House File 2481 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 2481
BY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 636)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to fur-bearing animals, including the
2 establishment of a raccoon bounty program and fund
3 and the assessment of fur dealer license fees, making
4 appropriations, and providing penalties.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 481A.88 Raccoon bounty program ——
2 fund.
3 1. The department shall establish and administer a raccoon
4 bounty program, which shall operate during the raccoon trapping
5 season established by the commission by rule.
6 2. a. A raccoon bounty fund is created in the state
7 treasury under the control of the department. The fund shall
8 consist of moneys appropriated to or deposited in the fund,
9 including moneys deposited pursuant to subsection 6, and
10 donations and gifts to the fund obtained from any source.
11 Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department for the
12 distribution of payment to residents for participation in the
13 raccoon bounty program and as provided in paragraph “b”.
14 b. Fifty cents is appropriated to the department from the
15 raccoon bounty fund for each raccoon tail relinquished to
16 the department through the raccoon bounty program. Moneys
17 appropriated under this paragraph shall be used for the purpose
18 of recovering costs associated with administering the raccoon
19 bounty program.
20 c. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the raccoon
21 bounty fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the
22 close of a fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain
23 available for expenditure for the purposes designated.
24 Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or
25 earnings on moneys in the raccoon bounty fund shall be credited
26 to the fund.
27 3. A resident with a fur harvester license may only receive
28 a bounty for a raccoon taken during the raccoon trapping
29 season established by the commission by rule. A resident
30 participating in the raccoon trapping season must check set
31 traps every twenty-four hours.
32 4. a. A resident may relinquish to the department, as
33 provided in subsection 5, the whole tail of a raccoon taken
34 during the raccoon trapping season. The department shall pay a
35 resident five dollars for each whole raccoon tail the resident
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1 relinquishes to the department, provided moneys are available
2 in the fund.
3 b. A person issued a fur dealer license valid at any time
4 during a raccoon trapping season and associated raccoon bounty
5 program is prohibited from participating in the raccoon bounty
6 program.
7 5. a. The department shall establish a monthly raccoon tail
8 pickup event in each county during each month of the raccoon
9 trapping season and for one month after the season concludes.
10 The department shall publish on the website of the department
11 the date and location of the pickup events at the beginning
12 of the raccoon trapping season and the available moneys in
13 the raccoon bounty fund to be updated by the department each
14 week of a raccoon season and for one month after the season
15 concludes. A resident shall relinquish raccoon tails for
16 purposes of the raccoon bounty program in the county in which
17 the resident resides.
18 b. The commission shall adopt rules for the raccoon bounty
19 program including but not limited to determining details for
20 monthly raccoon tail pickup events, counting raccoon tails
21 received, and monitoring and controlling relinquished raccoon
22 tails.
23 c. The department or a representative of the department
24 shall accept raccoon tails from a resident and issue to the
25 resident a voucher for each raccoon tail relinquished.
26 d. The department shall accept vouchers and issue a check in
27 the amount of five dollars for each raccoon tail relinquished
28 at the pickup event to the voucher recipient.
29 6. a. A person who relinquishes or attempts to relinquish
30 to the department for payment a raccoon tail that was not
31 taken in this state, was already brought to the department for
32 payment, or was taken outside of the current raccoon trapping
33 season is guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
34 b. In addition, a violation of this section is subject
35 to administrative penalties imposed by the department, which
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1 may include license revocation and suspension of trapping
2 privileges for up to two years and a civil penalty of not
3 more than two hundred fifty dollars per offense. Any civil
4 penalty collected under this paragraph shall be deposited in
5 the raccoon bounty fund established in subsection 2.
6 7. The department shall monitor trapping data to ensure
7 excessive harvesting does not occur and to investigate
8 potential fraud.
9 Sec. 2. Section 481A.95, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended
10 to read as follows:
11 1. A license shall be required of each fur dealer and each
12 employee, agent, or representative of a fur dealer except when
13 the employee, agent, or representative is operating solely on
14 the premises of a licensed fur dealer. A fur dealer shall
15 conduct business only at the location specified on the dealer’s
16 license, at an established fur auction, at the nonadvertised
17 residence of a licensed fur harvester, at a raccoon tail pickup
18 event as described in section 481A.88, or at the place of
19 business located in the state specified on the license of any
20 fur dealer. A nonresident licensed fur dealer may purchase
21 location permits to operate at locations other than at the
22 location specified on the fur dealer’s license. A resident
23 licensed fur dealer may obtain location permits without fee.
24 Each location permit shall be valid only for the one location
25 specified on the location permit and shall entitle the fur
26 dealer and employee, agent, or representative of the licensed
27 fur dealer to operate at that location. The commission shall,
28 upon application and the payment of the required license fee,
29 if any, furnish the proper license and location permits to the
30 dealer.
31 Sec. 3. Section 481A.95, subsection 2, Code 2024, is amended
32 by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the
33 following:
34 2. Fees for a license issued under this section shall
35 be no more than fifty dollars annually for a resident or a
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1 nonresident fur dealer.
2 EXPLANATION
3 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
4 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
5 This bill relates to fur-bearing animals, including the
6 establishment of a raccoon bounty program (program) and fund
7 and the assessment of fur dealer license fees. The bill
8 directs the department of natural resources (DNR) to establish
9 and administer the program, which shall operate during the
10 raccoon trapping season established by the natural resource
11 commission (NRC) by rule. Current NRC rules set the raccoon
12 trapping season as 8 a.m. on the first Saturday in November
13 through February 28 of the succeeding year.
14 The bill establishes a raccoon bounty fund in the state
15 treasury under the control of DNR. The raccoon bounty fund
16 shall consist of moneys deposited in the raccoon bounty fund,
17 including moneys collected from the civil penalties assessed
18 under the bill and gifts and donations received for the
19 raccoon bounty fund. Moneys in the raccoon bounty fund are
20 appropriated to DNR to pay participants in the program and to
21 administer the program.
22 The bill requires trappers to check set traps every 24
23 hours. The bill authorizes a resident with a valid fur
24 harvester license to relinquish to DNR the whole tail of a
25 raccoon taken during the raccoon trapping season. A resident
26 shall receive $5 from DNR for each whole raccoon tail the
27 resident relinquishes to DNR at a monthly pickup event held in
28 every county. DNR is appropriated 50 cents for each raccoon
29 tail relinquished at the monthly pickup event. The bill
30 requires NRC to adopt rules for the program and determine the
31 details for monthly pickup events for raccoon tails. The bill
32 prohibits a person with a fur dealer license from participating
33 in the program.
34 A person who relinquishes or attempts to relinquish a
35 raccoon tail that was not taken in this state, was already
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1 relinquished to the department, or was taken outside of the
2 raccoon trapping season is guilty of a simple misdemeanor. A
3 simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more
4 than 30 days and a fine of at least $105 but not more than $855.
5 DNR shall assess penalties for violations, which may include
6 license revocation, suspension of trapping privileges for up
7 to two years, and a civil penalty of not more than $250 per
8 offense. The department shall gather trapping data to ensure
9 trappers are not excessively harvesting raccoons or committing
10 fraud.
11 A person who unlawfully takes a raccoon is also liable
12 for damages in the amount of $200 for each raccoon taken as
13 provided in Code section 481A.130. A person who unlawfully
14 takes a raccoon may also be subject to a criminal scheduled
15 fine of $75 as provided in Code section 805.8B. All unlawfully
16 taken raccoons shall be seized by the director of DNR or any
17 peace officer and relinquished to a representative of NRC.
18 The bill includes a raccoon tail pickup event as a location
19 for a fur dealer to conduct business. Under the bill, a
20 fur dealer does not need to purchase a location permit to
21 operate at a raccoon tail pickup event. Further, a resident
22 or nonresident fur dealer does not have to pay a fee to obtain
23 a location permit.
24 The bill also creates a maximum fur dealer license fee
25 of $50, regardless of resident status. Current law allows
26 residents from another state to purchase a fur dealer’s license
27 for a set fee unless that state has reciprocity with Iowa, in
28 which case the nonresident shall pay the reciprocity fee amount
29 that is less than the nonresident license fee but more than the
30 Iowa resident license fee.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 8.33, 481A.88