require any person who violates the provisions of KRS 150.520 or administrative regulations, if the violation involves taking mussels, for a third or subsequent offense to be imprisoned in the county jail for no more than one year; include Chapter 235 violations under the provisions of KRS 150.090 and the criminal homicide provisions; specify that a misdemeanor results from the conviction rather than violation; require any person who violates the provisions of KRS 150.092 or administrative regulations, for the second offense to be fined three hundred to one thousand dollars, for subsequent offenses, require forfeiture of the person's license for one year and require the person to be fined not less than one thousand dollars or be imprisoned in the county jail for up to one year or both; create new section of KRS Chapter 235 relating to boating to require sixty percent of a fine imposed for the violation of the chapter or KRS Chapter 150 to go to the game and fish fund; amend KRS 235.080 to allow annual registration fees for motor boats to be set by the department by administrative regulation; amend KRS 235.210 to require a boat owned by a resident of another state with a valid registration in that state, or a boat registered with the federal government, which has remained in Kentucky for more than sixty consecutive days to display a valid annual Kentucky nonresident boat decal; amend KRS 235.220 to require a boat manufacturer or dealer to register with the cabinet and to pay an annual registration fee set by the department by administrative regulation; require any person who violates any provision of the chapter to be fined fifty to five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than three months or both; amend KRS 411.190 relating to obligations of an owner of land, to exempt from the definition of "charge", fees for general use permits issued by a government agency for access to public lands, provided the permits are valid for a period of not less than thirty days; amend KRS 150.460 to conform.

     Feb 24-introduced in House
     Feb 25-to Natural Resources and Environment (H)
     Mar 3-posted in committee
     Mar 10-reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute
     Mar 11-2nd reading, to Rules; posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for March 12, 1998
     Mar 12-3rd reading, passed 96-1 with Committee Substitute
     Mar 13-received in Senate
     Mar 16-to Agriculture and Natural Resources (S)
     Mar 18-reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar
     Mar 19-2nd reading, to Rules
     Mar 20-posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for March 23, 1998; floor amendment (1) filed
     Mar 23-floor amendment (1) withdrawn; 3rd reading, passed 38-0
     Mar 24-received in House; enrolled, signed by each presiding officer, delivered to Governor
     Apr 3-signed by Governor