PUC C.S.H.B. 1941 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS


STATE RECREATIONAL RESOURCES
C.S.H.B. 1941
By: Place
4-24-97
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND 

Current statute allows for the Executive Director of Texas Parks and
Wildlife to suspend or revoke an original or renewal permit or license
issued under the Parks and Wildlife Code if it is found, after notice and
hearing held with the office of Administrative Law Judges, that: 
 
 (1) a person has been finally convicted of a violation of the Code or
proclamation related  to the permit or license;  

 (2) a person has violated a provision of the Code or proclamation related
to the permit or  license;  

 (3) a person made a false statement relating to the permit or license; or 

 (4) the person is indebted to the state for taxes, fees, or fines imposed
by the Code  relating to the permit or license to be suspended or revoked. 

PURPOSE

CSHB 1941 would allow any hunting or fishing license or permit issued by
the department to be automatically revoked upon conviction of a person
hunting or fishing without consent of the landowner as prescribed in
Section 61.022, and the department may not issue to the person any hunting
or fishing license or permit for a period of one year after the date of
final conviction. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or
institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1: Amends Subchapter F, Chapter 12, Parks and Wildlife Code, by
adding Section 12.5015 as follows: 

 Sec. 12.5015.  AUTOMATIC REVOCATION AND DENIAL OF ISSUANCE OF  HUNTING OR
FISHING LICENSE OR PERMIT. 

 (a) Provides that any hunting or fishing license or permit issued by the
department is  automatically revoked upon conviction of a person hunting
or fishing without consent of  the landowner as prescribed in Section
61.022. 

 (b)  Provides that the holder of a lifetime license upon final conviction
of an offense  under Sec. 61.022, will automatically have their license
suspended for a period of one  year. 

 (c) Provides that the department may not issue to the person any hunting
or fishing  license or permit for a period of one year after the date of
final conviction. 

  (d) Provides that a person who has a license revoked shall surrender the
license to the  
 court.

 (e) Provides that the clerk of court shall send to the department a copy
of the final  judgement of conviction. 

 (f) Provides that a justice of the peace court has jurisdiction over a
prosecution of Section  61.022 if the justice of the peace court has
jurisdiction prior to this bill being enacted.      
  
SECTION 2: Effective date: September 1, 1997.  Transition statement. 

SECTION 3: Emergency clause.



COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

The committee substitute has an amended caption.  CSHB 1941 relates to the
automatic revocation of hunting and fishing licenses held by and the
denial of issuance of hunting and fishing licenses to persons convicted of
poaching. 

In CSHB 1941, the caption for Section 12.5015 is amended from that of the
original bill to include the denial or issuance of hunting and fishing
licenses. 

A new subsection (b) has been added under Sec. 12.5015 in the committee
substitute, and the following subsections relettered appropriately.  The
new subsection deals with the suspension of lifetime licenses. 

CSHB 1941, Sec. 12.5015 (c), the word "conviction" has replaced
"revocation" and the reference to a person "who has had a license or
permit revoked under this section" has been replaced with "finally
convicted of an offense under Section 61.022". 

CSHB 1941, Sec. 12.5015 (e), makes reference to the "clerk of court"
rather than just "court", and "final judgement of conviction" replaces
"court's order revoking any license and any revoked license".