As Reported by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
132nd General Assembly
Regular Session Sub. S. B. No. 257
2017-2018
Senators Uecker, O'Brien
Cosponsors: Senators Huffman, Hottinger, LaRose, Lehner, Wilson, Beagle, Sykes, Skindell, Gardner
A BILL
To amend sections 1531.01, 1533.01, 1533.10, 1533.101, 1533.102, 1533.103, 1533.11, 1533.111, 1533.13, 1533.32, and 2923.16 and to enact sections 1533.321 and 1533.38 of the Revised Code to make changes to the laws governing hunting and fishing.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 1531.01, 1533.01, 1533.10, 1533.101, 1533.102, 1533.103, 1533.11, 1533.111, 1533.13, 1533.32, and 2923.16 be amended and sections 1533.321 and 1533.38 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 1531.01. As used in this chapter and Chapter 1533. of the Revised Code:
(A) "Person" means a person as defined in section 1.59 of the Revised Code or a company; an employee, agent, or officer of such a person or company; a combination of individuals; the state; a political subdivision of the state; an interstate body created by a compact; or the federal government or a department, agency, or instrumentality of it.
(B) "Resident" means any individual who has resided in this state for not less than six months preceding the date of making application for a license or permit.
(C) "Nonresident" means any individual who does not qualify as a resident.
(D) "Division rule" or "rule" means any rule adopted by the chief of the division of wildlife under section 1531.10 of the Revised Code unless the context indicates otherwise.
(E) "Closed season" means that period of time during which the taking of wild animals protected by this chapter and Chapter 1533. of the Revised Code is prohibited.
(F) "Open season" means that period of time during which the taking of wild animals protected by this chapter and Chapter 1533. of the Revised Code is permitted.
(G) "Take or taking" includes pursuing, shooting, hunting, killing, trapping, angling, fishing with a trotline, or netting any clam, mussel, crayfish, aquatic insect, fish, frog, turtle, wild bird, or wild quadruped, and any lesser act, such as wounding, or placing, setting, drawing, or using any other device for killing or capturing any wild animal, whether it results in killing or capturing the animal or not. "Take or taking" includes every attempt to kill or capture and every act of assistance to any other person in killing or capturing or attempting to kill or capture a wild animal.
(H) "Possession" means both actual and constructive possession and any control of things referred to.
(I) "Bag limit" means the number, measurement, or weight of any kind of crayfish, aquatic insects, fish, frogs, turtles, wild birds, and wild quadrupeds permitted to be taken.
(J) "Transport and transportation" means carrying or moving or causing to be carried or moved.
(K) "Sell and sale" means barter, exchange, or offer or expose for sale.
(L) "Whole to include part" means that every provision relating to any wild animal protected by this chapter and Chapter 1533. of the Revised Code applies to any part of the wild animal with the same effect as it applies to the whole.
(M) "Angling" means fishing with not more than two hand lines, not more than two units of rod and line, or a combination of not more than one hand line and one rod and line, either in hand or under control at any time while fishing. The hand line or rod and line shall have attached to it not more than three baited hooks, not more than three artificial fly rod lures, or one artificial bait casting lure equipped with not more than three sets of three hooks each.
(N) "Trotline" means a device for catching fish that consists of a line having suspended from it, at frequent intervals, vertical lines with hooks attached.
(O) "Fish" means a cold-blooded vertebrate having fins.
(P) "Measurement of fish" means length from the end of the nose to the longest tip or end of the tail.
(Q) "Wild birds" includes game birds and nongame birds.
(R) "Game" includes game birds, game quadrupeds, and fur-bearing animals.
(S) "Game birds" includes mourning doves, ringneck pheasants, bobwhite quail, ruffed grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, pinnated grouse, wild turkey, Hungarian partridge, Chukar partridge, woodcocks, black-breasted plover, golden plover, Wilson's snipe or jacksnipe, greater and lesser yellowlegs, rail, coots, gallinules, duck, geese, brant, and crows.
(T) "Nongame birds" includes all other wild birds not included and defined as game birds or migratory game birds.
(U) "Wild quadrupeds" includes game quadrupeds and fur-bearing animals.
(V) "Game quadrupeds" includes cottontail rabbits, gray squirrels, black squirrels, fox squirrels, red squirrels, flying squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs or woodchucks, white-tailed deer, wild boar, elk, and black bears.
(W) "Fur-bearing animals" includes minks, weasels, raccoons, skunks, opossums, muskrats, fox, beavers, badgers, otters, coyotes, and bobcats.
(X) "Wild animals" includes mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and all other wild mammals, but does not include domestic deer.
(Y) "Hunting" means pursuing, shooting, killing, following after or on the trail of, lying in wait for, shooting at, or wounding wild birds or wild quadrupeds while employing any device commonly used to kill or wound wild birds or wild quadrupeds whether or not the acts result in killing or wounding. "Hunting" includes every attempt to kill or wound and every act of assistance to any other person in killing or wounding or attempting to kill or wound wild birds or wild quadrupeds.
(Z) "Trapping" means securing or attempting to secure possession of a wild bird or wild quadruped by means of setting, placing, drawing, or using any device that is designed to close upon, hold fast, confine, or otherwise capture a wild bird or wild quadruped whether or not the means results in capture. "Trapping" includes every act of assistance to any other person in capturing wild birds or wild quadrupeds by means of the device whether or not the means results in capture.
(AA) "Muskrat spear" means any device used in spearing muskrats.
(BB) "Channels and passages" means those narrow bodies of water lying between islands or between an island and the mainland in Lake Erie.
(CC) "Island" means a rock or land elevation above the waters of Lake Erie having an area of five or more acres above water.
(DD) "Reef" means an elevation of rock, either broken or in place, or gravel shown by the latest United States chart to be above the common level of the surrounding bottom of the lake, other than the rock bottom, or in place forming the base or foundation rock of an island or mainland and sloping from the shore of it. "Reef" also means all elevations shown by that chart to be above the common level of the sloping base or foundation rock of an island or mainland, whether running from the shore of an island or parallel with the contour of the shore of an island or in any other way and whether formed by rock, broken or in place, or from gravel.
(EE) "Fur farm" means any area used exclusively for raising fur-bearing animals or in addition thereto used for hunting game, the boundaries of which are plainly marked as such.
(FF) "Waters" includes any lake, pond, reservoir, stream, channel, lagoon, or other body of water, or any part thereof, whether natural or artificial.
(GG) "Crib" or "car" refers to that particular compartment of the net from which the fish are taken when the net is lifted.
(HH) "Commercial fish" means those species of fish permitted to be taken, possessed, bought, or sold unless otherwise restricted by the Revised Code or division rule and are alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), American eel (Anguilla rostrata), bowfin (Amia calva), burbot (Lota lota), carp (Cyprinus carpio), smallmouth buffalo (Ictiobus bubalus), bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus), black bullhead (Ictalurus melas), yellow bullhead (Ictalurus natalis), brown bullhead (Ictalurus nebulosus), channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris), whitefish (Coregonus sp.), cisco (Coregonus sp.), freshwater drum or sheepshead (Aplodinotus grunniens), gar (Lepisosteus sp.), gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), goldfish (Carassius auratus), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), mooneye (Hiodon tergisus), quillback (Carpiodes cyprinus), smelt (Allosmerus elongatus, Hypomesus sp., Osmerus sp., Spirinchus sp.), sturgeon (Acipenser sp., Scaphirhynchus sp.), sucker other than buffalo and quillback (Carpiodes sp., Catostomus sp., Hypentelium sp., Minytrema sp., Moxostoma sp.), white bass (Morone chrysops), white perch (Roccus americanus), and yellow perch (Perca flavescens). When the common name of a fish is used in this chapter or Chapter 1533. of the Revised Code, it refers to the fish designated by the scientific name in this definition.
(II) "Fishing" means taking or attempting to take fish by any method, and all other acts such as placing, setting, drawing, or using any device commonly used to take fish whether resulting in a taking or not.
(JJ) "Fillet" means the pieces of flesh taken or cut from both sides of a fish, joined to form one piece of flesh.
(KK) "Part fillet" means a piece of flesh taken or cut from one side of a fish.
(LL) "Round" when used in describing fish means with head and tail intact.
(MM) "Migrate" means the transit or movement of fish to or from one place to another as a result of natural forces or instinct and includes, but is not limited to, movement of fish induced or caused by changes in the water flow.
(NN) "Spreader bar" means a brail or rigid bar placed across the entire width of the back, at the top and bottom of the cars in all trap, crib, and fyke nets for the purpose of keeping the meshes hanging squarely while the nets are fishing.
(OO) "Fishing guide" means any person who, for consideration or hire, operates a boat, rents, leases, or otherwise furnishes angling devices, ice fishing shanties or shelters of any kind, or other fishing equipment, and accompanies, guides, directs, or assists any other person in order for the other person to engage in fishing.
(PP) "Net" means fishing devices with meshes composed of twine or synthetic material and includes, but is not limited to, trap nets, fyke nets, crib nets, carp aprons, dip nets, and seines, except minnow seines and minnow dip nets.
(QQ) "Commercial fishing gear" means seines, trap nets, fyke nets, dip nets, carp aprons, trotlines, other similar gear, and any boat used in conjunction with that gear, but does not include gill nets.
(RR) "Native wildlife" means any species of the animal kingdom indigenous to this state.
(SS) "Gill net" means a single section of fabric or netting seamed to a float line at the top and a lead line at the bottom, which is designed to entangle fish in the net openings as they swim into it.
(TT) "Tag fishing tournament" means a contest in which a participant pays a fee, or gives other valuable consideration, for a chance to win a prize by virtue of catching a tagged or otherwise specifically marked fish within a limited period of time.
(UU) "Tenant" means an individual who resides on land for which the individual pays rent and whose annual income is primarily derived from agricultural production conducted on that land, as "agricultural production" is defined in section 929.01 of the Revised Code.
(VV) "Nonnative wildlife" means any wild animal not indigenous to this state, but does not include domestic deer.
(WW) "Reptiles" includes common musk turtle (sternotherus odoratus), common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina), spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina), Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), common map turtle (Graptemys geographica), ouachita map turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica ouachitensis), midland painted turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata), red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), eastern spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera spinifera), midland smooth softshell turtle (Apalone mutica mutica), northern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus), ground skink (Scincella lateralis), five-lined skink (Eumeces fasciatus), broadhead skink (Eumeces laticeps), northern coal skink (Eumeces anthracinus anthracinus), European wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), queen snake (Regina septemvittata), Kirtland's snake (Clonophis kirtlandii), northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon), Lake Erie watersnake (Nerodia sipedon insularum), copperbelly water snake (Nerodia erythrogaster neglecta), northern brown snake (Storeria dekayi dekayi), midland brown snake (Storeria dekayi wrightorum), northern redbelly snake (Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata), eastern garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis), eastern plains garter snake (Thamnophis radix radix), Butler's garter snake (Thamnophis butleri), shorthead garter snake (Thamnophis brachystoma), eastern ribbon snake (Thamnophis sauritus sauritus), northern ribbon snake (Thamnophis sauritus septentrionalis), eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos), eastern smooth earth snake (Virginia valeriae valeriae), northern ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsii), midwest worm snake (Carphophis amoenus helenae), eastern worm snake (Carphophis amoenus amoenus), black racer (Coluber constrictor constrictor), blue racer (Coluber constrictor foxii), rough green snake (opheodrys aestivus), smooth green snake (opheodrys vernalis vernalis), black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta), eastern fox snake (Elaphe vulpina gloydi), black kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula nigra), eastern milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum), northern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen), eastern massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus), and timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus horridus).
(XX) "Amphibians" includes eastern hellbender (Crytpobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis), mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus maculosus), red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens), Jefferson salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum), spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum), blue-spotted salamander (Ambystoma laterale), smallmouth salamander (Ambystoma texanum), streamside salamander (Ambystoma barbouri), marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum), eastern tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum), northern dusky salamander (Desmognathus fuscus fuscus), mountain dusky salamander (Desmognathus ochrophaeus), redback salamander (Plethodon cinereus), ravine salamander (Plethodon richmondi), northern slimy salamander (Plethodon glutinosus), Wehrle's salamander (Plethodon wehrlei), four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum), Kentucky spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus duryi), northern spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus), mud salamander (Pseudotriton montanus), northern red salamander (Pseudotriton ruber ruber), green salamander (Aneides aeneus), northern two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata), longtail salamander (Eurycea longicauda longicauda), cave salamander (Eurycea lucifuga), southern two-lined salamander (Eurycea cirrigera), Fowler's toad (Bufo woodhousii fowleri), American toad (Bufo americanus), eastern spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii), Blanchard's cricket frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi), northern spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer crucifer), gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor), Cope's gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis), western chorus frog (Pseudacris triseriata triseriata), mountain chorus frog (Pseudacris brachyphona), bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), green frog (Rana clamitans melanota), northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens), pickerel frog (Rana palustris), southern leopard frog (Rana utricularia), and wood frog (Rana sylvatica).
(YY) "Deer" means white-tailed deer (Oddocoileus virginianus).
(ZZ) "Domestic deer" means nonnative deer that have been legally acquired or their offspring and that are held in private ownership for primarily agricultural purposes.
(AAA) "Migratory game bird" includes waterfowl (Anatidae); doves (Columbidae); cranes (Gruidae); cormorants (Phalacrocoracidea); rails, coots, and gallinules (Rallidae); and woodcock and snipe (Scolopacidae).
(BBB) "Accompany" means to go along with another person while staying within a distance from the person that enables uninterrupted, unaided visual and auditory communication.
(CCC)
"Electric-powered
all-purpose All-purpose
vehicle"
means
any battery-powered
self-propelled electric vehicle
that is
designed primarily for cross-country travel on land, water, or
land and water and that is steered by wheels, caterpillar treads,
or a combination of wheels and caterpillar treads and includes
vehicles that operate on a cushion of air, vehicles commonly
known as all-terrain vehicles, all-season vehicles, mini-bikes,
and trail bikes. "Electric-powered
all-purpose vehicle"
does not include a utility vehicle as defined in section
4501.01 of the Revised Code, any vehicle that is principally
used in playing golf, any motor vehicle or aircraft that
is required to be registered under Chapter 4503. or 4561. of
the Revised Code, or any vehicle that is excluded from the definition
of "motor vehicle" as provided in division (B) of section
4501.01 of the Revised Code.
(DDD) "Wholly enclosed preserve" means an area of land that is surrounded by a fence that is at least six feet in height, unless otherwise specified in division rule, and is constructed of a woven wire mesh, or another enclosure that the division of wildlife may approve, where game birds, game quadrupeds, reptiles, amphibians, or fur-bearing animals are raised and may be sold under the authority of a commercial propagating license or captive white-tailed deer propagation license obtained under section 1533.71 of the Revised Code.
(EEE) "Commercial bird shooting preserve" means an area of land where game birds are released and hunted by shooting as authorized by a commercial bird shooting preserve license obtained under section 1533.72 of the Revised Code.
(FFF) "Wild animal hunting preserve" means an area of land where game, captive white-tailed deer, and nonnative wildlife, other than game birds, are released and hunted as authorized by a wild animal hunting preserve license obtained under section 1533.721 of the Revised Code.
(GGG) "Captive white-tailed deer" means legally acquired deer that are held in private ownership at a facility licensed under section 943.03 or 943.031 of the Revised Code and under section 1533.71 or 1533.721 of the Revised Code.
(HHH) "Lake Erie sport fishing district" means the Ohio waters of Lake Erie and its embayments, including Maumee bay, Sandusky bay, East Harbor, Middle Harbor, West Harbor, and the entire length of all tributaries or to the first dam or designated landmark as follows:
Vermilion river - state route 2 bridge
Black river - state route 611 bridge
Rocky river - Detroit road bridge
Cuyahoga river - Harvard road bridge
Euclid creek - state route 283 bridge
Chagrin river - state route 283 bridge
Arcola creek - United States route 20 bridge
Wheeler creek - United States route 20 bridge
Cowles creek - United States route 20 bridge
Indian creek - United States route 20 bridge
Grand river - state route 535 bridge
Conneaut creek - Main street bridge, downtown Conneaut
Ashtabula river - east 24th street bridge
Sec.
1533.01.
As used in this chapter, "person," "resident,"
"nonresident," "division rule," "rule,"
"closed season,"
"open season," "take or taking," "possession,"
"bag limit,"
"transport and transportation," "sell and sale,"
"whole to
include part," "angling," "trotline,"
"fish," "measurement of fish,"
"wild birds," "game," "game birds,"
"nongame birds," "wild
quadrupeds," "game quadrupeds," "fur-bearing
animals," "wild
animals," "hunting," "trapping," "muskrat
spear," "channels
and passages," "island," "reef," "fur
farm," "waters," "crib,"
"car," "commercial fish," "fishing,"
"fillet," "part fillet,"
"round," "migrate," "spreader bar,"
"fishing guide," "net,"
"commercial fishing gear," "native wildlife,"
"gill net," "tag
fishing tournament," "tenant," "nonnative
wildlife," "reptiles,"
"amphibians," "deer," "domestic deer,"
"migratory game
bird," "accompany," "electric-powered
all-purpose
vehicle," "wholly
enclosed preserve," "commercial bird shooting preserve,"
"wild
animal hunting preserve," and
"captive
white-tailed deer,"
and
"Lake Erie sport fishing district"
have the same meanings as in
section 1531.01 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 1533.10. (A) Except as provided in this section or division (A)(2) of section 1533.12 or section 1533.73 or 1533.731 of the Revised Code, no person shall hunt any wild bird or wild quadruped without a hunting license. Each day that any person hunts within the state without procuring such a license constitutes a separate offense.
(B)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, division (A) of section 1533.12 of the Revised Code, or in rules adopted under division (B) of that section, each applicant for a hunting license shall pay an annual fee for each annual license in accordance with the following schedule:
Hunting license - resident $18.00
Hunting
license - nonresident, and not a resident of a reciprocal
state, all
ages
18 and older $174.00
Hunting license - nonresident, but is a resident of a
reciprocal
state, all
ages
18 and older $18.00
Apprentice hunting license - resident $18.00
Apprentice hunting license - nonresident, and not a
resident of a reciprocal state $174.00
Apprentice hunting license - nonresident, but is a
resident of a reciprocal state $18.00
Youth hunting license - resident and nonresident $9.00
Apprentice youth hunting license - resident $9.00
Senior hunting license - resident $9.00
Apprentice senior hunting license - resident $9.00
(2) Apprentice resident hunting licenses, apprentice youth hunting licenses, apprentice senior hunting licenses, and apprentice nonresident hunting licenses are subject to the requirements established under section 1533.102 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under it.
(3) As used in division (B)(1) of this section:
(a) "Youth" means an applicant who is under the age of eighteen years at the time of application for a permit.
(b) "Senior" means an applicant who is sixty-six years of age or older at the time of application for a permit.
(c) "Reciprocal state" means a state that is a party to an agreement under section 1533.91 of the Revised Code.
(C) A resident of this state who owns lands in the state and the owner's children of any age and grandchildren under eighteen years of age may hunt on the lands without a hunting license. A resident of any other state who owns real property in this state, and the spouse and children living with the property owner, may hunt on that property without a license, provided that the state of residence of the real property owner allows residents of this state owning real property in that state, and the spouse and children living with the property owner, to hunt without a license. If the owner of land in this state is a limited liability company or a limited liability partnership that consists of three or fewer individual members or partners, as applicable, an individual member or partner who is a resident of this state and the member's or partner's children of any age and grandchildren under eighteen years of age may hunt on the land owned by the limited liability company or limited liability partnership without a hunting license. In addition, if the owner of land in this state is a trust that has a total of three or fewer trustees and beneficiaries, an individual who is a trustee or beneficiary and who is a resident of this state and the individual's children of any age and grandchildren under eighteen years of age may hunt on the land owned by the trust without a hunting license. The tenant and children of the tenant, residing on lands in the state, may hunt on them without a hunting license.
(D) The chief of the division of wildlife may issue a small game hunting license expiring three days from the effective date of the license to a nonresident of the state, the fee for which shall be thirty-nine dollars. No person shall take or possess deer, wild turkeys, fur-bearing animals, ducks, geese, brant, or any nongame animal while possessing only a small game hunting license. A small game hunting license or an apprentice nonresident hunting license does not authorize the taking or possessing of ducks, geese, or brant without having obtained, in addition to the small game hunting license or the apprentice nonresident hunting license, a wetlands habitat stamp as provided in section 1533.112 of the Revised Code. A small game hunting license or an apprentice nonresident hunting license does not authorize the taking or possessing of deer, wild turkeys, or fur-bearing animals. A nonresident of the state who wishes to take or possess deer, wild turkeys, or fur-bearing animals in this state shall procure, respectively, a deer or wild turkey permit as provided in section 1533.11 of the Revised Code or a fur taker permit as provided in section 1533.111 of the Revised Code in addition to a nonresident hunting license, an apprentice nonresident hunting license, a special youth hunting license, or an apprentice youth hunting license, as applicable, as provided in this section.
(E) No person shall procure or attempt to procure a hunting license by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or any false statement.
(F)(1) This section does not authorize the taking and possessing of deer or wild turkeys without first having obtained, in addition to the hunting license required by this section, a deer or wild turkey permit as provided in section 1533.11 of the Revised Code or the taking and possessing of ducks, geese, or brant without first having obtained, in addition to the hunting license required by this section, a wetlands habitat stamp as provided in section 1533.112 of the Revised Code.
(2) This section does not authorize the hunting or trapping of fur-bearing animals without first having obtained, in addition to a hunting license required by this section, a fur taker permit as provided in section 1533.111 of the Revised Code.
(G)(1) No hunting license shall be issued unless it is accompanied by a written explanation of the law in section 1533.17 of the Revised Code and the penalty for its violation, including a description of terms of imprisonment and fines that may be imposed.
(2) No hunting license, other than an apprentice hunting license, shall be issued unless the applicant presents to the agent authorized to issue the license a previously held hunting license or evidence of having held such a license in content and manner approved by the chief, a certificate of completion issued upon completion of a hunter education and conservation course approved by the chief, or evidence of equivalent training in content and manner approved by the chief. A previously held apprentice hunting license does not satisfy the requirement concerning the presentation of a previously held hunting license or evidence of it.
(3) No person shall issue a hunting license, except an apprentice hunting license, to any person who fails to present the evidence required by this section. No person shall purchase or obtain a hunting license, other than an apprentice hunting license, without presenting to the issuing agent the evidence required by this section. Issuance of a hunting license in violation of the requirements of this section is an offense by both the purchaser of the illegally obtained hunting license and the clerk or agent who issued the hunting license. Any hunting license issued in violation of this section is void.
(H) The chief, with approval of the wildlife council, shall adopt rules prescribing a hunter education and conservation course for first-time hunting license buyers, other than buyers of apprentice hunting licenses, and for volunteer instructors. The course shall consist of subjects including, but not limited to, hunter safety and health, use of hunting implements, hunting tradition and ethics, the hunter and conservation, the law in section 1533.17 of the Revised Code along with the penalty for its violation, including a description of terms of imprisonment and fines that may be imposed, and other law relating to hunting. Authorized personnel of the division or volunteer instructors approved by the chief shall conduct such courses with such frequency and at such locations throughout the state as to reasonably meet the needs of license applicants. The chief shall issue a certificate of completion to each person who successfully completes the course and passes an examination prescribed by the chief.
Sec.
1533.101.
Any person who has been
issued a
current
hunting
or fishing license, a
nonresident Lake Erie sport fishing
district permit, a
wetlands habitat stamp, a deer or wild
turkey permit, or a fur taker permit for
the current license,
stamp, or permit year or for the license, stamp, or permit
year next preceding the current such year pursuant
to this
chapter,
and if the license, stamp, or permit has been
and
has
lost,
or
destroyed
the license, stamp, or permit,
or had
the license,
stamp, or permit stolen,
may be issued
a reissued hunting
or fishing license, wetlands habitat stamp, deer or wild turkey
permit, or fur taker reissued
such license, stamp, or permit.
The person shall file with the clerk of the court of common
pleas an application in affidavit form or, if the chief of
the division of wildlife authorizes it, apply for a reissued license,
stamp, or permit to an authorized agent designated by the
chief, and pay a fee for each license, stamp, or permit of four
dollars. The clerk or agent shall administer the oath to the
applicant, issue a reissued license, stamp, or permit that shall
allow the applicant to hunt, fish, or trap, as applicable, and
send a copy of the reissued license, stamp, or permit to the division
of wildlife.
All moneys received as fees for the issuance of reissued licenses, stamps, or permits shall be transmitted to the director of natural resources to be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the funds to which the fees for the original licenses, stamps, and permits were credited.
No person shall knowingly or willfully secure, attempt to secure, or use a reissued hunting or fishing license, wetlands habitat stamp, deer or wild turkey permit, or fur taker permit to which the person is not entitled. No person shall knowingly or willfully issue a reissued hunting or fishing license, wetlands habitat stamp, deer or wild turkey permit, or fur taker permit under this section to any person who is not entitled to receive and use such a reissued license, stamp, or permit.
Sec. 1533.102. The chief of the division of wildlife may adopt rules under section 1531.10 of the Revised Code that the chief considers to be necessary to administer the issuance of apprentice hunting licenses and apprentice fur taker permits under sections 1533.10 and 1533.111 of the Revised Code, respectively, and their use, except that the rules shall not establish fee amounts for those licenses and permits that differ from the fee amounts established in those sections, as applicable.
Unless
otherwise provided by division rule, an apprentice license
or permit is valid beginning on the first day of March and
ending at midnight on the last day of February of the following
year. No
person shall purchase more than three apprentice
hunting licenses of any type or more than three apprentice
fur taker permits of any type.
Any type of apprentice hunting license authorizes the holder of such a license to hunt only while accompanied by another person who is twenty-one years of age or older and who possesses a valid hunting license. Any type of apprentice fur taker permit authorizes the holder of such a permit to hunt or trap fur-bearing animals only while accompanied by another person who is twenty-one years of age or older and who possesses a valid fur taker permit. No holder of a valid hunting license or fur taker permit shall accompany more than two holders of any type of apprentice hunting license or apprentice fur taker permit at one time.
Sec.
1533.103.
The chief of the division of wildlife shall adopt
rules under section 1531.10 of the Revised Code that are necessary
to administer the issuance of permits for the use of electric-powered
all-purpose
vehicles or motor vehicles by persons
with mobility impairments to hunt wild quadrupeds or game
birds in public wildlife
and
private
areas.
The rules shall establish
eligibility requirements, an application procedure, the
duration of a permit, identification and designation of public
wildlife
and
private
areas
in which electric-powered
all-purpose
vehicles or motor vehicles may be used by permit holders,
and any other procedures and requirements governing the permits
that the chief determines are necessary. The chief shall not
charge a fee for the issuance of a permit under this section.
Sec.
1533.11.
(A)(1) Except as provided in this section or section
1533.731 of the Revised Code, no person shall hunt deer on
lands of another without first obtaining an annual deer permit.
Except as provided in this section, no person shall hunt wild
turkeys on lands of another without first obtaining an annual
wild turkey permit. Except
as provided in division (A)(2) of
section 1533.12 of the Revised Code, a A
deer
or wild turkey permit
shall run concurrently with the hunting license
is valid during
the hunting license year in which the permit is purchased.
Except as provided in rules adopted under division (B)
of that section, each applicant for a deer or wild turkey permit
shall pay an annual fee for each permit in accordance with
the following schedule:
Deer permit – resident $23.00
Deer permit – nonresident, all ages $74.00
Youth deer permit – resident $11.50
Senior deer permit – resident $11.50
Wild turkey permit – resident $23.00
Wild turkey permit – nonresident, all ages $28.00
Youth wild turkey permit – resident $11.50
Senior wild turkey permit – resident $11.50
(2) As used in division (A)(1) of this section:
(a) "Resident" means an individual who has resided in this state for not less than six months preceding the date of making application for a permit.
(b) "Nonresident" means any individual who does not qualify as a resident.
(c) "Youth" means an applicant who is under the age of eighteen years at the time of application for a permit.
(d) "Senior" means an applicant who is sixty-six years of age or older at the time of application for a permit.
(3) The money received shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the wildlife fund, created in section 1531.17 of the Revised Code, exclusively for the use of the division of wildlife in the acquisition and development of land for deer or wild turkey management, for investigating deer or wild turkey problems, and for the stocking, management, and protection of deer or wild turkey.
(4) Every person, while hunting deer or wild turkey on lands of another, shall carry the person's deer or wild turkey permit and exhibit it to any enforcement officer so requesting. Failure to so carry and exhibit such a permit constitutes an offense under this section.
(5) The chief of the division of wildlife shall adopt any additional rules the chief considers necessary to carry out this section and section 1533.10 of the Revised Code.
(6) An owner who is a resident of this state or an owner who is exempt from obtaining a hunting license under section 1533.10 of the Revised Code and the children of the owner of lands in this state may hunt deer or wild turkey thereon without a deer or wild turkey permit. If the owner of land in this state is a limited liability company or a limited liability partnership that consists of three or fewer individual members or partners, as applicable, an individual member or partner who is a resident of this state and the member's or partner's children of any age may hunt deer or wild turkey on the land owned by the limited liability company or limited liability partnership without a deer or wild turkey permit. In addition, if the owner of land in this state is a trust that has a total of three or fewer trustees and beneficiaries, an individual who is a trustee or beneficiary and who is a resident of this state and the individual's children of any age may hunt deer or wild turkey on the land owned by the trust without a deer or wild turkey permit. The tenant and children of the tenant may hunt deer or wild turkey on lands where they reside without a deer or wild turkey permit.
(B) A deer or wild turkey permit is not transferable. No person shall carry a deer or wild turkey permit issued in the name of another person.
(C) The wildlife refunds fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of money received from application fees for deer permits that are not issued. Money in the fund shall be used to make refunds of such application fees.
(D) If the division establishes a system for the electronic submission of information regarding deer or wild turkey that are taken, the division shall allow the owner and the children of the owner of lands in this state to use the owner's name or address for purposes of submitting that information electronically via that system.
Sec.
1533.111.
Except as provided in this section or division
(A)(2) of section 1533.12 of the Revised Code, no person
shall hunt or trap fur-bearing animals on land of another without
first obtaining some type of an annual fur taker permit. Each
applicant for a fur taker permit or an apprentice fur taker permit
shall pay an annual fee of fourteen dollars for the permit,
except as otherwise provided in this section or unless the
rules adopted under division (B) of section 1533.12 of the Revised
Code provide for issuance of a fur taker permit to the applicant
free of charge. Except as provided in rules adopted under
division (B)(2) of that section, each applicant who is a resident
of this state and who at the time of application is sixty-six
years of age or older shall procure a special senior fur
taker permit
or an apprentice senior fur taker permit,
the fee
for which shall be one-half of the regular fur
taker permit
fee.
Each applicant under the age of eighteen years shall procure
a special youth fur taker permit or an apprentice youth fur
taker permit, the fee for which shall be one-half of the regular
fur taker permit fee. Each type of fur taker permit shall
run concurrently with is
valid during
the
hunting
license
year
in which the permit is purchased.
The money received shall be
paid into the state treasury to the credit of the fund established
in section 1533.15 of the Revised Code. Apprentice fur
taker permits and apprentice youth fur taker permits are subject
to the requirements established under section 1533.102 of
the Revised Code and rules adopted pursuant to it.
No fur taker permit shall be issued unless it is accompanied by a written explanation of the law in section 1533.17 of the Revised Code and the penalty for its violation, including a description of terms of imprisonment and fines that may be imposed.
No fur taker permit, other than an apprentice fur taker permit or an apprentice youth fur taker permit, shall be issued unless the applicant presents to the agent authorized to issue a fur taker permit a previously held hunting license or trapping or fur taker permit or evidence of having held such a license or permit in content and manner approved by the chief of the division of wildlife, a certificate of completion issued upon completion of a trapper education course approved by the chief, or evidence of equivalent training in content and manner approved by the chief. A previously held apprentice hunting license, apprentice fur taker permit, or apprentice youth fur taker permit does not satisfy the requirement concerning the presentation of a previously held hunting license or fur taker permit or evidence of such a license or permit.
No person shall issue a fur taker permit, other than an apprentice fur taker permit or an apprentice youth fur taker permit, to any person who fails to present the evidence required by this section. No person shall purchase or obtain a fur taker permit, other than an apprentice fur taker permit or an apprentice youth fur taker permit, without presenting to the issuing agent the evidence required by this section. Issuance of a fur taker permit in violation of the requirements of this section is an offense by both the purchaser of the illegally obtained permit and the clerk or agent who issued the permit. Any fur taker permit issued in violation of this section is void.
The chief, with approval of the wildlife council, shall adopt rules prescribing a trapper education course for first-time fur taker permit buyers, other than buyers of apprentice fur taker permits or apprentice youth fur taker permits, and for volunteer instructors. The course shall consist of subjects that include, but are not limited to, trapping techniques, animal habits and identification, trapping tradition and ethics, the trapper and conservation, the law in section 1533.17 of the Revised Code along with the penalty for its violation, including a description of terms of imprisonment and fines that may be imposed, and other law relating to trapping. Authorized personnel of the division of wildlife or volunteer instructors approved by the chief shall conduct the courses with such frequency and at such locations throughout the state as to reasonably meet the needs of permit applicants. The chief shall issue a certificate of completion to each person who successfully completes the course and passes an examination prescribed by the chief.
Every person, while hunting or trapping fur-bearing animals on lands of another, shall carry the person's fur taker permit with the person's signature written on the permit. Failure to carry such a signed permit constitutes an offense under this section. The chief shall adopt any additional rules the chief considers necessary to carry out this section.
An owner who is a resident of this state or an owner who is exempt from obtaining a hunting license under section 1533.10 of the Revised Code and the children of the owner of lands in this state may hunt or trap fur-bearing animals thereon without a fur taker permit. If the owner of land in this state is a limited liability company or a limited liability partnership that consists of three or fewer individual members or partners, as applicable, an individual member or partner who is a resident of this state and the member's or partner's children of any age may hunt or trap fur-bearing animals on the land owned by the limited liability company or limited liability partnership without a fur taker permit. In addition, if the owner of land in this state is a trust that has a total of three or fewer trustees and beneficiaries, an individual who is a trustee or beneficiary and who is a resident of this state and the individual's children of any age may hunt or trap fur-bearing animals on the land owned by the trust without a fur taker permit. The tenant and children of the tenant may hunt or trap fur-bearing animals on lands where they reside without a fur taker permit.
A fur taker permit is not transferable. No person shall carry a fur taker permit issued in the name of another person.
A fur taker permit entitles a nonresident to take from this state fur-bearing animals taken and possessed by the nonresident as provided by law or division rule.
Sec. 1533.13. Hunting and fishing licenses, wetlands habitat stamps, deer and wild turkey permits, fur taker permits, and any other licenses, permits, or stamps that are required under this chapter or Chapter 1531. of the Revised Code and any reissued license, permit, or stamp may be issued by the clerk of the court of common pleas, village clerks, township fiscal officers, and other authorized agents designated by the chief of the division of wildlife. When required by the chief, a clerk, fiscal officer, or other agent shall give bond in the manner provided by the chief. All bonds, reports, except records prescribed by the auditor of state, and moneys received by those persons shall be handled under rules adopted by the director of natural resources.
The premium of any bond prescribed by the chief under this section may be paid by the chief. Any person who is designated and authorized by the chief to issue licenses, stamps, and permits as provided in this section, except the clerk of the court of common pleas, a village clerk, and a township fiscal officer, shall pay to the chief a premium in an amount that represents the person's portion of the premium paid by the chief under this section, which amount shall be established by the chief and approved by the wildlife council created under section 1531.03 of the Revised Code. The chief shall pay all moneys that the chief receives as premiums under this section into the state treasury to the credit of the wildlife fund created under section 1531.17 of the Revised Code.
Every authorized agent, for the purpose of issuing hunting and fishing licenses, wetlands habitat stamps, deer and wild turkey permits, and fur taker permits, may administer oaths to and take affidavits from applicants for the licenses, stamps, or permits when required. An authorized agent may appoint deputies to perform any acts that the agent is authorized to perform, consistent with division rules.
Every
applicant for a hunting or fishing license, wetlands habitat
stamp, deer or wild turkey permit, or fur taker permit, unless
otherwise provided by division rule, shall provide the applicant's
name, date of birth, weight, height, and place of residence
and any other information that the chief may require. The
clerk, fiscal officer, or other agent authorized to issue licenses,
stamps, and permits shall charge each applicant a fee of
one dollar or
four per cent of the cost of the license, stamp,
or permit, whichever is greater, for
taking the information
provided by the applicant and issuing the license, stamp,
or permit. The application, license, stamp, permit, and other
blanks required by this section shall be prepared and furnished
by the chief, in the form the chief provides, to the clerk,
fiscal officer, or other agent authorized to issue them. The
licenses and permits shall be issued to applicants by the clerk,
fiscal officer, or other agent. The record of licenses and
permits kept by the clerks, fiscal officers, and other agents
shall be uniform throughout the state and in the form or manner
as the auditor of state prescribes and shall be open at all
reasonable hours to the inspection of any person. Unless otherwise
provided by division rule, each annual
hunting
license,
deer or wild turkey permit, and fur taker permit issued shall
remain in force until
midnight of the thirty-first day of August
next ensuing
the
first day of March.
Application for any such
license or permit may be made and a license or permit issued
prior to the date upon which it becomes effective.
The chief may require an applicant who wishes to purchase a license, stamp, or permit by mail or telephone or via the internet to pay a nominal fee for postage and handling and credit card transactions.
The court before whom a violator of any laws or division rules for the protection of wild animals is tried, as a part of the punishment, shall revoke the license, stamp, or permit of any person convicted. The license, stamp, or permit fee paid by that person shall not be returned to the person. The person shall not procure or use any other license, stamp, or permit or engage in hunting wild animals or trapping fur-bearing animals during the period of revocation as ordered by the court.
No person under sixteen years of age shall engage in hunting unless accompanied by the person's parent or another adult person.
Sec. 1533.32. (A) Except as provided in this section or division (A)(2) or (C) of section 1533.12 of the Revised Code or as exempted at the discretion of the chief of the division of wildlife, no person, including nonresidents, shall take or catch any fish by angling in any of the waters in the state or engage in fishing in those waters without a license. No person shall take or catch frogs or turtles without a valid fishing license, except as provided in this section. Persons fishing in privately owned ponds, lakes, or reservoirs to or from which fish are not accustomed to migrate are exempt from the license requirements set forth in this section. Persons fishing in privately owned ponds, lakes, or reservoirs that are open to public fishing through an agreement or lease with the division of wildlife shall comply with the license requirements set forth in this section.
(B)(1) The fee for an annual license shall be forty-nine dollars for a resident of a state that is not a party to an agreement under section 1533.91 of the Revised Code. The fee for an annual license shall be eighteen dollars for a resident of a state that is a party to such an agreement. The fee for an annual license for residents of this state shall be eighteen dollars unless the rules adopted under division (B) of section 1533.12 of the Revised Code provide for issuance of a resident fishing license to the applicant free of charge. Except as provided in rules adopted under division (B)(2) of that section, each applicant who is a resident of this state and who at the time of application is sixty-six years of age or older shall procure a special senior fishing license, the fee for which shall be one-half of the annual resident fishing license fee.
(2) Any person under the age of sixteen years may take or catch frogs and turtles and take or catch fish by angling without a license.
(C)(1) The chief of the division of wildlife may issue a tourist's license expiring three days from the effective date of the license to a resident of a state that is not a party to an agreement under section 1533.91 of the Revised Code. The fee for a tourist's license shall be eighteen dollars.
(2) The chief shall adopt rules under section 1531.10 of the Revised Code providing for the issuance of a one-day fishing license to a resident of this state or of any other state. The fee for such a license shall be fifty-five per cent of the amount established under this section for a tourist's license, rounded up to the nearest whole dollar. A one-day fishing license shall allow the holder to take or catch fish by angling in the waters in the state, engage in fishing in those waters, or take or catch frogs or turtles in those waters for one day without obtaining an annual license or a tourist's license under this section. At the request of a holder of a one-day fishing license who wishes to obtain an annual license, a clerk or agent authorized to issue licenses under section 1533.13 of the Revised Code, not later than the last day on which the one-day license would be valid if it were an annual license, shall credit the amount of the fee paid for the one-day license toward the fee charged for the annual license if so authorized by the chief. The clerk or agent shall issue the annual license upon presentation of the one-day license and payment of a fee in an amount equal to the difference between the fee for the annual license and the fee for the one-day license.
(3)
Unless
otherwise provided by division rule, each annual
license shall begin on the first
day of March of the current
year date
of issuance
and
expire on
the last day of February
of the following a
year
from the date of issuance.
(4) Unless otherwise provided by division rule, each multi-year license issued in accordance with section 1533.321 of the Revised Code shall begin on the date of issuance and expire three years, five years, or ten years from the date of issuance, as applicable.
(5) No person shall alter a fishing license or possess a fishing license that has been altered.
(6) No person shall procure or attempt to procure a fishing license by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or any false statement.
(7) A resident of this state who owns land over, through, upon, or along which any water flows or stands, except where the land is in or borders on state parks or state-owned lakes, together with the members of the immediate families of such owners, may take frogs and turtles and may take or catch fish of the kind permitted to be taken or caught therefrom without procuring a license provided for in this section. This exemption extends to tenants actually residing upon such lands and to the members of the immediate families of the tenants. A resident of any other state who owns land in this state over, through, upon, or along which any water flows or stands, except where the land is in or borders on state parks or state-owned lakes, and the spouse and children living with the owner, may take frogs and turtles and may take or catch fish of the kind permitted to be taken or caught from that water without obtaining a license under this section, provided that the state of residence of the owner allows residents of this state owning real property in that state, and the spouse and children living with such a property owner, to take frogs and turtles and take or catch fish without a license. If the owner of such land in this state is a limited liability company or a limited liability partnership that consists of three or fewer individual members or partners, as applicable, an individual member or partner who is a resident of this state and the member's or partner's children of any age may take frogs and turtles and may take or catch fish of the kind permitted to be taken or caught therefrom without procuring a license provided for in this section. In addition, if the owner of such land in this state is a trust that has a total of three or fewer trustees and beneficiaries, an individual who is a trustee or beneficiary and who is a resident of this state and the individual's children of any age may take frogs and turtles and may take or catch fish of the kind permitted to be taken or caught therefrom without procuring a license provided for in this section. Residents of state or county institutions, charitable institutions, and military homes in this state may take frogs and turtles without procuring the required license, provided that a member of the institution or home has an identification card, which shall be carried on that person when fishing.
(8) Every fisher required to be licensed, while fishing or taking or attempting to take frogs or turtles, shall carry the license and exhibit it to any person. Failure to so carry and exhibit the license constitutes an offense under this section.
Sec. 1533.321. (A) The chief of the division of wildlife may issue any of the following:
(1) Multi-year hunting or fishing licenses for three-, five-, or ten-year terms to a resident of this state;
(2) Lifetime hunting or fishing licenses to a resident of this state;
(3) A package consisting of any combination of license, stamp, or permit that the chief is authorized to issue under this chapter.
(B) The chief may adopt rules in accordance with section 1531.10 of the Revised Code governing multi-year hunting and fishing licenses, lifetime hunting and fishing licenses, and combination packages, including rules establishing fees for the combination packages. The chief shall ensure that the price for a combination package is not discounted by more than five per cent of the total fees for the licenses, permits, or stamps that a person would otherwise pay for those licenses, permits, or stamps if the person purchased them individually.
(C)(1) The multi-year and lifetime license fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of money received from application fees for multi-year and lifetime hunting and fishing licenses.
(2) Each fiscal year, a prorated amount of the money from each multi-year and lifetime license fee shall be transferred from the multi-year and lifetime license fund to the fund into which the applicable single year license fee would otherwise be deposited. The prorated amount shall equal the total amount of the fee charged for the license divided by the number of years the license is valid. The chief shall adopt rules in accordance with section 1531.10 of the Revised Code for the administration of this division, including establishing a system that prorates lifetime license fees for deposit each year into the wildlife fund created in section 1531.17 of the Revised Code.
(3) Each fiscal year, all previous year's investment earnings from the multi-year and lifetime license fund shall be transferred into the wildlife fund created in section 1531.17 of the Revised Code.
(D)(1) Each applicant for a multi-year or lifetime fishing license who is a resident of this state shall pay a fee for each license in accordance with the following schedule:
Senior 3-year fishing license $27.50
Senior 5-year fishing license $45.75
Senior lifetime fishing license $81.00
3-year fishing license $52.00
5-year fishing license $86.75
10-year fishing license $173.50
Lifetime fishing license $450.00
Youth lifetime fishing license $414.00
(2) As used in division (D)(1) of this section:
(a) "Youth" means an applicant who is under the age of sixteen years at the time of application for a permit.
(b) "Senior" means an applicant who is sixty-six years of age or older at the time of application for a permit.
(E)(1) Each applicant for a multi-year or lifetime hunting license who is a resident of this state shall pay a fee for each license in accordance with the following schedule:
Senior 3-year hunting license $27.50
Senior 5-year hunting license $45.75
Senior lifetime hunting license $81.00
Youth 3-year hunting license $27.50
Youth 5-year hunting license $45.75
Youth 10-year hunting license $91.50
Youth lifetime hunting license $414.00
3-year hunting license $52.00
5-year hunting license $86.75
10-year hunting license $173.50
Lifetime hunting license $450.00
(2) As used in division (E)(1) of this section:
(a) "Youth" means an applicant who is under the age of eighteen years at the time of application for a permit.
(b) "Senior" means an applicant who is sixty-six years of age or older at the time of application for a permit.
(F) If a person who is issued a multi-year hunting or fishing license or lifetime hunting or fishing license in accordance with division (A) of this section subsequently becomes a nonresident after issuance of the license, the person's license remains valid in this state during its term, regardless of residency status.
Sec. 1533.38. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no nonresident shall take fish from the Lake Erie sport fishing district between the first day of January and the last day of April each year without first obtaining a nonresident Lake Erie sport fishing district permit.
(B) Each applicant for a nonresident Lake Erie sport fishing district permit shall pay an annual fee of ten dollars for each permit. All money derived from the permit shall be deposited into the wildlife fund created in section 1531.17 of the Revised Code and shall be appropriated exclusively for the following purposes:
(1) For the protection, propagation, preservation, and stocking of fish in Lake Erie;
(2) For the securing of more public fishing water access including leasing, purchasing, or otherwise acquiring stream banks, bottoms, and marginal strips, headwaters, and other suitable public fishing grounds in the Lake Erie sport fishing district as authorized under section 1531.06 of the Revised Code;
(3) For the cooperation with other agencies, as provided in section 1501.02 of the Revised Code, to assist in the prevention, control, and management of injurious aquatic invasive species in Lake Erie;
(4) For other practical fish management work in Lake Erie, including biological investigations;
(5) For promoting educational and research activities, other methods of fish propagation and fish culture, and other proper conservation activities in Lake Erie.
(C) The chief of the division of wildlife shall adopt any rules in accordance with section 1531.10 of the Revised Code that the chief considers necessary to implement this section.
Sec. 2923.16. (A) No person shall knowingly discharge a firearm while in or on a motor vehicle.
(B) No person shall knowingly transport or have a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle in such a manner that the firearm is accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the vehicle.
(C) No person shall knowingly transport or have a firearm in a motor vehicle, unless the person may lawfully possess that firearm under applicable law of this state or the United States, the firearm is unloaded, and the firearm is carried in one of the following ways:
(1) In a closed package, box, or case;
(2) In a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle;
(3) In plain sight and secured in a rack or holder made for the purpose;
(4) If the firearm is at least twenty-four inches in overall length as measured from the muzzle to the part of the stock furthest from the muzzle and if the barrel is at least eighteen inches in length, either in plain sight with the action open or the weapon stripped, or, if the firearm is of a type on which the action will not stay open or which cannot easily be stripped, in plain sight.
(D) No person shall knowingly transport or have a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle if, at the time of that transportation or possession, any of the following applies:
(1) The person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them.
(2) The person's whole blood, blood serum or plasma, breath, or urine contains a concentration of alcohol, a listed controlled substance, or a listed metabolite of a controlled substance prohibited for persons operating a vehicle, as specified in division (A) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code, regardless of whether the person at the time of the transportation or possession as described in this division is the operator of or a passenger in the motor vehicle.
(E) No person who has been issued a concealed handgun license or who is an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States and is carrying a valid military identification card and documentation of successful completion of firearms training that meets or exceeds the training requirements described in division (G)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, who is the driver or an occupant of a motor vehicle that is stopped as a result of a traffic stop or a stop for another law enforcement purpose or is the driver or an occupant of a commercial motor vehicle that is stopped by an employee of the motor carrier enforcement unit for the purposes defined in section 5503.34 of the Revised Code, and who is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle or commercial motor vehicle in any manner, shall do any of the following:
(1) Fail to promptly inform any law enforcement officer who approaches the vehicle while stopped that the person has been issued a concealed handgun license or is authorized to carry a concealed handgun as an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States and that the person then possesses or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle;
(2) Fail to promptly inform the employee of the unit who approaches the vehicle while stopped that the person has been issued a concealed handgun license or is authorized to carry a concealed handgun as an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States and that the person then possesses or has a loaded handgun in the commercial motor vehicle;
(3) Knowingly fail to remain in the motor vehicle while stopped or knowingly fail to keep the person's hands in plain sight at any time after any law enforcement officer begins approaching the person while stopped and before the law enforcement officer leaves, unless the failure is pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by a law enforcement officer;
(4) Knowingly have contact with the loaded handgun by touching it with the person's hands or fingers in the motor vehicle at any time after the law enforcement officer begins approaching and before the law enforcement officer leaves, unless the person has contact with the loaded handgun pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by the law enforcement officer;
(5) Knowingly disregard or fail to comply with any lawful order of any law enforcement officer given while the motor vehicle is stopped, including, but not limited to, a specific order to the person to keep the person's hands in plain sight.
(F)(1) Divisions (A), (B), (C), and (E) of this section do not apply to any of the following:
(a) An officer, agent, or employee of this or any other state or the United States, or a law enforcement officer, when authorized to carry or have loaded or accessible firearms in motor vehicles and acting within the scope of the officer's, agent's, or employee's duties;
(b) Any person who is employed in this state, who is authorized to carry or have loaded or accessible firearms in motor vehicles, and who is subject to and in compliance with the requirements of section 109.801 of the Revised Code, unless the appointing authority of the person has expressly specified that the exemption provided in division (F)(1)(b) of this section does not apply to the person.
(2) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a person if all of the following circumstances apply:
(a) The person discharges a firearm from a motor vehicle at a coyote or groundhog, the discharge is not during the deer gun hunting season as set by the chief of the division of wildlife of the department of natural resources, and the discharge at the coyote or groundhog, but for the operation of this section, is lawful.
(b) The motor vehicle from which the person discharges the firearm is on real property that is located in an unincorporated area of a township and that either is zoned for agriculture or is used for agriculture.
(c) The person owns the real property described in division (F)(2)(b) of this section, is the spouse or a child of another person who owns that real property, is a tenant of another person who owns that real property, or is the spouse or a child of a tenant of another person who owns that real property.
(d) The person does not discharge the firearm in any of the following manners:
(i) While under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or alcohol and a drug of abuse;
(ii) In the direction of a street, highway, or other public or private property used by the public for vehicular traffic or parking;
(iii) At or into an occupied structure that is a permanent or temporary habitation;
(iv) In the commission of any violation of law, including, but not limited to, a felony that includes, as an essential element, purposely or knowingly causing or attempting to cause the death of or physical harm to another and that was committed by discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle.
(3) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a person if all of the following apply:
(a)
The person possesses a valid electric-powered
all-purpose vehicle permit issued under
section 1533.103 of the Revised Code by the chief of the division of
wildlife.
(b) The person discharges a firearm at a wild quadruped or game bird as defined in section 1531.01 of the Revised Code during the open hunting season for the applicable wild quadruped or game bird.
(c)
The person discharges a firearm from a stationary electric-powered
all-purpose
vehicle as defined in section 1531.01
of the Revised Code from
private or publicly owned lands or
from
a
motor vehicle that is parked on a road that is owned or
administered by the division of wildlife,
provided that the road
is identified by an electric-powered all-purpose vehicle sign.
(d) The person does not discharge the firearm in any of the following manners:
(i) While under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or alcohol and a drug of abuse;
(ii) In the direction of a street, a highway, or other public or private property that is used by the public for vehicular traffic or parking;
(iii) At or into an occupied structure that is a permanent or temporary habitation;
(iv) In the commission of any violation of law, including, but not limited to, a felony that includes, as an essential element, purposely or knowingly causing or attempting to cause the death of or physical harm to another and that was committed by discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle.
(4) Divisions (B) and (C) of this section do not apply to a person if all of the following circumstances apply:
(a) At the time of the alleged violation of either of those divisions, the person is the operator of or a passenger in a motor vehicle.
(b) The motor vehicle is on real property that is located in an unincorporated area of a township and that either is zoned for agriculture or is used for agriculture.
(c) The person owns the real property described in division (D)(4)(b) of this section, is the spouse or a child of another person who owns that real property, is a tenant of another person who owns that real property, or is the spouse or a child of a tenant of another person who owns that real property.
(d) The person, prior to arriving at the real property described in division (D)(4)(b) of this section, did not transport or possess a firearm in the motor vehicle in a manner prohibited by division (B) or (C) of this section while the motor vehicle was being operated on a street, highway, or other public or private property used by the public for vehicular traffic or parking.
(5) Divisions (B) and (C) of this section do not apply to a person who transports or possesses a handgun in a motor vehicle if, at the time of that transportation or possession, both of the following apply:
(a) The person transporting or possessing the handgun is either carrying a valid concealed handgun license or is an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States and is carrying a valid military identification card and documentation of successful completion of firearms training that meets or exceeds the training requirements described in division (G)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.
(b) The person transporting or possessing the handgun is not knowingly in a place described in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code.
(6) Divisions (B) and (C) of this section do not apply to a person if all of the following apply:
(a)
The person possesses a valid electric-powered
all-purpose vehicle permit issued under
section 1533.103 of the Revised Code by the chief of the division of
wildlife.
(b)
The person is on or in an electric-powered
all-purpose vehicle as defined in
section 1531.01 of the Revised Code or a motor vehicle during the
open hunting season for a wild quadruped or game bird.
(c)
The person is on or in an electric-powered
all-purpose vehicle as defined in
section 1531.01 of the Revised Code on
private
or publicly owned lands or on
or in a motor vehicle that is parked on a
road that is owned or administered by the division of wildlife,
provided that the road is identified by an electric-powered
all-purpose vehicle sign.
(7) Nothing in this section prohibits or restricts a person from possessing, storing, or leaving a firearm in a locked motor vehicle that is parked in the state underground parking garage at the state capitol building or in the parking garage at the Riffe center for government and the arts in Columbus, if the person's transportation and possession of the firearm in the motor vehicle while traveling to the premises or facility was not in violation of division (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of this section or any other provision of the Revised Code.
(G)(1) The affirmative defenses authorized in divisions (D)(1) and (2) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code are affirmative defenses to a charge under division (B) or (C) of this section that involves a firearm other than a handgun.
(2) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (B) or (C) of this section of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle that the actor transported or had the firearm in the motor vehicle for any lawful purpose and while the motor vehicle was on the actor's own property, provided that this affirmative defense is not available unless the person, immediately prior to arriving at the actor's own property, did not transport or possess the firearm in a motor vehicle in a manner prohibited by division (B) or (C) of this section while the motor vehicle was being operated on a street, highway, or other public or private property used by the public for vehicular traffic.
(H)(1) No person who is charged with a violation of division (B), (C), or (D) of this section shall be required to obtain a concealed handgun license as a condition for the dismissal of the charge.
(2)(a) If a person is convicted of, was convicted of, pleads guilty to, or has pleaded guilty to a violation of division (E) of this section as it existed prior to September 30, 2011, and if the conduct that was the basis of the violation no longer would be a violation of division (E) of this section on or after September 30, 2011, the person may file an application under section 2953.37 of the Revised Code requesting the expungement of the record of conviction.
If a person is convicted of, was convicted of, pleads guilty to, or has pleaded guilty to a violation of division (B) or (C) of this section as the division existed prior to September 30, 2011, and if the conduct that was the basis of the violation no longer would be a violation of division (B) or (C) of this section on or after September 30, 2011, due to the application of division (F)(5) of this section as it exists on and after September 30, 2011, the person may file an application under section 2953.37 of the Revised Code requesting the expungement of the record of conviction.
(b) The attorney general shall develop a public media advisory that summarizes the expungement procedure established under section 2953.37 of the Revised Code and the offenders identified in division (H)(2)(a) of this section who are authorized to apply for the expungement. Within thirty days after September 30, 2011, the attorney general shall provide a copy of the advisory to each daily newspaper published in this state and each television station that broadcasts in this state. The attorney general may provide the advisory in a tangible form, an electronic form, or in both tangible and electronic forms.
(I) Whoever violates this section is guilty of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle. Violation of division (A) of this section is a felony of the fourth degree. Violation of division (C) of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. A violation of division (D) of this section is a felony of the fifth degree or, if the loaded handgun is concealed on the person's person, a felony of the fourth degree. Except as otherwise provided in this division, a violation of division (E)(1) or (2) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree, and, in addition to any other penalty or sanction imposed for the violation, the offender's concealed handgun license shall be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code. If at the time of the stop of the offender for a traffic stop, for another law enforcement purpose, or for a purpose defined in section 5503.34 of the Revised Code that was the basis of the violation any law enforcement officer involved with the stop or the employee of the motor carrier enforcement unit who made the stop had actual knowledge of the offender's status as a licensee, a violation of division (E)(1) or (2) of this section is a minor misdemeanor, and the offender's concealed handgun license shall not be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code. A violation of division (E)(4) of this section is a felony of the fifth degree. A violation of division (E)(3) or (5) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree or, if the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of division (E)(3) or (5) of this section, a felony of the fifth degree. In addition to any other penalty or sanction imposed for a misdemeanor violation of division (E)(3) or (5) of this section, the offender's concealed handgun license shall be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code. A violation of division (B) of this section is a felony of the fourth degree.
(J) If a law enforcement officer stops a motor vehicle for a traffic stop or any other purpose, if any person in the motor vehicle surrenders a firearm to the officer, either voluntarily or pursuant to a request or demand of the officer, and if the officer does not charge the person with a violation of this section or arrest the person for any offense, the person is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm, and the firearm is not contraband, the officer shall return the firearm to the person at the termination of the stop. If a court orders a law enforcement officer to return a firearm to a person pursuant to the requirement set forth in this division, division (B) of section 2923.163 of the Revised Code applies.
(K) As used in this section:
(1) "Motor vehicle," "street," and "highway" have the same meanings as in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Occupied structure" has the same meaning as in section 2909.01 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Agriculture" has the same meaning as in section 519.01 of the Revised Code.
(4) "Tenant" has the same meaning as in section 1531.01 of the Revised Code.
(5)(a) "Unloaded" means, with respect to a firearm other than a firearm described in division (K)(6) of this section, that no ammunition is in the firearm in question, no magazine or speed loader containing ammunition is inserted into the firearm in question, and one of the following applies:
(i) There is no ammunition in a magazine or speed loader that is in the vehicle in question and that may be used with the firearm in question.
(ii) Any magazine or speed loader that contains ammunition and that may be used with the firearm in question is stored in a compartment within the vehicle in question that cannot be accessed without leaving the vehicle or is stored in a container that provides complete and separate enclosure.
(b) For the purposes of division (K)(5)(a)(ii) of this section, a "container that provides complete and separate enclosure" includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(i) A package, box, or case with multiple compartments, as long as the loaded magazine or speed loader and the firearm in question either are in separate compartments within the package, box, or case, or, if they are in the same compartment, the magazine or speed loader is contained within a separate enclosure in that compartment that does not contain the firearm and that closes using a snap, button, buckle, zipper, hook and loop closing mechanism, or other fastener that must be opened to access the contents or the firearm is contained within a separate enclosure of that nature in that compartment that does not contain the magazine or speed loader;
(ii) A pocket or other enclosure on the person of the person in question that closes using a snap, button, buckle, zipper, hook and loop closing mechanism, or other fastener that must be opened to access the contents.
(c) For the purposes of divisions (K)(5)(a) and (b) of this section, ammunition held in stripper-clips or in en-bloc clips is not considered ammunition that is loaded into a magazine or speed loader.
(6) "Unloaded" means, with respect to a firearm employing a percussion cap, flintlock, or other obsolete ignition system, when the weapon is uncapped or when the priming charge is removed from the pan.
(7) "Commercial motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in division (A) of section 4506.25 of the Revised Code.
(8) "Motor carrier enforcement unit" means the motor carrier enforcement unit in the department of public safety, division of state highway patrol, that is created by section 5503.34 of the Revised Code.
(L) Divisions (K)(5)(a) and (b) of this section do not affect the authority of a person who is carrying a valid concealed handgun license to have one or more magazines or speed loaders containing ammunition anywhere in a vehicle, without being transported as described in those divisions, as long as no ammunition is in a firearm, other than a handgun, in the vehicle other than as permitted under any other provision of this chapter. A person who is carrying a valid concealed handgun license may have one or more magazines or speed loaders containing ammunition anywhere in a vehicle without further restriction, as long as no ammunition is in a firearm, other than a handgun, in the vehicle other than as permitted under any provision of this chapter.
Section 2. That existing sections 1531.01, 1533.01, 1533.10, 1533.101, 1533.102, 1533.103, 1533.11, 1533.111, 1533.13, 1533.32, and 2923.16 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.