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                     ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 2339

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State of Washington      53rd Legislature     1994 Regular Session

 

By Representatives King, Foreman and Orr; by request of Department of Fisheries and Department of Wildlife

 

Read first time 01/14/94.  Referred to Committee on Fisheries & Wildlife.

 

Revising fees and procedures for recreational fish and hunting licenses.



    AN ACT Relating to the creation of a combined recreational fish and hunting license document; amending RCW 75.25.091, 75.25.092, 75.25.110, 75.25.120, 75.25.150, 77.32.101, 77.32.161, 77.32.230, and 77.32.256; reenacting and amending RCW 75.08.011 and 75.25.180; adding a new section to chapter 75.25 RCW; creating a new section; and providing effective dates.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

    Sec. 1.  RCW 75.08.011 and 1993 1st sp.s. c 2 s 20 and 1993 c 340 s 47 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

    As used in this title or rules of the director, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

    (1) "Director" means the director of fish and wildlife.

    (2) "Department" means the department of fish and wildlife.

    (3) "Person" means an individual or a public or private entity or organization.  The term "person" includes local, state, and federal government agencies, and all business organizations, including corporations and partnerships.

    (4) "Fisheries patrol officer" means a person appointed and commissioned by the director, with authority to enforce this title, rules of the director, and other statutes as prescribed by the legislature.  Fisheries patrol officers are peace officers.

    (5) "Ex officio fisheries patrol officer" means a commissioned officer of a municipal, county, state, or federal agency having as its primary function the enforcement of criminal laws in general, while the officer is in the appropriate jurisdiction.  The term "ex officio fisheries patrol officer" also includes wildlife agents, special agents of the national marine fisheries service, United States fish and wildlife special agents, state parks commissioned officers, department of natural resources enforcement officers, and United States forest service officers, while the agents and officers are within their respective jurisdictions.

    (6) "To fish," "to harvest," and "to take" and their derivatives mean an effort to kill, injure, harass, or catch food fish or shellfish.

    (7) "State waters" means all marine waters and fresh waters within ordinary high water lines and within the territorial boundaries of the state.

    (8) "Offshore waters" means marine waters of the Pacific Ocean outside the territorial boundaries of the state, including the marine waters of other states and countries.

    (9) "Concurrent waters of the Columbia river" means those waters of the Columbia river that coincide with the Washington-Oregon state boundary.

    (10) "Resident" means a person who has ((for the preceding ninety days)) maintained a permanent place of abode within the state for at least ninety days immediately preceding an application for a license, has established by formal evidence an intent to continue residing within the state, and who is not licensed to hunt or fish as a resident in another state.

    (11) "Nonresident" means a person who has not fulfilled the qualifications of a resident.

    (12) "Food fish" means those species of the classes Osteichthyes, Agnatha, and Chondrichthyes that have been classified and that shall not be fished for except as authorized by rule of the director.  The term "food fish" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of food fish species.

    (13) "Shellfish" means those species of marine and freshwater invertebrates that have been classified and that shall not be taken except as authorized by rule of the director.  The term "shellfish" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of shellfish species.

    (14) "Salmon" means all species of the genus Oncorhynchus, except those classified as game fish in Title 77 RCW, and includes:

 

   Scientific Name           Common Name

 

   Oncorhynchus tshawytscha  Chinook salmon

   Oncorhynchus kisutch      Coho salmon

   Oncorhynchus keta         Chum salmon

   Oncorhynchus gorbuscha    Pink salmon

   Oncorhynchus nerka        Sockeye salmon

 

    (15) "Commercial" means related to or connected with buying, selling, or bartering.  Fishing for food fish or shellfish with gear unlawful for fishing for personal use, or possessing food fish or shellfish in excess of the limits permitted for personal use are commercial activities.

    (16) "To process" and its derivatives mean preparing or preserving food fish or shellfish.

    (17) "Personal use" means for the private use of the individual taking the food fish or shellfish and not for sale or barter.

    (18) "Angling gear" means a line attached to a rod and reel capable of being held in hand while landing the fish or a hand-held line operated without rod or reel ((to which are attached no more than two single hooks or one artificial bait with no more than four multiple hooks)).

    (19) "Open season" means those times, manners of taking, and places or waters established by rule of the director for the lawful fishing, taking, or possession of food fish or shellfish.  "Open season" includes the first and last days of the established time.

    (20) "Fishery" means the taking of one or more particular species of food fish or shellfish with particular gear in a particular geographical area.

    (21) "Limited-entry license" means a license subject to a license limitation program established in chapter 75.30 RCW.

    (22) "Seaweed" means marine aquatic plant species that are dependent upon the marine aquatic or tidal environment, and exist in either an attached or free floating form, and includes but is not limited to marine aquatic plants in the classes Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, and Rhodophyta.

 

    Sec. 2.  RCW 75.25.091 and 1993 1st sp.s. c 17 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) A personal use food fish license is required for all persons other than residents under fifteen years of age((, honorably discharged veterans with service-connected disabilities of thirty percent or more who have resided in the state for one year or more, or residents seventy years of age or older)) to fish for, take, or possess food fish for personal use from state waters or offshore waters.  A personal use food fish license is not required under this section to fish for, take, or possess carp, smelt, or albacore.

    (2) The fees for annual personal use food fish licenses include the one dollar regional fisheries enhancement surcharge imposed in RCW 75.50.100 and are as follows:

    (a) For a resident fifteen years of age or older and under seventy years of age, ((seven)) eight dollars; ((and))

    (b) For a resident seventy years of age or older, three dollars; and

    (c) For a nonresident, ((nineteen)) twenty dollars.

    (3) The fee for a ((two-consecutive-day)) three-consecutive-day personal use food fish license is ((four)) five dollars, and includes the one-dollar regional fishery enhancement group surcharge imposed in RCW 75.50.100.

    (4) An annual personal use food fish license is valid for a maximum catch of fifteen salmon, after which another annual personal use food fish license may be purchased.

    (5) An annual personal use food fish license is valid for an annual maximum catch of fifteen sturgeon.  No person may take more than fifteen sturgeon in any calendar year.

 

    Sec. 3.  RCW 75.25.092 and 1993 1st sp.s. c 17 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) A personal use shellfish and seaweed license is required for all persons other than residents under fifteen years of age ((or honorably discharged veterans with service-connected disabilities of thirty percent or more who have resided in the state for one year or more)) to fish for, take, dig for, or possess shellfish or seaweed for personal use from state waters or offshore waters including national park beaches.

    (2) The fees for annual personal use shellfish and seaweed licenses are:

    (a) For a resident fifteen years of age or older and under seventy years of age, five dollars;

    (b) For a resident seventy years of age or older, three dollars; and

    (c) For a nonresident, twenty dollars.

    (3) The fee for a ((two-consecutive-day)) three-consecutive-day personal use shellfish and seaweed license is five dollars.

 

    Sec. 4.  RCW 75.25.110 and 1993 1st sp.s. c 17 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) Any of the recreational fishing licenses required by this chapter shall, upon ((request)) written application, be issued without charge to the following individuals ((upon request)):

    (a) ((Residents under fifteen years of age;

    (b))) Residents who ((submit applications attesting that they)) are ((a person sixty-five years of age or older who is an)) honorably discharged veterans of the United States armed forces and who are sixty-five years of age or older with a service-connected disability ((and who has been a resident of this state for the preceding ninety days));

    (b) Residents who are honorably discharged veterans of the United States armed forces with a thirty percent or more service-connected disability;

    (c) A ((blind)) person who is blind;

    (d) A person with a developmental disability as defined in RCW 71A.10.020 with documentation of the disability from the department of social and health services; and

    (e) A person who is physically handicapped and confined to a wheelchair.

    (2) A ((blind)) person who is blind or a physically handicapped person confined to a wheelchair who has been issued a card for a permanent disability under RCW 46.16.381 may use that card in place of a fishing license.

    (3) Licenses issued at no charge under this section shall be issued from Olympia as provided by rule of the director.

 

    Sec. 5.  RCW 75.25.120 and 1993 1st sp.s. c 17 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

    In concurrent waters of the Columbia river and in Washington coastal territorial waters from the Oregon-Washington boundary to a point five nautical miles north, an Oregon angling license comparable to the Washington personal use food fish license or ((two-consecutive-day)) three-consecutive-day personal use food fish license is valid if Oregon recognizes as valid the Washington personal use food fish license or ((two-consecutive-day)) three-consecutive-day personal use food fish license in comparable Oregon waters.

    If Oregon recognizes as valid the Washington personal use food fish license or ((two-consecutive-day)) three-consecutive-day personal use food fish license southward to Cape Falcon in the coastal territorial waters from the Washington-Oregon boundary and in concurrent waters of the Columbia river then Washington shall recognize a valid Oregon license comparable to the Washington personal use food fish license or ((two-consecutive-day)) three-consecutive-day personal use food fish license northward to Leadbetter Point.

    Oregon licenses are not valid for the taking of food fish when angling in concurrent waters of the Columbia river from the Washington shore.

 

    Sec. 6.  RCW 75.25.150 and 1993 1st sp.s. c 17 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:

    It is unlawful to dig for, fish for, harvest, or possess shellfish ((or)), food fish, or seaweed without the licenses required by this chapter.

 

    Sec. 7.  RCW 75.25.180 and 1993 1st sp.s. c 17 s 10 and 1993 1st sp.s. c 2 s 44 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

    Recreational licenses issued by the department under this chapter are valid for the following periods:

    (1) Recreational licenses issued without charge to persons designated by this chapter are valid for a period of five years((:

    (a) For blind persons;

    (b) For the period of continued state residency for qualified disabled veterans;

    (c) For persons with a developmental disability; and

    (d) For handicapped persons confined to a wheelchair who have been issued a permanent disability card)).

    (2) ((Two-consecutive-day)) Three-consecutive-day personal use food fish and shellfish and seaweed licenses expire at midnight on the second day following the validation date written on the license by the license dealer, except ((two-consecutive-day)) three-consecutive-day personal use food fish and shellfish and seaweed licenses validated for December 30 or 31 expire at midnight on ((that date)) December 31.

    (3) ((A personal use food fish license is valid for a maximum catch of fifteen salmon, after which another personal use food fish license may be purchased.  A)) An annual personal use food fish license or annual personal use shellfish and seaweed license is valid only for the calendar year for which it is issued.

    (((4) A personal use food fish license is valid for an annual maximum catch of fifteen sturgeon.

    (5) Personal use shellfish licenses are valid for the calendar year for which they are issued.))

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8.  A new section is added to chapter 75.25 RCW to read as follows:

    The director shall by rule establish the conditions for issuance of duplicate licenses, permits, tags, stamps, and catch record cards required by this chapter.  The fee for a duplicate provided under this section is ten dollars for those licenses that are ten dollars and over, and for those licenses under ten dollars the duplicate fee is the value of the license.

 

    Sec. 9.  RCW 77.32.101 and 1991 sp.s. c 7 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) A combination hunting and fishing license allows a resident holder to hunt and fish for game fish throughout the state.  The fee for this license is twenty-nine dollars.

    (2) A hunting license allows the holder to hunt throughout the state.  The fee for this license is fifteen dollars for residents and one hundred fifty dollars for nonresidents.

    (3) A fishing license allows the holder to fish for game fish throughout the state.  The fee for this license is seventeen dollars for residents fifteen years of age or older and under seventy years of age, three dollars for residents seventy years of age or older, twenty dollars for nonresidents under fifteen years of age, and forty-eight dollars for nonresidents fifteen years of age or older.

    (4) A steelhead fishing license allows the holder of a combination hunting and fishing license or a fishing license issued under this section to fish for steelhead throughout the state.  The fee for this license is eighteen dollars.

    (5) A juvenile steelhead license allows residents under fifteen years of age and nonresidents under fifteen years of age who hold a fishing license to fish for steelhead throughout the state.  The fee for this license is six dollars and entitles the holder to take up to five steelhead at which time another juvenile steelhead license may be purchased.  Any person who purchases a juvenile steelhead license is prohibited from purchasing a steelhead license for the same calendar year.

 

    Sec. 10.  RCW 77.32.161 and 1991 sp.s. c 7 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

    A nonresident or resident may obtain a temporary fishing license, which allows the holder to fish ((throughout the state for three consecutive days)) for game fish throughout the state for either three days or for one day.  The fee for ((this)) a three day license is nine dollars for residents and seventeen dollars for nonresidents.  The fee for a one day license is three dollars for residents and seven dollars for nonresidents.  The resident temporary fishing license is not valid for an eight consecutive day period beginning on the opening day of the lowland lake fishing season.

 

    Sec. 11.  RCW 77.32.230 and 1991 sp.s. c 7 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) A person sixty-five years of age or older who is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States armed forces having a service-connected disability and who ((has been)) is a resident ((for five years)) may receive upon written application a ((state)) hunting and fishing license free of charge.

    (2) Residents who are honorably discharged veterans of the United States armed forces with a thirty percent or more service-connected disability may receive upon written application a hunting and fishing license free of charge.

    (3) A ((blind)) person who is blind, or a person with a developmental disability as defined in RCW 71A.10.020 with documentation of the disability from the department of social and health services, or a physically handicapped person confined to a wheelchair may receive upon written application a fishing license free of charge.

    (((3))) (4) A ((blind)) person who is blind or a physically handicapped person confined to a wheelchair who has been issued a card for a permanent disability under RCW 46.16.381 may use that card in place of a fishing license ((unless tags, permits, stamps, or punchcards are required by this chapter)).

    (((4))) (5) A fishing license is not required for ((persons)) residents under the age of fifteen.

    (((5))) (6) Tags, permits, stamps, and ((punchcards)) steelhead licenses required by this chapter shall be purchased separately by persons receiving a free or reduced-fee license.

    (7) Licenses issued at no charge under this section shall be issued from Olympia as provided by rule of the director, and are valid for five years.

 

    Sec. 12.  RCW 77.32.256 and 1991 sp.s. c 7 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

    The director shall by rule establish the conditions for issuance of duplicate licenses, rebates, permits, tags, stamps, and ((punchcards)) catch record cards required by this chapter.  The fee for a duplicate provided under this section is ten dollars for those licenses that are ten dollars and over, and for those licenses under ten dollars the duplicate fee is the value of the license.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 13.  All licenses issued by the department of fisheries under Title 75 RCW or issued by the department of wildlife under Title 77 RCW shall be recognized as valid by the department of fish and wildlife until the stated expiration date.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 14.  This act shall take effect January 1, 1995, except for section 13 of this act, which shall take effect July 1, 1994.

 


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