Committee advances bill to create bait-privilege license for white-tailed deer to calendar and rules

The Finance, Ways and Means Committee voted to advance House Bill 938 to the calendar and rules committee on April 22, 2025, after Representative Castle described the measure as creating a "bait privilege license" for hunting white-tailed deer and said it would bring revenue to the state.

Representative Castle, the bill sponsor, said: "House Bill 9 38 creates a bait privilege license for the hunting of white tailed deer. Essentially, what we're doing here is we're trying to create a process and create some teeth that, you know, protect not only our hunters, but our wildlife as well. It's passed the senate 27 to 6, and, it's got a brings in $6,500,000 a year to the state." The committee then moved the bill to calendar and rules; the clerk reported 25 ayes and 0 nos.

A committee member asked whether the bill would apply in chronic wasting disease (CWD) zones. Representative Cappley responded that he did not believe it applied in CWD zones and said he would "double check that." The transcript does not include a final determination on that point.

The committee discussion recorded in the transcript was brief and focused on the bill's intent and potential fiscal impact; no amendments were recorded during this meeting. The bill's Senate record (as stated by the sponsor) was 27-6 in favor; the committee advanced the measure on a unanimous recorded committee tally of 25-0.