House Bill No. introduced by J. Hinkle aims to eliminate the laws related to nonresident landowner preference for Class B-10 big game combination licenses. The bill amends Section 87-2-115 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to establish a preference point system for distributing Class B-10 and Class B-11 nonresident licenses, allowing applicants to purchase preference points that grant them priority in receiving licenses. Notably, the bill deletes references to the provisions of Section 87-2-714, which previously governed landowner preferences, thereby removing any preferential treatment for nonresident landowners in the license allocation process.

Additionally, the bill includes a new section that repeals Section 87-2-714 entirely, which specifically addressed landowner preference for Class B-10 licenses. The effective date for this act is set for March 1, 2026. The changes aim to create a more equitable system for all nonresident applicants by eliminating the landowner preference, thus allowing for a more straightforward distribution of hunting licenses based solely on preference points.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 87-2-115
HB0519_1(1): 87-2-115
HB0519_1: 87-2-115