state of michigan
100th Legislature
Regular session of 2019
Introduced by Reps. Hoitenga, Alexander, Steven Johnson, Mueller and LaFave
ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 4687
AN ACT to amend
1994 PA 451, entitled “An act to protect the environment and natural resources
of the state; to codify, revise, consolidate, and classify laws relating to the
environment and natural resources of the state; to regulate the discharge of
certain substances into the environment; to regulate the use of certain lands,
waters, and other natural resources of the state; to protect the people’s right
to hunt and fish; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local
agencies and officials; to provide for certain charges, fees, assessments, and
donations; to provide certain appropriations; to prescribe penalties and
provide remedies; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,” by amending sections
40102, 40111a, and 43527a (MCL 324.40102, 324.40111a, and 324.43527a), section
40102 as amended by 2015 PA 24, section 40111a as amended by 2015 PA 265, and
section 43527a as added by 2013 PA 108.
The People of the
State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 40102. (1)
“Animals” means wild birds and wild mammals.
(2) “Bag limit”
means the number of animals that may be taken and possessed as determined by
the department.
(3) “Bow” means a device for propelling an arrow from a string drawn,
held, and released by hand where the force used to hold the string in the drawn
position is provided by the archer’s muscles.
(4) “Buy” or
“sell” means an exchange or attempt or offer to exchange for money, barter, or
anything of value.
(5) “Chase” means
to follow animals with dogs or other wild or domestic animals trained for that
purpose.
(6) “Cormorant
damage” means adverse impacts of double-crested cormorants on fish, fish
hatchery stock, wildlife, plants, and their habitats and on man-made
structures.
(7) “Cormorant
depredation order” means the depredation order for double-crested cormorants to
protect public resources, 50 CFR 21.48, issued by the United States Department
of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service.
(8) “Crossbow”
means a weapon consisting of a bow mounted transversely on a stock or frame and
designed to fire an arrow, bolt, or quarrel by the release of a bow string that
is controlled by a mechanical or electric trigger and has a working safety and
a draw weight of 100 pounds or greater.
(9) “Deer or elk
baiting” means the depositing, distributing, or tending of feed in an area
frequented by wild, free-ranging white-tailed deer or elk to aid in the taking
of deer or elk. Deer or elk baiting does not include any of the following:
(a) Feeding wild
birds or other wildlife if done in such a manner as to exclude wild, free-ranging
white-tailed deer and elk from gaining access to the feed.
(b) The
scattering of feed solely as the result of normal logging practices or normal
agricultural practices.
(c) The storage
or use of feed for agricultural purposes if 1 or
more of the following apply:
(i)
The area is occupied by livestock actively consuming the feed on a daily basis.
(ii)
The feed is covered to deter wild, free-ranging white-tailed deer or elk from
gaining access to the feed.
(iii)
The feed is in a storage facility that is consistent with normal agricultural
practices.
(10) “Deer or elk
feeding” means the depositing, distributing, or tending of feed in an area
frequented by wild, free-ranging white-tailed deer or elk. Deer or elk feeding
does not include any of the following:
(a) Feeding wild
birds or other wildlife if done in such a manner as to exclude wild,
free-ranging white-tailed deer and elk from gaining access to the feed.
(b) The
scattering of feed solely as the result of normal logging practices or normal
agricultural practices.
(c) The storage
or use of feed for agricultural purposes if 1 or more of the following apply:
(i) The area is occupied by livestock actively
consuming the feed on a daily basis.
(ii) The feed is covered to deter wild,
free-ranging white-tailed deer or elk from gaining access to the feed.
(iii) The feed is in a storage facility that is
consistent with normal agricultural practices.
(d) Deer or elk
baiting.
(11) “Disability”
means a determinable physical characteristic of an individual that may result
from disease, injury, congenital condition of birth, or functional disorder.
(12) “Feed” means a substance composed of grain, mineral, salt, fruit,
vegetable, hay, or any other food material or combination of these materials,
whether natural or manufactured, that may attract white-tailed deer or elk.
Feed does not include any of the following:
(a) Plantings for
wildlife.
(b) Standing farm
crops under normal agricultural practices.
(c) Agricultural
commodities scattered solely as the result of normal agricultural practices.
(13) “Firearm”
means any weapon which will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to
expel a projectile by action of an explosive. A pneumatic gun, as defined in
section 1 of 1990 PA 319, MCL 123.1101, other than a paintball gun that expels
by pneumatic pressure plastic balls filled with paint for the purpose of
marking the point of impact, is also considered a firearm for the purpose of
this act.
Sec. 40111a. (1) Until 2 years after the
effective date of the 2019 amendatory act that amended this section, an
individual may engage in deer or elk feeding in this state if that individual
does not deposit more than 5 gallons of feed at each site. An individual shall
not engage in deer or elk feeding in any county or deer management unit of this
state where the department of agriculture and rural development and the
department have entered into a memorandum of understanding with the United
States Department of Agriculture requiring the limitation or banning of baiting
or feeding.
(2) Except as otherwise provided
in this subsection and subsection (3), until 2 years after the effective date
of the 2019 amendatory act that amended this section, an individual may engage
in deer or elk baiting in this state during the open seasons for deer or elk if
that individual does all of the following:
(a) Uses no more
than 5 gallons of bait spread over at least 400 square feet at each baiting
site.
(b) Uses bait
that is no larger than a sugar beet.
(c) Uses no more
than 1 baiting site per hunting site.
(3) An individual
shall not engage in deer or elk feeding in any county or deer management unit
of this state where the department of agriculture and rural development and the
department have entered into a memorandum of understanding with the United
States Department of Agriculture requiring the limitation or banning of baiting
or feeding.
Sec. 43527a. (1) Only an
individual holding a valid base license is eligible to purchase a deer license or an antlerless
deer license, pursuant to current regulations. The fee for a deer license or an
antlerless deer license is $20.00.
(2)
The department shall charge a nonrefundable application fee not to exceed $5.00
for each
individual who applies for an antlerless deer license.
(3)
The department may issue a kill tag with or as part of each deer license. The
kill tag shall bear the license number. The kill tag may also include space for
other pertinent information required by the department.
The kill tag, if issued, is part of the license.
(4)
Where authorized by the department, a resident may purchase a second deer
license for the fee assessed under this subsection for the deer license for
which that individual is eligible. However, a senior license discount is not
available for the purchase of a second deer license. Where authorized by the
department, a nonresident may purchase an additional deer license or antlerless
deer license under this section for $170.00. Except as otherwise provided in
subsection (5), the department may issue orders under part 401 designating the
kind of deer that may be taken and the geographic area in which any license
issued under this section is valid, when advisable in managing deer.
(5)
The department shall not prohibit an individual with a valid deer license from taking any antlered deer, regardless of the
number of antler points on that deer, in any area of this state in which deer
have tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
(6) As used in
this section, “antlered deer” means a deer having at least 1 antler that
extends 3 inches or more above the skull.
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Secretary of the Senate
Approved___________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Governor