68th Legislature SB 298.1
1 SENATE BILL NO. 298
2 INTRODUCED BY B. MOLNAR
3
4 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT REVISING LAWS RELATED TO HUNTING BY DISABLED
5 PERSONS; PROVIDING REQUIREMENTS FOR CROSSBOWS; REVISING RULEMAKING AUTHORITY;
6 ALLOWING A DISABLED HUNTER TO HUNT WITHOUT A COMPANION OR WITH A COMPANION NOT
7 LICENSED TO HUNT; ESTABLISHING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; AMENDING SECTIONS 37-3-203,
8 87-1-301, 87-2-105, 87-2-803, AND 87-2-817, MCA; AND PROVIDING A TERMINATION DATE.”
9
10 WHEREAS, Montana sold 58,326 archery permits in 2021; and
11 WHEREAS, 48 states allow crossbow use during archery seasons; and
12 WHEREAS, no states have reported problems with the use of crossbows; and
13 WHEREAS, no cases of fraud related to the use of a crossbow have been reported in intermountain
14 states; and
15 WHEREAS, the compound technology used in vertical bows is the same used in crossbows; and
16 WHEREAS, the rights of Montana's disabled population are protected by the Americans With
17 Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act; and
18 WHEREAS, an accommodation for a disability that cannot be used is not an accommodation; and
19 WHEREAS, Article IX, section 7, of the Montana Constitution preserves for the individual the right to
20 harvest wild game animals.
21
22 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
23
24 NEW SECTION. Section 1. Permit to hunt with crossbow -- reporting. (1) Except as provided in
25 [section 2], the department shall issue a permit to hunt with a crossbow during an archery-only season if the
26 person applying for the permit meets the requirements of subsection (2), complies with the provisions of
27 subsection (3), and purchases the necessary licenses and permits.
28 (2) (a) A person qualifies for a permit to hunt with a crossbow, on payment of a fee of $10, if the
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1 person is certified by a physician, as defined in 87-2-803, to have a permanent condition that severely limits the
2 person's ability to draw and hold a long bow, a recurve bow, or a compound bow of sufficient draw weight to
3 hunt a game animal, and the person:
4 (i) purchased a Class A-2 special bow and arrow license in the past 3 years; or
5 (ii) completed a crossbow education course pursuant to 87-2-105 prior to applying for a permit to
6 hunt with a crossbow.
7 (b) Certification under this subsection (2) must be on a form prescribed by the department and
8 signed by the physician.
9 (c) The department or a person who disagrees with a certification of eligibility for a permit to hunt
10 with a crossbow submitted pursuant to this subsection (2) may request a review by the board of medical
11 examiners pursuant to 37-3-203.
12 (3) A person issued a permit to hunt with a crossbow may use a scope only if the scope is not
13 battery-assisted and has a magnification of no more than four times. While hunting, a crossbow may not be
14 equipped with a mechanical arrow or bolt drop compensation device, including but not limited to jack plates.
15 (4) A person issued a permit to hunt with a crossbow is automatically entitled to a permit to hunt
16 with a crossbow for subsequent license years if the criteria for obtaining a permit do not change.
17 (5) A person issued a permit to hunt with a crossbow shall complete hunter surveys issued by the
18 department. At a minimum, the department shall survey each person regarding the season or seasons in which
19 the person used the permit and the person's success rate, including the number of shots the person attempted,
20 the estimated range of the shots, and whether the person harvested, wounded, or lost an animal.
21 (6) The department shall report, in accordance with 5-11-210, to the environmental quality council
22 established in 5-16-101, on the number of persons issued a permit to hunt with a crossbow in the previous
23 license year, the certified conditions that qualified the persons to obtain a permit, and the results of the hunter
24 surveys received pursuant to subsection (5).
25
26 NEW SECTION. Section 2. Denial of crossbow permit -- requirements -- appeal. (1) The
27 department may deny a permit application pursuant to [section 1] if the department documents that:
28 (a) use of a crossbow by the applicant will biologically damage wildlife populations;
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1 (b) administering the permit is an excessive cost to the department; or
2 (c) the permit will adversely affect the archery season.
3 (2) A denial pursuant to subsection (1) may be appealed to the commission.
4 (3) (a) A commission denial may be appealed to district court in the county where the applicant
5 resides.
6 (b) The prevailing party is entitled to costs enumerated in 25-10-201 and reasonable attorney fees
7 as determined by the court.
8 (c) If the commission denial is reversed but the applicant missed the archery season during which
9 the permit was applied for, the department shall issue a permit of the applicant's choice for the next available
10 season without reducing the number of permits available.
11
12 Section 3. Section 37-3-203, MCA, is amended to read:
13 "37-3-203. Powers and duties -- rulemaking authority. (1) The board may:
14 (a) adopt rules necessary or proper to carry out the requirements in Title 37, chapter 3, parts 1
15 through 4, and of chapters covering podiatry, acupuncture, physician assistants, nutritionists, and emergency
16 care providers as set forth in Title 37, chapters 6, 13, 20, and 25, and 50-6-203, respectively. Rules adopted for
17 emergency care providers with an endorsement to provide community-integrated health care must address the
18 scope of practice, competency requirements, and educational requirements.
19 (b) hold hearings and take evidence in matters relating to the exercise and performance of the
20 powers and duties vested in the board;
21 (c) aid the county attorneys of this state in the enforcement of parts 1 through 4 and 8 of this
22 chapter as well as Title 37, chapters 6, 13, 20, and 25, and Title 50, chapter 6, regarding emergency care
23 providers licensed by the board. The board also may assist the county attorneys of this state in the prosecution
24 of persons, firms, associations, or corporations charged with violations of the provisions listed in this subsection
25 (1)(c).
26 (d) review certifications of disability and determinations of eligibility for a permit to hunt from a
27 vehicle as provided in 87-2-803(11) and certifications of conditions of eligibility for a permit to hunt with a
28 crossbow as provided in [section 1]; and
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1 (e) fund additional staff, hired by the department, to administer the provisions of this chapter, by
2 increasing license fees as necessary.
3 (2) (a) The board shall establish a medical assistance program to assist and rehabilitate licensees
4 who are subject to the jurisdiction of the board and who are found to be physically or mentally impaired by
5 habitual intemperance or the excessive use of addictive drugs, alcohol, or any other drug or substance or by
6 mental illness or chronic physical illness.
7 (b) The board shall ensure that a licensee who is required or volunteers to participate in the
8 medical assistance program as a condition of continued licensure or reinstatement of licensure must be allowed
9 to enroll in a qualified medical assistance program within this state and may not require a licensee to enroll in a
10 qualified treatment program outside the state unless the board finds that there is no qualified treatment program
11 in this state.
12 (3) (a) The board shall report annually on the number and types of complaints it has received
13 involving physician practices in providing written certification, as defined in 16-12-502, for the use of marijuana
14 for a debilitating medical condition provided for in Title 16, chapter 12, part 5. The report must contain:
15 (i) the number of complaints received by the board pursuant to 37-1-308;
16 (ii) the number of complaints for which a reasonable cause determination was made pursuant to
17 37-1-307;
18 (iii) the general nature of the complaints;
19 (iv) the number of investigations conducted into physician practices in providing written
20 certification; and
21 (v) the number of physicians disciplined by the board for their practices in providing written
22 certification for the use of marijuana for a debilitating medical condition.
23 (b) Except as provided in subsection (3)(c), the report may not contain individual identifying
24 information regarding the physicians about whom the board received complaints.
25 (c) For each physician against whom the board takes disciplinary action related to the physician's
26 practices in providing written certification for the use of marijuana for a debilitating medical condition, the report
27 must include:
28 (i) the name of the physician;
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1 (ii) the general results of the investigation of the physician's practices; and
2 (iii) the disciplinary action taken against the physician.
3 (d) The board shall provide the report to the economic affairs interim committee in accordance with
4 5-11-210 and shall make a copy of the report available on the board's website.
5 (4) The board may enter into agreements with other states for the purposes of mutual recognition
6 of licensing standards and licensing of physicians and emergency care providers from other states under the
7 terms of a mutual recognition agreement."
8
9 Section 4. Section 87-1-301, MCA, is amended to read:
10 "87-1-301. Powers of commission. (1) Except as provided in subsections (6) and (7), the
11 commission:
12 (a) shall set the policies for the protection, preservation, management, and propagation of the
13 wildlife, fish, game, furbearers, waterfowl, nongame species, and endangered species of the state and for the
14 fulfillment of all other responsibilities of the department related to fish and wildlife as provided by law;
15 (b) shall establish the hunting, fishing, and trapping rules of the department;
16 (c) except as provided in 23-1-111 and 87-1-303(3), shall establish the rules of the department
17 governing the use of lands owned or controlled by the department and waters under the jurisdiction of the
18 department;
19 (d) must have the power within the department to establish wildlife refuges and bird and game
20 preserves;
21 (e) shall approve all acquisitions or transfers by the department of interests in land or water, except
22 as provided in 23-1-111 and 87-1-209(2) and (4);
23 (f) except as provided in 23-1-111, shall review and approve the budget of the department prior to
24 its transmittal to the office of budget and program planning;
25 (g) except as provided in 23-1-111, shall review and approve construction projects that have an
26 estimated cost of more than $1,000 but less than $5,000;
27 (h) shall manage elk, deer, and antelope populations based on habitat estimates determined as
28 provided in 87-1-322 and maintain elk, deer, and antelope population numbers at or below population estimates
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1 as provided in 87-1-323. In developing or implementing an elk management plan, the commission shall
2 consider landowner tolerance when deciding whether to restrict elk hunting on surrounding public land in a
3 particular hunting district. As used in this subsection (1)(h), "landowner tolerance" means the written or
4 documented verbal opinion of an affected landowner regarding the impact upon the landowner's property within
5 the particular hunting district where a restriction on elk hunting on public property is proposed.
6 (i) shall set the policies for the salvage of antelope, deer, elk, or moose pursuant to 87-3-145;
7 (j) shall comply with, adopt policies that comply with, and ensure the department implements in
8 each region the provisions of state wildlife management plans adopted following an environmental review
9 conducted pursuant to Title 75, chapter 1, parts 1 through 3; and
10 (k) shall review and approve the issuance of an either-sex or antlerless elk license, permit, or
11 combination thereof to a landowner or a landowner's designee pursuant to 87-2-513.
12 (2) The Except as provided in [section 1], the commission may adopt rules regarding the use and
13 type of archery equipment that may be employed for hunting and fishing purposes, taking into account
14 applicable standards as technical innovations in archery equipment change.
15 (3) The commission may adopt rules regarding the establishment of special licenses or permits,
16 seasons, conditions, programs, or other provisions that the commission considers appropriate to promote or
17 enhance hunting by Montana's youth and persons with disabilities.
18 (4) (a) The commission may adopt rules regarding nonresident big game combination licenses to:
19 (i) separate deer licenses from nonresident elk combination licenses;
20 (ii) set the fees for the separated deer combination licenses and the elk combination licenses
21 without the deer tag;
22 (iii) condition the use of the deer licenses; and
23 (iv) limit the number of licenses sold.
24 (b) The commission may exercise the rulemaking authority in subsection (4)(a) when it is
25 necessary and appropriate to regulate the harvest by nonresident big game combination license holders:
26 (i) for the biologically sound management of big game populations of elk, deer, and antelope;
27 (ii) to control the impacts of those elk, deer, and antelope populations on uses of private property;
28 and
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1 (iii) to ensure that elk, deer, and antelope populations are at a sustainable level as provided in 87-
2 1-321 through 87-1-325.
3 (5) (a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (5)(b), the commission may adopt rules to:
4 (i) limit the number of nonresident mountain lion hunters in designated hunting districts; and
5 (ii) determine the conditions under which nonresidents may hunt mountain lion in designated
6 hunting districts.
7 (b) The commission shall adopt rules for the use of and set quotas for the sale of Class D-4
8 nonresident hound licenses by hunting district, portions of a hunting district, group of districts, or administrative
9 regions.
10 (c) The commission shall consider, but is not limited to consideration of, the following factors:
11 (i) harvest of lions by resident and nonresident hunters;
12 (ii) history of quota overruns;
13 (iii) composition, including age and sex, of the lion harvest;
14 (iv) historical outfitter use;
15 (v) conflicts among hunter groups;
16 (vi) availability of public and private lands; and
17 (vii) whether restrictions on nonresident hunters are more appropriate than restrictions on all
18 hunters.
19 (6) The commission may not regulate the use or possession of firearms, firearm accessories, or
20 ammunition, including the chemical elements of ammunition used for hunting. This does not prevent:
21 (a) the restriction of certain hunting seasons to the use of specified hunting arms, such as the
22 e