Signed by Governor Larry Rhoden

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that specifies the minimum age requirements for a hunting license in South Dakota.

Highlights:

• Prohibits an individual under the age of 12 from being granted hunting licenses, except as otherwise provided in § 41-6-81 (Sec. 2).

• Authorizes an individual 10 years old or older to be granted a hunting-ton preference point (Sec. 2).

• Authorizes an individual who is 11 years of age and will become 12 years of age during the period between September 1 and December 31, to be granted a hunting license or preference point and may be allowed to hunt beginning September 1 (Sec. 2).

• Requires an individual under the age of 16 to comply with the provisions of chapter 41-7, per firearms safety, before being granted a resident hunting license or an applicable nonresident hunting license, except as otherwise provided in § 41-6-81 (Sec. 3).

• Authorizes a child under the age of 16 to hunt with a hunting mentor, it specifies the following (Sec. 4):

• The mentor can be the child's parent or guardian or any other competent adult who has the consent of the child's parent or guardian, and must have completed a hunter safety or education course that meets the requirements of the state;

• The hunting mentor must be unarmed, except for carrying a concealed pistol or other legally possessed handgun;

• The mentor may not accompany more than one child;

• The child hunting under this must be under the immediate physical control, direct supervision, and responsibility of a hunting mentor, at the time the child discharges a firearm or operates a bow and arrow in the act of hunting; and

• Authorizes the Game, Fish, and Parks Commission to promulgate rules, under chapters 1-26, to establish criteria and conditions governing the mentored youth hunting license and the hunter mentoring program.

• Prohibits a child under 16 from obtaining a hunting license other than a mentor youth license unless the child presents to the person authorizing the license the following (Sec. 4): 

• Certification of completion of a hunter safety or educational course from this state, other states, and provinces of Canada; and

• A hunting license issued to the applicant in the current or previous year;

• Specifies a violation of these provisions as a Class 2 misdemeanor (Sec. 4).

• Specifies that the provisions of this bill shall take effect immediately upon passage and approval by the Governor (Sec. 5).

Full Bill Text