Amendment 917 - Withdrawn

Budget Amendment ID: FY2019-S4-917

ENV 917

Interstate Wildlife Violators Compact

Messrs. Moore, Rush, Lewis, Brady and Eldridge, Ms. Gobi, Ms. Jehlen, Mr. Tarr, Ms. O'Connor Ives, Messrs. Ross and Fattman, Ms. Creem, Messrs. Cyr, Brownsberger, Welch, Montigny and Timilty moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting after section ____ the following section:-

“SECTION _____. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 131A the following chapter:-

CHAPTER 131B

WILDLIFE VIOLATOR COMPACT

The director of fisheries and wildlife shall enter into a compact on behalf of the commonwealth with any other jurisdiction legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows; provided, however, that notwithstanding any provision of chapter 131B or the compact manual to the contrary, a violation resulting in a citation, conviction or suspension by another participating state pursuant to Article IV or Article V, as applicable, shall be a violation of chapter 130, 131 or chapter 131A as determined by the division of fisheries and wildlife:-

ARTICLE I. Findings and Purpose

(a) The participating states find that:

(1) wildlife resources are managed in trust by the respective states for the benefit of all residents and visitors;

(2) the protection of the wildlife resources of a state is materially affected by the degree of compliance with state laws, regulations, ordinances and administrative rules relating to the management of those resources;

(3) the preservation, protection, management and restoration of wildlife contributes immeasurably to the aesthetic, recreational and economic aspects of such natural resources;

(4) wildlife resources are valuable without regard to political boundaries, therefore every person should be required to comply with wildlife preservation, protection, management and restoration laws, ordinances and administrative rules and regulations of the participating states as a condition precedent to the continuance or issuance of a license to hunt, fish, trap or possess wildlife;

(5) violations of wildlife laws interfere with the management of wildlife resources and may endanger the safety of people and property;

(6) the mobility of many wildlife law violators necessitates the maintenance of channels of communication among the various states;

(7) in most instances, a person who is cited for a wildlife violation in a state other than that person’s home state is:

(i) required to post collateral or a bond to secure appearance for a trial at a later date;

(ii) taken into custody until the collateral or bond is posted; or

(iii) taken directly to court for an immediate appearance;

(8) the purpose of the enforcement practices set forth in clause (7) is to ensure compliance with the terms of a wildlife citation by the cited person who, if permitted to continue on after receiving the citation, could return to that person’s home state and disregard the duty established by the terms of the citation;

(9) in most instances, a person receiving a wildlife citation in that person’s home state may accept the citation from the officer at the scene of the violation and immediately continue on after agreeing or being instructed to comply with the terms of the citation;

(10) the practices described in clause (7) cause unnecessary inconvenience and, at times, a hardship for the person who is unable to post collateral at the time of the violation,

furnish a bond, stand trial or pay a fine and thus is compelled to remain in custody until some alternative arrangement is made; and

(11) the enforcement practices described in clause (7) consume an undue amount of time of law enforcement agencies.

(b) It is the policy of the participating states to:

(1) promote compliance with the laws, ordinances, regulations and administrative rules relating to the management of wildlife resources in their respective states;

(2) recognize a suspension of the wildlife license privileges of a person whose license privileges have been suspended by a participating state and treat that suspension as if it had occurred in each respective state;

(3) allow a violator, if that violator’s home state is a party to this compact, to continue on, without delay, after receiving a wildlife citation in another member state, except as provided in subsection (b) of Article III;

(4) report to the appropriate participating state, as provided in the compact manual, any conviction recorded against a person whose home state was not the issuing state;

(5) allow the home state to recognize and treat convictions recorded against its residents, when a conviction occurs in another participating state, as though that conviction had occurred in the violator’s home state;

(6) extend cooperation to its fullest extent among the participating states for enforcing compliance with the terms of a wildlife citation issued in 1 participating state to a resident of another participating state;

(7) maximize the effective use of law enforcement personnel and information; and

(8) assist court systems in the efficient disposition of wildlife violations.

(1) provide a means through which participating states may join in a reciprocal program to effectuate the policies enumerated in subsection (b) in a uniform and orderly manner;

And

(2) provide for the fair and impartial treatment of wildlife violators operating within participating states in recognition of a violator's right to due process and the sovereign

status of a participating state.

ARTICLE II. Definitions

As used in this compact, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

"Citation", a summons, complaint, ticket, penalty assessment or other official document issued to a person by a wildlife officer or peace officer for a wildlife violation which contains an order requiring the person to respond.

"Collateral", cash or other security deposited to secure an appearance for trial in connection with the issuance by a wildlife officer or peace officer of a citation for a wildlife violation.

"Compliance", the act of answering a citation by an appearance in a court or tribunal or the payment of any fines, costs or surcharges.

"Conviction", a conviction that results in suspension or revocation of a license, including a court conviction, for an offense related to the preservation, protection, management or restoration of wildlife which is prohibited by state law, regulation, ordinance or administrative rule; provided, however, that “conviction” shall also include the forfeiture of any bail, bond or other security deposited to secure the appearance of a person charged with having committed any such offense, the payment of a penalty assessment, a plea of nolo contendere or the imposition of a deferred or suspended sentence by the court.

"Court", a court of law, including a magistrate's court and the justice of the peace court.

"Home state", the state of primary residence of a person.

"Issuing state", the participating state that issues a wildlife citation to the violator.

"License" a license, permit or other public document that conveys to the person to whom it was issued the privilege of pursuing, possessing or taking any wildlife regulated by law, regulation, ordinance or administrative rule of a participating state, any privilege to obtain such license, permit or other public document or any statutory exemption from the requirement to obtain any such license, permit or other public document.

"Licensing authority", the department or division within each participating state that is authorized by law to issue or approve licenses or permits to hunt, fish, trap or possess wildlife.

"Participating state", any state that enacts legislation to become a member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.

"Personal recognizance", an agreement by a person, made at the time a wildlife citation is issued, that such person will comply with the terms of the citation.

"State", a state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the provinces of Canada and other countries.

"Suspension", revocation, denial or withdrawal of license privileges, including the privilege to apply for, purchase or exercise the benefits conferred by a license.

"Terms of the citation", conditions and options expressly stated on the citation.

"Wildlife", all species of animals including, but not limited to, mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mollusks and crustaceans which are defined as "wildlife" and are protected or otherwise regulated by law, regulation, ordinance or administrative rule in a participating state; provided, however, that species included in the definition of "wildlife" may vary from state to state and the determination of whether a species is "wildlife" for the purposes of this compact shall be based on local law.

"Wildlife law", a law, regulation, ordinance or administrative rule developed and enacted for the management and use of wildlife resources.

"Wildlife officer", an individual authorized by a participating state to issue a citation for a wildlife violation.

"Wildlife violation", a cited violation of a law, regulation, ordinance or administrative rule developed and enacted for the management and use of wildlife resources.

ARTICLE III. Procedures for Issuing State

(a) When issuing a citation for a wildlife violation, a wildlife officer shall issue a citation to a person whose primary residence is in a participating state in the same manner as though the person were a resident of the issuing state and shall not require that person to post collateral to secure appearance; provided, however, that subject to the exceptions noted in subsection (b), the officer shall receive the recognizance of that person stating that the person will comply with the terms of the citation.

(b) Personal recognizance shall be acceptable if it is not prohibited by local law, policy, procedure or regulation of the issuing agency or by the compact manual; provided, however, that the violator shall provide adequate proof of identification to the wildlife officer.

(c) Upon conviction or failure of a person to comply with the terms of a wildlife citation, the appropriate official shall report the conviction or failure to comply to the licensing authority of the participating state in which the wildlife citation was issued. The report shall be made under the procedures specified by the issuing state and shall contain information as specified in the compact manual as minimum requirements for effective processing by the home state.

(d) Upon receipt of the report of conviction or noncompliance under subsection (c), the licensing authority of the issuing state shall transmit to the licensing authority of the home state of the violator the information in the form and content prescribed in the compact manual.

ARTICLE IV. Procedure for Home State

(a) Upon receipt of a report from the licensing authority of the issuing state reporting the failure of a violator to comply with the terms of a citation, the licensing authority of the home state shall notify the violator and shall initiate a suspension action in accordance with the home state's suspension procedures and shall suspend the violator's license privileges until satisfactory evidence of compliance with the terms of the wildlife citation has been furnished by the issuing state to the home state licensing authority. Due process safeguards shall be accorded.

(b) Upon receipt of a report of conviction from the licensing authority of the issuing state, the licensing authority of the home state shall enter such conviction in its records and shall treat such conviction as though it occurred in the home state for the purposes of suspension of license privileges.

(c) The licensing authority of the home state shall maintain a record of actions taken and shall make reports to issuing states as provided in the compact manual.

ARTICLE V. Reciprocal Recognition of Suspension

(a) Each participating state may recognize the suspension of a person’s license privileges by another participating state as though the violation resulting in the suspension had occurred in that state and would have been the basis for suspension of license privileges in that state.

(b) Each participating state shall communicate suspension information to other participating states in the form and content contained in the compact manual.

ARTICLE VI. Applicability of Other Laws

Except as expressly required by this compact, this compact shall not affect the right of

any participating state to apply its laws relating to license privileges to a person or circumstance or to invalidate or prevent an agreement or other cooperative arrangement between a participating state and a nonparticipating state concerning the enforcement of wildlife laws.

ARTICLE VII. Compact Administrator Procedures

(a) For the purpose of administering this compact and to serve as a governing body for the resolution of all matters relating to the operation of this compact, there shall be a board of compact administrators. The board shall be composed of 1 representative from each of the participating states who shall be known as the compact administrator. The compact administrator shall be appointed by the head of the licensing authority of each participating state and shall serve and be subject to removal under the laws of the state that the compact administrator represents. The compact administrator for the commonwealth shall be the director of fisheries and wildlife or a designee. The compact administrator may provide for the discharge of the compact administrator’s duties and the performance of such functions as a board member by an alternate. An alternate shall not serve unless written notification of the alternate’s identity has been given to the board.

(b) Each member of the board of compact administrators shall be entitled to 1 vote. No

action of the board shall be binding unless taken at a meeting at which a majority of the total number of the board's votes are cast in favor of the action. Action by the board shall be only at a meeting at which a majority of the participating states are represented.

(d) The board shall adopt by-laws consistent with this compact or the laws of a participating state for the conduct of its business and may amend and rescind those by-laws.

(e) The board may accept donations and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials and services, conditional or otherwise, from any state, the United States or any governmental agency and may receive, use and dispose of the same in order to carry out the purposes and functions of the board under this compact.

(f) The board may contract with or accept services or personnel from a governmental or intergovernmental agency, individual, firm, corporation or private, nonprofit organization or institution.

(g) The board shall formulate all necessary procedures and develop uniform forms and documents for administering this compact. All procedures and forms adopted by board action shall be contained in a compact manual.

ARTICLE VIII. Entry into Compact and Withdrawal

(a) This compact shall become effective at such time as it is adopted in substantially similar form by at least 2 states.

(b) Entry into the compact shall be made by resolution of ratification executed by the authorized officials of the applying state and submitted to the chair of the board of compact administrators.

(i) a citation of the authority from which the state is empowered to become a party to this compact;

(ii) an agreement of compliance with the terms of the compact; and

(iii) an agreement that compact entry is with all states participating in the compact and with all additional states that may legally become a party to the compact.

(d) The effective date of entry shall be specified by the applying state but shall not be less than 60 days after notice has been given by the chair of the board of compact administrators or by a secretariat of the board to each participating state that the resolution from the applying state has been received.

(e) A participating state may withdraw from participation in this compact by official written notice to each participating state but withdrawal shall not become effective until 90 days after giving notice of withdrawal. The notice shall be directed to the compact administrator of each member state. The withdrawal of any state shall not affect the validity of this compact as to the remaining participating states.

ARTICLE IX. Amendments to the Compact

(a) This compact may be amended. Amendments shall be presented in resolution form to the chair of the board of compact administrators and shall be initiated by 1 or more participating states.

(b) Adoption of an amendment shall require endorsement by all participating states and shall become effective 30 days after the date of the last endorsement.

ARTICLE X. Construction and Severability

This compact shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate the purposes stated herein. The provisions of this compact shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of a participating state or of the United States or if the applicability thereof to any government, agency, individual or circumstance is held to be invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact shall not be affected. If this compact is held contrary to the constitution of a participating state, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining states and in full force and effect as to the participating state affected as to all severable matters.

SECTION 11. The division of fisheries and wildlife shall promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of the Wildlife Violator Compact established in section 131B of the General Laws within 1 year after the effective date of this act.”