Makes technical corrections to the environmental conservation law, providing for misdemeanor penalties for hunting, trapping, or fishing without a valid license

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Phil Palmesano

Makes technical corrections to the Environmental Conservation Law and creates misdemeanor penalties for hunting, trapping, or fishing without a valid license.

REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

Overview

Bill Number: A 4046

Title: Makes technical corrections to the environmental conservation law, providing for misdemeanor penalties for hunting, trapping, or fishing without a valid license

Status: REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

Introduced: January 31, 2025

Primary Sponsor: Philip Palmesano

Related/Companion Legislation:

A 8640 (prior-session)
A 4345 (prior-session)
S 1516 (companion)
S 1516 (companion) (duplicate listing in record)

Purpose and Intent

The bill aims to make technical corrections to the Environmental Conservation Law to address issues such as inconsistencies or errors in current statutes.

It also establishes misdemeanor penalties for hunting, trapping, or fishing without a valid license, enhancing enforcement against unlicensed activity.

Key Provisions (highlights)

Technical corrections to the Environmental Conservation Law. These corrections are intended to clarify, correct, or update existing statutory language without introducing broad policy shifts.

Creation of misdemeanor penalties for:

Hunting without a valid license
Trapping without a valid license
Fishing without a valid license

The bill designates the violation as a misdemeanor, indicating it would be treated as a criminal offense with associated penalties. Specific penalty levels, enforcement procedures, and related provisions are not detailed in the available summary.

Who is Affected

Individuals who hunt, trap, or fish in environments governed by the Environmental Conservation Law.

License holders and the entities that issue or enforce environmental and wildlife licenses.

State or local environmental conservation departments responsible for licensing and enforcement.

Potential impact on license compliance rates and enforcement resources if penalties are enacted.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

Introduced: January 31, 2025

Immediate action: Referred to the Environmental Conservation committee on January 31, 2025 (two identical entries appear in the legislative record on that date).

Current stage: Committee referral; no floor action or final passage information available in the provided data.

Next typical steps (not stated in the record): Committee review and potential amendments, committee vote, consideration by the full chamber, and passage or modification before advancing to the other house (as applicable).

Potential Impact and Considerations

Enforcement: The bill would bolster enforcement by adding misdemeanor penalties for unlicensed hunting, trapping, or fishing.

Compliance: Could incentivize more individuals to obtain and maintain valid licenses.

Administrative: May affect enforcement workload, licensing processes, and related administrative costs pending any specifics on penalties and processes.

Fiscal notes: Not provided; potential costs or savings to administrative agencies would depend on the final penalty structure and any accompanying program changes.

Next Steps for Readers

Track the bill’s progress through the Environmental Conservation committee.

Review any amendments or fiscal analyses added during committee consideration.

Compare A 4046 with its related/balancing companion bills (A 8640, A 4345, S 1516) for alignment or differences in penalty levels and technical corrections.

Bill