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Committee advances bill to criminalize interference with game cameras
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Summary
The House Game and Fisheries Committee reported House Bill 800, which would make it a criminal offense to disrupt trail cameras and other wildlife-recording devices, impose fines of $1,000–$1,500, allow up to three months’ imprisonment, and revoke hunting privileges for one year; the bill was reported with no negative votes.
The House Game and Fisheries Committee reported House Bill 800, which would criminalize interference with trail cameras and other devices used to record wildlife, impose fines between $1,000 and $1,500, allow imprisonment up to three months and authorize revocation of hunting privileges for one year; the bill would take effect 60 days after enactment.
Committee staff member Griffin summarized the proposal as one that would “criminalize interference of trail cameras and devices used to record wildlife visually,” and described the penalties the bill sets out.
Chair Maloney said the measure is intended primarily to address theft and intentional destruction of property but cautioned the committee to be aware of related privacy and civil‑dispute issues. “Most individuals who participate in this kind of theft are usually up to something else,” Chair Maloney said, adding that cameras placed on private property have spawned litigation: “there is a case against the game commission that has to do with them placing cameras on private property, and that's in court.”
Griffin and the committee discussed that the bill targets people who remove or damage cameras intended for lawful wildlife observation and hunting; the text reported to the committee includes the fines, possible jail time and the one‑year hunting‑privilege revocation as penalties. Committee members also raised privacy concerns related to cameras on state game lands and private property; Chair Maloney said those concerns exist alongside the theft issue but framed HB800 as addressing criminal damage and theft.
On a voice vote the committee reported the bill from committee; the chair stated there were no negative votes. The transcript does not record a formal roll‑call tally or a named mover/second for the motion to report the bill.
No statutory citations were read into the record during the committee’s discussion, and the committee did not adopt amendments on the floor of the meeting. The committee moved immediately to a second bill after reporting HB800.
