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Committee hears HB 107 to align commercial wildlife permits, department recommends do pass; fur-dealer record-keeping amendment planned
Summary
House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee heard department testimony on HB 107, which would align expiration dates and extend some commercial wildlife permits to five years; the department recommended a do-pass.
The House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee heard testimony on House Bill 107, a department-request housekeeping bill that would align expiration dates for a range of commercial wildlife permits—taxidermists, fur farms, sanctuaries, menageries and controlled-species permits—and make certain commercial licenses valid for five years rather than one.
Ron Howell, chief of law enforcement for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, told the committee the change “makes the expiration dates consistent” with other FWP licenses and that the bill “establishes permit fees in statute rather than by department rule and clarifies language pertaining to record keeping.” Howell said the statutory permit fees as drafted are equal to the current fee structure and that the department recommends a do-pass on HB 107.
Committee members questioned the scope of the record-keeping requirement. Representative Sharp asked whether the requirement for dealers to “keep a written record” meant a paper-only log; Howell replied that paper or electronic records are acceptable and that the department provides a log book for convenience. Representative Fielder raised concern about a change lengthening fur-dealer record retention from one year to five years; Warden Captain Phil Kilbreath explained that recordkeeping was extended to match the proposed five-year license term. Later in the day committee members and department staff agreed informally that an amendment keeping dealer record-keeping to one year would be acceptable. Representative Frantz asked whether the department would be able to inspect records across the license term; department staff said records are kept to allow inspections or investigations during the license period.
Scott Boulanger of the Montana Conservation Society expressed support for the bill. No opponents appeared at the hearing.
As of the committee record, the department recommended a do-pass on HB 107, and committee members signaled they intend to offer an amendment to change fur-dealer record retention from five years to one year before a final committee action. No committee vote on a final bill text was recorded on the hearing day.
