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Committee votes to repeal deer-specific firearm statute as code cleanup
Summary
The Senate Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development Committee passed Senate Bill 15 to repeal an Arkansas statute that applied specifically to deer hunting; sponsors and committee members said other criminal and civil statutes remain available to address reckless or negligent firearm discharges.
At a meeting of the Senate Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development Committee, members voted to pass Senate Bill 15, a proposal to repeal a statute that singled out deer hunting for penalties related to firearm discharge, committee members said.
Sponsor Senator Justin Boyd said the repeal was a recommendation of a Game and Fish subcommittee review and that the statute appeared to date from a time when other big-game hunting (elk, bear) was not legal in Arkansas, making the provision anachronistic.
"This just to me seems to be extraneous and it was a recommendation of the task force to repeal this," Senator Justin Boyd said, adding that testimony from Game and Fish indicated the agency "has never used this statute." Boyd told the committee the repeal would not remove civil or criminal avenues for addressing dangerous conduct: other statutes on reckless discharge and criminal liability remain on the books.
Committee members asked whether the repeal would eliminate civil penalties or narrow prosecutorial options. Senator Leddy and Senator Hickey pressed on the distinction between "reckless" and "negligent," and Boyd acknowledged he was not an attorney but said reckless generally carries a higher legal standard than negligent and that prosecutors retain multiple statutory tools for severe incidents. Boyd said the bill's intent was to remove an isolated statute that, in his view, singled out deer hunting without providing added legal utility.
No members of the public signed up to speak for or against the bill, and the committee moved to pass SB 15 by voice vote after a motion and second. The committee record shows no named mover or seconder; members answered "aye" and the chair declared the bill passed.
