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Senate committee pulls feral hog bill for amendment over landowner authorization
Summary
Lawmakers reviewed a feral hog management bill that would allow administrative penalties and fund eradication but paused action after questions that lessees, not only owners, could authorize release of hogs onto private property; sponsor agreed to remove the contested language and bring the bill back.
The Senate Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development Committee reviewed House Bill 16‑36, legislation aimed at advancing the state—s feral hog eradication efforts by authorizing the Livestock and Poultry Commission to impose administrative penalties and directing penalties into eradication work.
Secretary Wes Ward of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture told the committee the bill implements recommendations of the Feral Hog Eradication Task Force and allows an administrative process ‘‘because it is a more efficient and timely process to work through than criminal prosecution’’ (Wes Ward).
Senator Beckham raised a specific concern about language on page 4 that would permit ‘‘the release into the wild only if with the permission of the owner or lessee of the property,’’ arguing that a lessee should not be able to authorize release on someone else—s land. Senator Beckham said the problem is that a lessee may have authority ‘‘to establish feral hogs on another person's property’’ and asked that the permission language be struck.
Representative Vaught acknowledged the concern and agreed to amend the bill. Vaught told the committee, ‘‘I'll amend it. I'll pull it down and amend that out’’ (Representative Vaught). The bill was pulled from consideration so the sponsor could make the change and return the measure at a later date.
No formal vote was recorded on House Bill 16‑36 in the transcript; the action recorded is the sponsor—s decision to withdraw the bill temporarily for amendment and to bring it back next week for further consideration.
