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A51, R71, S575
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Campsen, McElveen and Martin
Document Path: l:\s-res\gec\029turk.kmm.gec.docx
Companion/Similar bill(s): 4318
Introduced in the Senate on February 27, 2019
Introduced in the House on April 3, 2019
Last Amended on May 8, 2019
Passed by the General Assembly on May 9, 2019
Governor's Action: May 16, 2019, Signed
Summary: Hunting and taking of wild turkey
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2/27/2019 Senate Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 15)
2/27/2019 Senate Referred to Committee on Fish, Game and Forestry
(Senate Journal-page 15)
3/20/2019 Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment Fish, Game
and Forestry (Senate Journal-page 12)
3/26/2019 Senate Amended (Senate Journal-page 29)
3/26/2019 Senate Read second time (Senate Journal-page 29)
3/27/2019 Scrivener's error corrected
3/27/2019 Senate Committee Amendment Withdrawn (Senate Journal-page 18)
4/2/2019 Senate Read third time and sent to House
(Senate Journal-page 20)
4/2/2019 Senate Roll call Ayes-44 Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 20)
4/3/2019 House Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 14)
4/3/2019 House Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources
and Environmental Affairs (House Journal-page 14)
5/1/2019 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment Agriculture,
Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
(House Journal-page 32)
5/7/2019 House Debate adjourned until Wed., 5-8-19
(House Journal-page 24)
5/8/2019 House Amended (House Journal-page 48)
5/8/2019 House Read second time (House Journal-page 48)
5/8/2019 House Roll call Yeas-112 Nays-0 (House Journal-page 53)
5/9/2019 House Read third time and returned to Senate with amendments
(House Journal-page 7)
5/9/2019 Senate Concurred in House amendment and enrolled
(Senate Journal-page 94)
5/9/2019 Senate Roll call Ayes-38 Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 86)
5/13/2019 Ratified R 71
5/16/2019 Signed By Governor
5/31/2019 Effective date See Act for Effective Date
6/5/2019 Act No. 51
View the latest legislative information at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
2/27/2019
3/20/2019
3/26/2019
3/27/2019
5/1/2019
5/8/2019
(A51, R71, S575)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 50-11-544, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO WILD TURKEY HUNTING AND TRANSPORTATION TAGS, SO AS TO DELETE THE TERM "WILD TURKEY TRANSPORTATION TAGS" AND REPLACE IT WITH THE TERM "WILD TURKEY TAG", TO PROVIDE THE TAG WILL NO LONGER BE ISSUED AT NO COST, AND TO REVISE THE NUMBER OF TAGS RESIDENTS AND NONRESIDENTS MAY OBTAIN OR POSSESS; TO AMEND SECTION 50-11-580, RELATING TO THE SEASON FOR THE HUNTING AND TAKING OF MALE WILD TURKEY, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF YOUTH TURKEY HUNTING WEEKEND, BAG LIMITS, AND AN ANNUAL REPORT, SO AS TO REVISE THE SEASON FOR HUNTING AND TAKING A MALE WILD TURKEY, TO REVISE THE BAG LIMITS, TO DELETE THE PROVISION ESTABLISHING YOUTH TURKEY HUNTING WEEKEND, TO PROVIDE FOR THE TAKING OF FEMALE WILD TURKEYS, AND TO DELETE AN OBSOLETE PROVISION; BY ADDING SECTION 50-11-590 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR YOUTH TURKEY HUNTING WEEKEND; TO AMEND SECTION 50-9-920, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO REVENUES FROM THE SALE OF PRIVILEGES, LICENSES, PERMITS, AND TAGS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT REVENUE GENERATED FROM RESIDENT AND NONRESIDENT WILD TURKEY TAGS SHALL BE USED FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES; BY ADDING SECTION 50-9-640 SO AS TO PROVIDE FEES FOR WILD TURKEY TAGS; BY ADDING SECTION 50-11-546 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR AN ELECTRONIC HARVEST REPORTING SYSTEM, AND REQUIREMENTS FOR REPORTING THE HARVEST OF A WILD TURKEY; TO AMEND SECTION 50-9-1120, RELATING TO THE POINT SYSTEM ESTABLISHED FOR VIOLATIONS OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF LAW, SO AS TO PROVIDE FAILING TO REPORT THE HARVEST OF WILD TURKEY IS A SIX POINT VIOLATION; TO REPEAL SECTION 50-11-520 RELATING TO WILD TURKEY SEASON AND THE DECLARATION OF OPEN OR CLOSED SEASONS; AND TO REPEAL SECTION 7 OF ACT 41 OF 2015 RELATING TO THE HUNTING AND TAKING OF WILD TURKEY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Wild turkey tags
SECTION 1. Section 50-11-544 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 50-11-544. A person who hunts wild turkeys is required to possess a wild turkey tag issued by the department. All turkeys taken must be tagged before being moved from the point of kill. All tags must be validated as prescribed by the department before a turkey is moved from the point of kill. No resident may obtain or possess more than three wild turkey tags, and no nonresident may obtain or possess more than two wild turkey tags."
Wild turkey hunting season
SECTION 2. Section 50-11-580 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 50-11-580. (A) The season for hunting and taking a male wild turkey is:
(1) in Game Zones 1 and 2, April 1 through May 10; and
(2) in Game Zones 3 and 4, March 22 through April 30.
(B) The season bag limit for male wild turkeys is three statewide for residents and two statewide for nonresidents. The daily bag limit is one, provided that:
(1) only one male wild turkey may be taken from April 1 through April 10 from within Game Zones 1 and 2; and
(2) only one male wild turkey may be taken from March 22 through March 31 from within Game Zones 3 and 4.
(C) It is unlawful for a person to take a female wild turkey unless authorized by the department pursuant to Section 50-11-500(3).
(D) The department shall provide an annual report on wild turkey resources in South Carolina to the Chairman of the Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee and the Chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee."
Youth Turkey Hunting Weekend
SECTION 3. Article 3, Chapter 11, Title 50 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 50-11-590. (A) The Saturday and Sunday preceding the start of a game zone turkey season is declared to be 'Youth Turkey Hunting Weekend' within the game zone for youth turkey hunters under eighteen years of age.
(B) A license or tag requirement is waived for a youth turkey hunter during Youth Turkey Hunting Weekend.
(C) The bag limit during Youth Turkey Hunting Weekend is one male wild turkey for the weekend that shall count toward the season bag limit. A turkey harvest must be reported to the electronic harvest reporting system pursuant to the provisions of Section 50-11-546.
(D) Youth turkey hunters who have not completed the hunter education program pursuant to Section 50-9-310, and who hunt during Youth Turkey Hunting Weekend, must be accompanied by an adult who is at least twenty-one years of age. An adult may not harvest or attempt to harvest turkeys during Youth Turkey Hunting Weekend but is permitted to call turkeys for a youth turkey hunter."
Resident and nonresident wild turkey tags
SECTION 4. Section 50-9-920(B) of the 1976 Code is amended by adding a new item to read:
"(13) resident and nonresident wild turkey tags shall only be used for the following purposes:
(a) the funding of wild turkey scientific research on public lands and private lands with the consent of landowners;
(b) the improvement of the wild turkey habitat and hunting opportunities for wild turkeys on public lands;
(c) wild turkey predator control;
(d) the enforcement of the wild turkey hunting laws and regulations; and
(e) the printing and mailing of the wild turkey tags."
Wild turkey tag fees
SECTION 5. Article 6, Chapter 9, Title 50 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 50-9-640. (A) For the privilege of hunting wild turkey, in addition to the required hunting license and big game permit, a person must possess a wild turkey tag issued in the person's name. The fee for a:
(1) resident is five dollars for three tags, one dollar of which may be retained by the license sales vendor; and
(2) nonresident is one hundred dollars for two tags, one dollar of which may be retained by the license sales vendor.
(B) There is no cost for wild turkey tags for persons under the age of sixteen, lifetime licensees, and gratis licensees upon request to the department."
Electronic harvest reporting system
SECTION 6. Article 3, Chapter 11, Title 50 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 50-11-546. (A) In order to document the harvest of wild turkeys and to assist with the enforcement of seasons, methods of harvest, and bag limits, the department must implement an electronic harvest reporting system.
(B) A person who harvests a wild turkey must report the harvest to the electronic harvest reporting system as prescribed by the department. A harvest report must be submitted by midnight of the day a wild turkey is taken unless a person is incapable of accessing the reporting system, in which case a report must be submitted prior to the carcass leaving the person's possession.
(C) Upon completion of the harvest reporting process, a harvest report confirmation number will be provided by the department, which must be recorded by the person submitting the harvest report.
(D) The department must promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this section, including the methods of telephonic and electronic reporting, contents of the report, and recording and maintenance of the harvest report confirmation number.
(E) The department is prohibited from requesting or acquiring the geolocation data of a person submitting a harvest report through electronic means and from requesting a person to self-report location information to the harvest reporting system more specific than the county in which a turkey is harvested.
(F) There is no cost to a person for reporting a harvest, and the department may exempt the harvest reporting requirement for persons who harvest wild turkeys under specific conditions or department programs.
(G) A person who violates this section or provisions established by the department for electronic harvest reporting is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than twenty-five dollars."
Points assigned for failing to report wild turkey harvest
SECTION 7. Section 50-9-1120(2) of the 1976 Code is amended by adding an appropriately lettered item at the end to read:
"( ) failing to report the harvest of wild turkey as required by Section 50-11-546: 6."
Repeal
SECTION 8. Section 50-11-520 of the 1976 Code is repealed.
Repeal
SECTION 9. SECTION 7 of Act 41 of 2015 is repealed.
Time effective
SECTION 10. (A) SECTIONS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9 take effect on July 1, 2019.
(B) SECTION 6 of this act takes effect on July 1, 2020.
(C) SECTION 7 of this act takes effect on July 1, 2021.
Ratified the 13th day of May, 2019.
Approved the 16th day of May, 2019.
This web page was last updated on June 20, 2019 at 10:38 AM