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Committee lets wildlife agency use discretion on antelope license allocations
Summary
Senate Bill 21‑55 was amended to change a license allocation requirement from “must” to “may,” giving the Game and Fish Department more flexibility when local license allocations would restrict access.
The Energy and Natural Resources Committee amended Senate Bill 21‑55 on Thursday to give the North Dakota Game and Fish Department discretion in how certain antelope hunt licenses are allocated.
Committee discussion focused on page two, line 27 of the bill where staff proposed changing the word “must” to “may” to allow Game and Fish flexibility in units where allocations are tight and the prior language would have restricted opening seasons. A committee member reported discussing the change with Game and Fish and said the agency supports replacing “must” with “may.”
Representative Doctor moved to strike “must” and insert “may.” Representative Anderson seconded the motion; the committee adopted the amendment by voice vote and then voted to give the bill a do‑pass recommendation as amended. The clerk’s roll call recorded “yes” votes from members present; the motion carried.
The transcript shows no additional discussion of implementation details, license counts or specific hunting units. The amendment is procedural and gives the wildlife agency discretion to manage license allocations under the revised statutory language.
