Committee reviews bill to require Aug. 15 deadline for hunting and fishing rules and guides

Representative Brad Slaw introduced House Bill 44029 to the House Committee on Natural Resources, saying the bill would require the Natural Resources Commission to adopt any hunting and trapping orders by Aug. 15 and would require the Department of Natural Resources to publish the annual hunting and fishing guide by that same date.

"This bill would ensure that the users of our natural resources had sufficient time and ability to be knowledgeable of the rules that they have to follow," Slaw said, arguing that late adoption of rules has sometimes meant rules took effect after a season began.

The measure would make rules adopted after the Aug. 15 deadline effective for the following hunting or fishing season and would require the DNR to ensure hard-copy guides are available to both "sportsmen and sportswomen," Slaw said. He told the committee his office is working with the department on a substitute and that the department "supports the intent of this bill in its concept."

Chris Semmernack, legislative liaison for the Department of Natural Resources, told the committee the department does not yet have a final position but is working with Rep. Slaw on a substitute that would preserve the bill's intent while building in lead time for staff work. "We currently do not have a position on the bill as we are working with Rep. Slaw on a potential substitute to get to supportive," Semmernack said. He explained staff need time for drafting, design and printing and that the department is considering an earlier internal deadline (June or July) for Natural Resources Commission passage so staff can incorporate adopted rules before guides are printed.

Semmernack also addressed whether the bill would constrain emergency action. He said the department is currently permitted to issue emergency orders under part 411 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) and that the substitute language being developed would explicitly preserve that authority. As an example, he described canceling a Black Lake sturgeon season last winter because unsafe ice conditions made harvest and staff operations unsafe.

Committee members asked procedural and access questions. Representative Wirtz asked where printed guides are distributed; Semmernack and Slaw said guides are distributed primarily through license vendors and are also available online. Vice Chair McFall asked whether emergency rules would still apply midseason; Semmernack said emergency orders would not be constrained by the Aug. 15 effective-date rule and the substitute would include language to protect that ability.

No formal committee vote on HB 44029 was recorded in the transcript. Slaw said he expects to circulate a substitute and continue working with the department.

Next steps: the sponsor and DNR will continue negotiating substitute language to set an operational timeline that preserves emergency authority while giving staff time to publish guides before seasons begin.