Senate panel reviews technical corrections to Fish & Wildlife point system; committee urges clearer language

Candace Smith, general counsel for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee that H.298 is largely technical and intended to correct cross-references and rebalance enforcement-point assignments in 10 VSA §4502.

"This technical corrections bill is... really it's just technical for the most part. Very technical corrections," Smith said, describing moves that shift some violations between 5, 10 and 20 points and update rule section references.

Why it matters: 10 VSA §4502 underpins the department's enforcement regime; accumulated points can lead to loss of a hunting or fishing license for set periods. Smith said the bill moves some subsections (for example certain methods-of-take in deer and turkey rules) into different point categories to equalize enforcement across species and to reflect practical enforcement concerns, such as injured animals from incorrect implements.

Committee members pressed for clearer drafting in multiple places. On the vehicle-shooting language the bill pulls subsection 4705A (shooting from a motor vehicle) into the 20-point category while other 4705 provisions remain at 10 points. Senators said that leaving a subsection referenced in a section title but moved in point classification risks confusing readers and the public.

"Should we change the title so it's not confusing?" one senator asked as staff walked through the crossover references. Fish and Wildlife staff agreed to coordinate with Legislative Council to tighten the phrasing so the statutory title and the subsection placement are not misleading.

Other substantive clarifications raised during the hearing:

- Deer and turkey rules: The department proposed reclassifying multiple general violations (method-of-take, feathered and muzzleloader-season method requirements, and feeding prohibitions) into the 10-point category to align with other big-game rules; members sought clarity about how feeding bans affect non-hunters (fines) versus licensed hunters (license points).

- Bear-management and court ruling: Staff said a recent superior-court decision narrowed probable cause for some season/WMU-taking charges. To preserve the ability to charge serious season violations as 20-point offenses, the department plans to add explicit seasonal cross-references to the bear and deer 20-point lists.

- License duration (section 2): The bill would allow the commissioner discretion to issue some annual licenses (likely fishing) to expire 365 days from issuance rather than on December 31. Multiple senators asked to tighten the statutory language so the change applies by class of license (for example "fishing licenses") rather than leaving open-ended discretion on a per-applicant basis.

- Provisional fees for new tags: The department requested authority to charge provisional fees for additional tags or permits created by rule (for example a second bear tag) until the Legislature approves a fee; the proposed language ties the provisional fee to be "equal or similar" to the same big-game fee. Senators urged clearer limits (for instance "equal to or less than") to avoid vagueness.

What happened next: Fish and Wildlife agreed to follow up with Legislative Council and to provide clarified line edits (including corrected appendix line numbers and removal/addition of specific cross-references). The committee set follow-up work to refine statutory wording before advancement.

The committee did not take a vote on H.298 at the hearing. The department said it would return with corrected language and supplemental materials (plain-language digests and schedule-of-fines examples) to help legislators and the public interpret the point changes.