Bill Text: NY A09674 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Establishes a town of Huntington deer management pilot program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-06-20 - print number 9674b [A09674 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A09674-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Establishes a town of Huntington deer management pilot program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-06-20 - print number 9674b [A09674 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A09674-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9674 IN ASSEMBLY April 3, 2024 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. K. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to establishing a town of Huntington deer management pilot program; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a 2 new section 11-0522-b to read as follows: 3 § 11-0522-b. Town of Huntington deer management pilot program. 4 1. For the purposes of this section, "certified nuisance wildlife 5 specialist" shall mean an employee of or a contractor for the federal or 6 state government responsible for wildlife management and acting pursuant 7 to a deer management plan, who has been certified by the department as 8 complying with the criteria established by the department that at a 9 minimum require: 10 a. a minimum level of marksmanship certification appropriate to the 11 firearm or hunting implement to be used, including ongoing certif- 12 ication; 13 b. liability insurance coverage levels or other financial arrangements 14 approved by the department; and 15 c. reporting requirements. 16 2. The department may, after reviewing the town of Huntington's site- 17 specific deer management plan, and upon a finding by the town of Hunt- 18 ington that deer have become a nuisance, destructive to public or 19 private property or a threat to public health or welfare, issue a certi- 20 fied nuisance wildlife specialist a deer cull permit for use within the 21 boundaries of the town of Huntington. 22 3. Each cull permit application shall at a minimum include require- 23 ments for: the timeframe during which the permit must be used, a site- 24 specific deer management plan, a geographic description of the area for 25 which the permit is being requested, a written contract with the town of 26 Huntington, requests for any authorization pursuant to subdivisions 27 three-a and eleven of section 11-0505 of this title, subdivision two-a EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13879-02-4A. 9674 2 1 of section 11-0901 of this article, and subdivisions two-a and four-a of 2 section 11-0931 of this article, provided that any such authorization 3 subsequently granted shall be explicitly included on any cull permit, 4 and details regarding expected local law enforcement participation. 5 4. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring or obligat- 6 ing the department to issue a permit to take deer when in its opinion 7 the nuisance, destruction of property or threat to public health and 8 welfare will not be effectively abated thereby. 9 § 2. Section 11-0505 of the environmental conservation law is amended 10 by adding two new subdivisions 3-a and 11 to read as follows: 11 3-a. Notwithstanding subdivision three of this section, a salt lick 12 may be made, set, or used upon land inhabited by deer or bear by a 13 nuisance wildlife specialist with a permit issued pursuant to section 14 11-0522-b of this title provided that such activities are in furtherance 15 of the site-specific deer management plan. 16 11. A nuisance wildlife specialist with a permit issued pursuant to 17 section 11-0522-b of this title may, in accordance with the parameters 18 of such permit and the consultation of local law enforcement, entice 19 deer in the manner prohibited in subdivision eight of this section 20 provided that such activities are in furtherance of the site-specific 21 deer management plan. 22 § 3. Section 11-0901 of the environmental conservation law is amended 23 by adding a new subdivision 2-a to read as follows: 24 2-a. Notwithstanding subdivision two of this section, wildlife may be 25 taken by a nuisance wildlife specialist with a permit issued pursuant to 26 section 11-0522-b of this article provided that such activities are in 27 furtherance of the site-specific deer management plan. 28 § 4. Section 11-0931 of the environmental conservation law is amended 29 by adding two new subdivisions 2-a and 4-a to read as follows: 30 2-a. No person except a law enforcement officer in the performance of 31 such officer's official duties or a nuisance wildlife specialist with a 32 permit issued pursuant to section 11-0522-b of this article, provided 33 that such activities are in furtherance of the site-specific deer 34 management plan, shall, while in or on a motor vehicle, use a jacklight, 35 spotlight or other artificial light upon lands inhabited by deer if such 36 person is in possession or is accompanied by a person who is in 37 possession, at the time of such use, of a longbow, crossbow or a firearm 38 of any kind except a pistol or revolver, unless such longbow or crossbow 39 is unstrung or such firearm or crossbow is taken down or securely 40 fastened in a case or locked in the trunk of the vehicle. For purposes 41 of this subdivision, motor vehicle shall mean every vehicle or other 42 device operated by any power other than muscle power, and which shall 43 include but not be limited to automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, trac- 44 tors, trailers and motorboats, snowmobiles and snowtravelers, whether 45 operated on or off public highways. Notwithstanding the provisions of 46 this subdivision, the department may issue a permit to any person who is 47 non-ambulatory, except with the use of a mechanized aid, to possess a 48 loaded firearm in or on a motor vehicle as defined in this section, 49 subject to such restrictions as the department may deem necessary in the 50 interest of public safety. Nothing in this section permits the 51 possession of a pistol or a revolver contrary to the penal law. 52 4-a. The prohibitions contained in subparagraph two of paragraph a of 53 subdivision four of this section shall not apply to a nuisance wildlife 54 specialist with a permit issued pursuant to section 11-0522-b of this 55 article acting in furtherance of the site specific deer management plan; 56 provided, however: (a) prior to the discharge of a firearm within fiveA. 9674 3 1 hundred feet of any dwelling houses, structures, schools or playgrounds, 2 the owners or lessees thereof have been notified by certified mail of 3 the date or dates and time period of the expected activity; and (b) 4 prior to the discharge a firearm within two hundred fifty feet of such 5 dwelling houses, structures, schools or playgrounds all the owners or 6 lessees thereof have provided written consent. 7 § 5. The department of environmental conservation, following consulta- 8 tion with the town of Huntington shall prepare a report examining the 9 effectiveness of the town of Huntington deer management pilot program 10 established pursuant to section 11-0522-b of the environmental conserva- 11 tion law in addressing deer overpopulation and the effectiveness in 12 addressing destruction to public or private property in the town of 13 Huntington as well as the impacts on surrounding communities. The report 14 shall include estimates regarding the size of the deer population in the 15 town of Huntington prior to the issuance of deer cull permits pursuant 16 to section 11-0522-b of the environmental conservation law, the number 17 of cull permits issued, and the number of deer taken. The report shall 18 also include recommendations for program improvements, including the 19 potential effectiveness of authorizing future programs. The report shall 20 be delivered to the governor, the speaker of the assembly and the tempo- 21 rary president of the senate, as well as published on the department's 22 public website, no later than thirty months after the effective date of 23 this act. 24 § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 25 ing the date on which it shall have become a law and shall expire and be 26 deemed repealed three years after such date.
