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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to an exemption to the fishing license requirement for |
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certain residents engaged in fishing in public waters. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 46.002(a), Parks and Wildlife Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) A license issued under this chapter is not required of a |
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person: |
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(1) who is a resident and whose birth date is before |
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January 1, 1931; |
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(2) who is a nonresident, if the person's birth date is |
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before September 1, 1930, and the person's state of residence |
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grants a similar age exemption to Texas residents; |
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(3) with a mental illness or developmental or |
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intellectual disability who is engaged in recreational fishing as |
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part of medically approved therapy under the immediate supervision |
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of personnel approved or employed by a hospital, residence, or |
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school for persons with mental illnesses or developmental or |
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intellectual disabilities; |
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(4) with a mental illness or developmental or |
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intellectual disability who is engaged in recreational fishing |
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under the immediate supervision of a person who: |
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(A) holds a license issued under this chapter; |
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and |
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(B) if not a member of the family of the person |
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with a mental illness or developmental or intellectual disability, |
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has the permission of the family head or legal guardian of the |
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person with a mental illness or developmental or intellectual |
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disability to take the person with a mental illness or |
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developmental or intellectual disability fishing; |
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(5) who is participating in an event that is sponsored |
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or co-sponsored by the department with the approval of the |
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director; [or] |
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(6) who is a resident and who is a veteran of the |
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United States armed forces, if the person is acting under Section |
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11.208 and complying with rules adopted under that section; or |
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(7) who is a resident 70 years of age or older and who |
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is engaged in fishing in the public water of this state. |
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SECTION 2. The Parks and Wildlife Department is not |
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required to issue a refund to a person described by Section |
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46.002(a)(7), Parks and Wildlife Code, as added by this Act, for a |
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fishing license, stamp, or package issued to the person before the |
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effective date of this Act. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |