Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Apprentice Hunting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee withdraws do-pass motion on apprentice hunting/trapping bill amid youth-safety concerns
Summary
The committee withdrew a do-pass motion on House Bill 96 after members raised concerns about language that could expand apprentice hunting privileges (potentially for 10-year-olds) to additional species; members agreed to work on amendments before taking further action.
During executive action the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee withdrew a do-pass motion on House Bill 96 after members raised safety and scope concerns about apprentice hunting and trapping provisions.
Vice Chair read the title and moved a do-pass recommendation on a bill that would create a trapping apprentice certificate program and revise the apprentice hunting certificate to include trapping. Representative Renan Wolff and other members said certain provisions went further than intended, specifically questioning language that could allow very young apprentices to hunt species such as black bear or mountain lion.
Representative Renan Wolff said committee members "had 3 or 4 different emails" and that "letting 10 year olds go ahead and go out and hunt... is jumping the gun to me." Representative Koenigauer and others asked whether the language could be amended to retain prior exclusions for high-risk species; Representative Fielder said he would be comfortable with amending lines 11–18 to leave the existing species exclusions in place.
Given those objections the sponsor withdrew the do-pass motion to allow time to develop a friendly amendment. The committee agreed to revisit executive action after staff and the sponsor address the drafting concerns.
No final vote was taken on HB96 during the session; the bill will return to executive action once sponsors and staff reconcile the apprentice hunting language.
