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Senate passes bill making unpaid fish-and-game fines bar license applications; misdemeanor for attempts to buy
Summary
Senate Bill 1003 passed the Idaho Senate 25-10 to make persons with unpaid Fish and Game fines ineligible to apply for hunting, fishing or trapping licenses until fines are paid; attempting to purchase a license while ineligible would be a misdemeanor. Sponsors cited roughly $300,000 in fines in arrears and 185 offenders.
BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Senate on Feb. 6 passed Senate Bill 1003 (listed in the record as 10 o 3) to make persons with unpaid Idaho Fish and Game fines ineligible to apply for hunting, fishing or trapping licenses, tags or permits until applicable fines are paid. The measure passed by a roll-call vote of 25 ayes and 10 nays.
Senator Foreman, who opened debate for the bill, said the legislation amends Idaho Code section 36-1402 to make any person with outstanding fines for violations of Idaho fish and game laws ineligible to apply for licenses, including lifetime license certificate holders, until fines are paid. Under the bill, anyone ineligible who attempts to purchase or renew a hunting, fishing, or trapping license would commit a misdemeanor.
Foreman described operational details: vendor point-of-sale systems would display a pop-up advising the purchaser to contact Idaho Fish and Game if the would-be buyer is ineligible; the same pop-up would appear on smartphones using the Go Outdoors Idaho application for renewal attempts. The change would not apply to convicted violators who are on an approved time-payment plan that is not 90 or more days in arrears.
On the floor, Foreman said there were roughly $300,000 in Fish and Game fines in arrears involving about 185 offenders, and that 97 of those people had a valid Fish and Game-issued license in 2024. He said Fish and Game fines are collected by county courts and that enforcement coordination occurred with Idaho Fish and Game's enforcement branch.
After closing debate, the Senate conducted a roll-call. The tally showed 25 in favor and 10 opposed; the bill will be transmitted to the House.
The bill makes statutory changes to eligibility for licenses and adds misdemeanor penalties for attempting to acquire a license while ineligible; it does not change how fines are collected (county courts remain the collector). The bill assigns implementation responsibilities to Idaho Fish and Game for vendor-system checks and coordination with courts.
