Committee advances bill to bar license purchases by hunters behind on restitution, amid mixed testimony

Senate Bill 1003 was presented to the Resources and Conservation Committee by Representative Petzke as a measure to prevent people who are behind on Fish and Game restitution from buying hunting and fishing licenses or tags.

Representative Petzke said the bill addresses a population of people who remain delinquent on restitution but continue to purchase licenses; he described the change as "a pretty fair thing" so that people who buy tags are also current on fines. The sponsor said roughly the number of people affected was in the hundreds.

Greg Wooten, chief of enforcement for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, provided the most specific figures and operational detail to the committee. Wooten said the department currently has 185 offenders owing $282,622 in restitution — roughly $1,500 per person if averaged — and that about half of those people had an active hunting license in 2024. He explained how current statute and practice interact with the department's collections process: Fish and Game runs a roughly 120-day collection process that begins with multiple invoice letters and culminates with a demand letter from the Attorney General's office before accounts are referred to collections. Collections agencies may add fees; Wooten said they can charge up to 33 percent in addition to the restitution amount.

Wooten told the committee that not all fines carry mandatory license revocation; magistrate courts can impose revocations of one to three years on misdemeanor violations, with three years the maximum magistrates can impose. He also said there is a 45-day appeal window following conviction or guilty plea during which license-revocation steps would not occur. Wooten described that counties vary in how they collect and forward restitution to Fish and Game; some counties collect and forward fines themselves, while others leave restitution collection primarily to the department.

Colton Bennett of Lataw County testified in opposition, arguing the bill expands power held by an unelected agency, burdening a constitutional right to hunt and fish and putting pressure on defendants who are appealing convictions. Bennett said shifting suspension authority to the department could discourage appeals because paying fines can moot an appeal.

Nick Fasiano, executive director of the Idaho Wildlife Federation, testified in support, calling the bill a "straightforward enforcement mechanism" that would require people properly adjudicated to pay restitution or be on a path to pay before again being in lawful standing to purchase licenses. Fasiano said he was satisfied the bill's mechanics would not unintentionally block people from drawing or participating in time-sensitive processes due to timing issues.

A few committee members asked technical questions about outstanding fine sizes and the department's collection and revocation processes. Wooten said some restitution amounts can be large because statute multiplies per-animal restitution (for example, $400 per deer and $750 per elk under the code, with later offenses compounding). He also said there is a 20-year statute of limitations for collecting some older restitution balances and that the department has on occasion had accounts run out of collectibility.

Representative Souder moved the committee send Senate Bill 1003 to the House with a do pass recommendation. After hearing public testimony and questioning, the committee approved the motion. The transcript records at least one no vote—Representative Tanner was recorded as voting "no"—but no complete roll-call tally was recorded in the committee minutes provided by the transcript.

The bill includes language exempting violators who are on approved time payment plans that are not 90 days or more in arrears; the committee discussion referenced that provision appearing on the last page of the bill (line 45) as a statutory exemption.