Committee reviews H.86 changes to move many Fish & Wildlife violations to civil process; members seek objective criteria and Fish & Wildlife input

The House Judiciary Committee discussed draft language in H.86 that would shift default jurisdiction for many Department of Fish and Wildlife violations from the criminal division of Superior Court to the Judicial Bureau as minor civil violations, unless objective criteria indicate criminal referral.

Michael Grady, Office of Legislative Council, presented a draft judiciary amendment intended for the environment committee and summarized the proposed objective triggers. The amendment would treat an alleged Fish & Wildlife violation as a minor violation provided objective, factual conditions existed when the violation was issued: the offender had no prior history; no evidence was seized in relation to the violation; no criminal warrant was used in relation to the violation; and there was no possibility of…