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Committee approves Fish and Game housekeeping bill, adds 'sea duck hunting area' carve-out
Summary
The House Fish and Game Committee approved SB 32 with an amendment that narrows a provision allowing shooting of injured or crippled waterfowl from a motorized craft to apply specifically "in the sea duck hunting area." The bill also updates notice posting to include newspaper websites and makes other Fish and Game rule clarifications.
Senator Howard Pearl and Fish and Game staff described SB 32 to the House Fish and Game Committee as a departmental housekeeping bill that would modernize public notice requirements and harmonize state rules with federal regulations.
"This would allow the department to post public hearing notices required by law to be posted digitally on a newspaper website," Senator Howard Pearl said, noting many publications are now online-only. He told the committee the bill also removes the word "brook" from a trout reference so statutory language covers all trout species, authorizes the Fish and Game executive director to set certain fisheries habitat fees by rule, and would repeal the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission because its authorities are now established under rule.
Fish and Game staff asked the committee to add a technical amendment clarifying where the law should allow the shooting of injured or crippled waterfowl from a motorboat under power. Dan Bergeron, Chief of the Wildlife Division, explained the department sked that the exception be limited to the "sea duck hunting area" to mirror federal practice and avoid unintended inland applications. He said sea ducks are diving species that can sink and be irretrievable unless a motorized craft can approach them.
"The provisions of this section shall not apply to shooting of injured or crippled waterfowl from a motorboat under power in the sea duck hunting area," Dan Bergeron told the committee when offering the amendment language.
Representative Darby and other committee members questioned the change allowing notices to be posted on newspaper websites, noting some residents still rely on print newspapers; Bergeron said the change was intended to give the department flexibility, not to preclude continued print posting where available.
The committee approved an amendment that inserts the phrase "in the sea duck hunting area" into the injured-or-crippled-waterfowl provision. The amendment passed in committee, and the committee then voted to recommend the amended bill (committee recommendation: Ought to Pass Amended). Recorded committee votes showed the amendment passed and the bill recommendation passed by recorded vote; the committee placed the bill on consent.
The bill as amended now moves forward with the committee endorsement. If enacted, the bill will allow Fish and Game to post certain legally required notices on newspaper websites, align state and federal rules on retrieving crippled sea ducks, broaden trout references in statute, authorize the executive director to set fisheries habitat fees by rule, and repeal the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission where its functions have been moved to rule.
