Bill Text: MI SB0054 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Chaptered
Bill Title: Natural resources; hunting; use of unmanned vehicles or devices to interfere with or harass another individual who is hunting or fishing; prohibit. Amends secs. 40112 & 48703a of 1994 PA 451 (MCL 324.40112 & 324.48703a).
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 9-1)
Status: (Passed) 2015-04-16 - Assigned Pa 0012'15 With Immediate Effect [SB0054 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2015-SB0054-Chaptered.html
Act No. 12
Public Acts of 2015
Approved by the Governor
April 14, 2015
Filed with the Secretary of State
April 14, 2015
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 13, 2015
STATE OF MICHIGAN
98TH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2015
Introduced by Senators Casperson, Pavlov, Nofs, Zorn, Knezek, Marleau, Schmidt, Horn, Green and Booher
ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 54
AN ACT to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled “An act to protect the environment and natural resources of the state; to codify, revise, consolidate, and classify laws relating to the environment and natural resources of the state; to regulate the discharge of certain substances into the environment; to regulate the use of certain lands, waters, and other natural resources of the state; to protect the people’s right to hunt and fish; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local agencies and officials; to provide for certain charges, fees, assessments, and donations; to provide certain appropriations; to prescribe penalties and provide remedies; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,” by amending sections 40112 and 48703a (MCL 324.40112 and 324.48703a), section 40112 as amended by 1996 PA 316 and section 48703a as amended by 2014 PA 281.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 40112. (1) An individual shall not obstruct or interfere in the lawful taking of animals or fish by another individual.
(2) An individual violates this section when the individual intentionally or knowingly does any of the following:
(a) Drives or disturbs animals or fish for the purpose of disrupting a lawful taking.
(b) Blocks, impedes, or harasses another individual who is engaged in the process of lawfully taking an animal or fish.
(c) Uses a natural or artificial visual, aural, olfactory, gustatory, or physical stimulus or an unmanned vehicle or unmanned device that uses aerodynamic forces to achieve flight or that operates on the surface of the water or underwater, to affect animal or fish behavior in order to hinder or prevent the lawful taking of an animal or a fish.
(d) Erects barriers to deny ingress or egress to areas where the lawful taking of animals or fish may occur. This subdivision does not apply to an individual who erects barriers to prevent trespassing on his or her property.
(e) Interjects himself or herself into the line of fire of an individual lawfully taking wildlife.
(f) Affects the condition or placement of personal or public property intended for use in the lawful taking of an animal or a fish in order to impair the usefulness of the property or prevent the use of the property.
(g) Enters or remains upon private lands without the permission of the owner or the owner’s agent, for the purpose of violating this section.
(h) Engages in any other act or behavior for the purpose of violating this section.
(3) Upon petition of an aggrieved person or an individual who reasonably may be aggrieved by a violation of this section, a court of competent jurisdiction, upon a showing that an individual was engaged in and threatens to continue to engage in illegal conduct under this section, may enjoin that conduct.
(4) An individual who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not less than $500.00 or more than $1,000.00, or both, and the costs of prosecution. An individual who violates this section a second or subsequent time is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not less than $1,000.00 or more than $2,500.00, or both, and the costs of prosecution. In addition to the penalties provided for in this subsection, any permit or license issued by the department authorizing the individual to take animals or fish shall be revoked. A prosecution under this section does not preclude prosecution or other action under any other criminal or civil statute.
(5) This section does not apply to a peace officer while the peace officer performs his or her lawful duties.
Sec. 48703a. (1) The legislature finds and declares that aquatic invasive species, including Asian carp, represent a significant threat to the state’s fisheries, aquatic resources, outdoor recreation and tourism economies, and public safety.
(2) The commission has the exclusive authority to regulate sport fishing under this part. The commission shall, to the greatest extent practicable, utilize principles of sound scientific management in making decisions regarding the regulation of sport fishing under this part. The commission may take testimony from department personnel, independent experts, and others, and review scientific literature and data, among other sources, in support of the commission’s duty to use principles of sound scientific management. The commission shall issue orders regarding the regulation of sport fishing under this part following a public meeting and an opportunity for public input. Not less than 30 days before issuing an order, the commission shall provide a copy of the order to each of the following:
(a) Each member of each standing committee of the senate or house of representatives that considers legislation pertaining to conservation, the environment, natural resources, recreation, tourism, or agriculture.
(b) The chairperson of the senate appropriations committee and the chairperson of the house of representatives appropriations committee.
(c) The members of the subcommittee of the senate appropriations committee and the subcommittee of the house of representatives appropriations committee that consider the budget of the department of natural resources.
(3) For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015, there is appropriated for the department the sum of $1,000,000.00 to implement management practices necessary for rapid response, prevention, control, or elimination of aquatic invasive species, including Asian carp. Any portion of the amount under this section that is not expended in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015 shall not lapse to the general fund but shall be carried forward in a work project account that is in compliance with section 451a of the management and budget act, 1984 PA 431, MCL 18.1451a.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.
This act is ordered to take immediate effect.
Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Approved
Governor
