Relates to the suspension of hunting and fishing licenses pursuant to the interstate wildlife violator compact

BILL NUMBER:S7150

Title of bill

An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the suspension or revocation of fishing, hunting and trapping licenses pursuant to the interstate wildlife violator compact

Purpose

To amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the suspension or revocation of fishing, hunting and trapping licenses pursuant to the interstate wildlife violator compact.

Summary of provisions

Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) - § 71-0919(1) is amended by adding a new paragraph g to provide that when a license privilege is revoked or suspended by a participating state in the IWVC, the violation and subsequent revocation or suspension in that state shall constitute the basis for revocation or suspension in this state for the same privilege and period of time.

Justification

The text of the IWVC is found at ECL § 11- 2503. Article V of the IWVC - reciprocal recognition of suspension - requires that all participating states recognize the suspension of license privileges of any person by any participating state as though the violation resulting in the suspension had occurred in their state and could have been the basis for suspension of license privileges in their state. Each participating state is responsible for communicating suspension information to the other participating states.

New York State-joined the IWVC in 2005; at that time there were 16 participating states in the Compact, today there are 30 states and more signing up each year, including Pennsylvania in the very near future which alone is expected to add thousands more revocations to a backlog of nearly 5000 which exist today. - Currently, each revocation notice posted on the IWVC Web page must be painstakingly reviewed for content and applicability to New York revocable violations. Other participating states in the IWVC eliminate. this large administrative burden by simply adopting all revocations and suspensions posted by other participating states. New York State's law puts the additional requirement on the program that the violation which a subject is revoked for must be identical to a revocable violation in New York State. This additional requirement allows many egregious violators of wildlife laws in other member states (some even New York State residents) to escape revocation in New York due to narrow scope of revocable offenses under the ECL.

The purpose of the IWVC is to prevent these offenders from farming around for sporting privileges when they have been revoked in another state, it is also intended to prevent member states from becoming a

dumping ground for all the violators that can't get a sporting license anywhere else, New York state does not want or need the license sales from these individuals.

Amending the ECL as per this proposal will eliminate the backlog of current suspensions to be reviewed by making them all eligible for revocation in New York State. It will eliminate the large administrative burden currently existing to individually review and process these thousands of notices, and eliminate the need for additional staffing to accomplish the time consuming review of each of these IWVC suspensions. Most importantly however, it will protect wildlife and legitimize the program by revoking the hunting and or fishing privileges of all persons who have committed serious wildlife offenses in other member states.

Legislative history

None.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This law will take effect immediately.