Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes a hunters access advisory group for hunting on private property.

Highlights:

• Authorizes an individual to hunt or pursue game, or enter for those purposes, upon land that belongs to another without first obtaining the permission of the person legally entitled to grant the permission, unless the land is designated as a closed to hunters or open to hunters, or is legally posted (Sec. 2).

• Requires that the individual has a firearm, or other weapon declared legal by a governor’s proclamation, and a valid license to have a valid license to hunt game in the relevant area when the individual entered upon the private premises of another without permission of the owner or tenant in first impression evidence the individual entered to hunt or pursue game (Sec. 4).

• Establishes the hunters access advisory group that will consist of the following (Sec. 6):

• The agriculture commissioner or the commissioner’s designee;

• The director or the director’s designee;

• The chief information officer, or the officer’s designee;

• A representative of the North Dakota Association of Counties;

• Two members of an agriculture committee; and

• Two members of a sportsmen committee.

• Requires the hunters access advisory group to oversee the development of the hunters access database identifying private land in the state as open to hunters, closed to hunters, or open to hunters with permission from the owner or lawful occupant (Sec. 6).

• Requires the hunters access advisory group to establish guidelines for the development of the database and acceptance criteria for county data used to develop the database (Sec. 6).

• Requires the hunters access database to use a color coding or other clear indicators to designate private land in the state as open to hunters, closed to hunters, or open to hunters with permission from the owner or lawful occupant (Sec. 6).

• Authorizes a landowner or lawful occupant to designate which of the three categories to place land in (Sec. 6).

• Requires land that is not placed into a category by a landowner to be indicated in the database as open to hunters if the county in which the land is located is included in the database (Sec. 6).

• Requires a landowner to provide contact information to be included in the database for hunters to request permission to hunt on the land, if the landowner has designated land as open to hunters with permission (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that until the county in which private land is located is included in the hunters access database, the land is deemed open unless posted on the database (Sec. 6).

• Prohibits hunters from entering in land in the county which is designated in the databases as closed to hunters or open to hunters with permission unless the hunter has permission to enter the land or otherwise is entitled to enter the land (Sec. 6).

• Authorizes a hunter without permission to enter land in the county which is not designated in the database as closed to hunters or open to hunters with permission, unless the land is posted (Sec. 6).

Full Bill Text