GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2017
H 4
HOUSE BILL 559*
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/24/17
Senate State and Local Government Committee Substitute Adopted 6/6/17
Senate Rules and Operations of the Senate Committee Substitute Adopted 6/14/17
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Short Title: Outdoor Heritage Enhanced. |
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Sponsors: |
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Referred to: |
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April 5, 2017
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO expand the use of firearms for hunting of wild animals AND UPLAND GAME BIRDS on sunday and to allow hunting of migratory birds on sunday.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 103‑2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 103‑2. Method of take when hunting on Sunday.
(a) Any landowner or member
of the landowner's family, or any person with written permission from the
landowner, may may, subject to rules established by the Wildlife
Resources Commission, hunt wild animals and upland game birds with
the use of firearms on Sunday on the landowner's property, except that all of
the following limitations apply:
(1) Hunting on Sunday between 9:30 A.M. and 12:30
P.M. is prohibited, except on controlled hunting preserves licensed pursuant to
G.S. 113‑273(g).
(2) Hunting of migratory birds on Sunday is
prohibited.
(3) The use of a firearm to take deer that are run or chased by dogs on Sunday is prohibited.
(4) Hunting on Sunday within
500 yards of a place of worship religious worship, as defined by G.S. 14‑54.1(b),
or any accessory structure thereof, or within 500 yards of a residence
not owned by the landowner, is prohibited.
(5) Hunting on Sunday in a county having a
population greater than 700,000 people is prohibited.
(a1) Any person may, subject to rules established by the Wildlife Resources Commission, hunt wild animals and upland game birds with the use of firearms on Sunday on public lands of the State managed for hunting, except that the following limitations apply:
(1) The use of a firearm to take deer that are run or chased by dogs on Sunday is prohibited.
(2) Hunting on Sunday within 500 yards of a place of religious worship, as defined by G.S. 14‑54.1(b), or any accessory structure thereof, is prohibited.
(a2) The hunting of migratory birds on Sunday is prohibited unless authorized by proclamation or rules of the Wildlife Resources Commission, subject to the following limitation:
(1) The Wildlife Resources Commission shall not authorize hunting of migratory birds on Sunday prior to March 1, 2018.
(2) Hunting on Sunday within 500 yards of a place of religious worship, as defined by G.S. 14‑54.1(b), or any accessory structure thereof, is prohibited.
(b) A person who hunts on
Sunday in a manner prohibited under subsection (a) of this section or
rules adopted by the Wildlife Resources Commission shall be guilty of a
Class 3 misdemeanor. Provided, that the provisions of this section are not
applicable to military reservations, the jurisdiction of which is exclusively
in the federal government, to field trials authorized by the Wildlife Resources
Commission, or to actions taken in defense of a person's property. Wildlife
protectors are granted authority to enforce the provisions of this
section."
SECTION 2. Section 5(c) of S.L. 2015‑144 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 5.(c) Subsection
(b) of this section becomes effective October 1, 2017. 2020. A
county may adopt an ordinance to prohibit Sunday hunting prior to October 1, 2017,
2020, but any such ordinance shall not become effective until
October 1, 2017. 2020. The remainder of this section becomes
effective October 1, 2015."
SECTION 3. The Wildlife Resources Commission shall complete a study that includes, but is not limited to, examining biological and resource management impacts, economic impacts, and social impacts associated with hunting migratory birds on Sunday. The Wildlife Resources Commission shall submit its findings to the Speaker of the House, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the chair or chairs of the House Committee on Wildlife Resources no later than March 1, 2018.
SECTION 4. This act is effective when it becomes law.