Bill
SB 65
Creates a private-land deer baiting license during open season (residents $15, nonresidents $30), with sunset 1/1/2029; allows disease-based bans and NRC oversight.
Status: Referred to Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture (introduced 2025)
Summary
This bill amends Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to (1) add/clarify definitions for “deer or elk baiting” and related terms and (2) create a limited deer-baiting licensing pathway on private property during open deer season, subject to conditions and disease-control limits. The authorizing provisions include a statutory sunset.
Purpose and intent
Enable regulated baiting on private property during open deer seasons by creating a specific deer-baiting license while preserving authority to restrict or prohibit baiting where wildlife disease (e.g., chronic wasting disease, CWD) is a confirmed risk.
Key provisions
- Definitions: Adds/updates definitions for “deer or elk baiting,” “feed,” and related terms. “Deer or elk baiting” is defined as depositing, distributing, or tending feed in an area frequented by free‑ranging white‑tailed deer or elk to aid in taking those animals. The bill excludes:
- Feeding arranged to exclude deer/elk (e.g., bird feeders designed to prevent deer access);
- Feed resulting solely from normal logging or agricultural practices;
- Agricultural storage or use consistent with normal farming and where livestock actively consume feed.
- Deer baiting license (conditional authorization):
- If the Natural Resources Commission issues an order banning or restricting deer/elk baiting, an individual may nonetheless engage in deer baiting on private property during an open deer season provided that the individual:
- Purchases a deer baiting license: $15.00 (resident) or $30.00 (nonresident); and
- Possesses a valid deer license under the referenced deer-licensing statute.
- Disease-based restriction: The Commission may ban deer or elk baiting within a deer management unit where chronic wasting disease or other relevant wildlife disease has been detected — specifically if 2 or more cases are found in that unit within a one‑year period.
- Sunset: The statutory section creating this licensing pathway is set to be repealed on January 1, 2029 (a temporary/experimental authorization).
Who would be affected
- Hunters and landowners: Residents and nonresidents who wish to bait deer on private land during open season would be eligible to purchase the new baiting license (subject to Commission orders and disease restrictions).
- Michigan Department of Natural Resources / Natural Resources Commission: Responsible for issuing orders, implementing disease-area prohibitions, and applying/monitoring the new licensing framework.
- Wildlife disease management programs: May see administrative implications due to the disease‑based prohibition trigger and any associated monitoring/response needs.
Procedural & timeline notes
- Introduced and referred to the Natural Resources and Agriculture committee for review.
- The baiting‑license authority established by the bill is temporary and automatically repeals on January 1, 2029 unless the Legislature acts to extend or make it permanent.
Potential impacts (overview)
- Generates modest fee revenue per license ($15 / $30) while introducing a regulatory path for baiting on private land.
- Allows the Commission to limit baiting in areas with confirmed wildlife disease presence (2+ cases in 1 year), balancing access with disease‑control authority.
- Could change hunter behavior (more licensed baiting on private property) and may affect surveillance/enforcement workload for state wildlife authorities.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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