§ 24-60-2602 — Execution of compact

The general assembly hereby approves
and the governor is authorized to enter into a compact on behalf of this state with
any other state or states legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows:

ARTICLE I

Findings, Declaration of Policy, and Purpose

(a) The participating states find that:

(1) Wildlife resources are managed in trust by the respective states for the
benefit of all residents and visitors.

(2) The protection of the wildlife resources of a state is materially affected
by the degree of compliance with state statutes, laws, regulations, ordinances, and
administrative rules relating to the management of such resources.

(3) The preservation, protection, management, and restoration of wildlife
contributes immeasurably to the aesthetic, recreational, and economic aspects of
such natural resources.

(4) Wildlife resources are valuable without regard to political boundaries;
therefore, every person should be required to comply with wildlife preservation,
protection, management, and restoration laws, ordinances, and administrative rules
and regulations of the participating states as a condition precedent to the
continuance or issuance of any license to hunt, fish, trap, or possess wildlife.

(5) Violation of wildlife laws interferes with the management of wildlife
resources and may endanger the safety of persons and property.

(6) The mobility of many wildlife law violators necessitates the maintenance
of channels of communication among the various states.

(7) In most instances, a person who is cited for a wildlife violation in a state
other than his home state:

(i) Is required to post collateral or a bond to secure appearance for a trial at a
later date; or

(ii) Is taken into custody until the collateral or bond is posted; or

(iii) Is taken directly to court for an immediate appearance.

(8) The purpose of the enforcement practices set forth in paragraph (7) of
this article is to ensure compliance with the terms of a wildlife citation by the cited
person who, if permitted to continue on his way after receiving the citation, could
return to his home state and disregard his duty under the terms of the citation.

(9) In most instances, a person receiving a wildlife citation in his home state
is permitted to accept the citation from the officer at the scene of the violation and
immediately continue on his way after agreeing or being instructed to comply with
the terms of the citation.

(10) The practices described in paragraph (7) of this article cause
unnecessary inconvenience and, at times, a hardship for the person who is unable at
the time to post collateral, furnish a bond, stand trial, or pay a fine, and thus is
compelled to remain in custody until some alternative arrangement is made.

(11) The enforcement practices described in paragraph (7) of this article
consume an undue amount of law enforcement time.

(b) It is the policy of the participating states to:

(1) Promote compliance with the statutes, laws, ordinances, regulations, and
administrative rules relating to management of wildlife resources in their
respective states.

(2) Recognize the suspension of wildlife license privileges of any person
whose license privileges have been suspended by a participating state and treat
such suspension as if it had occurred in their state.

(3) Allow a violator, except as provided in paragraph (b) of article III, to
accept a wildlife citation and, without delay, proceed on his way, whether or not a
resident of the state in which the citation was issued, provided that the violator's
home state is party to this compact.

(4) Report to the appropriate participating state, as provided in the compact
manual, any conviction recorded against any person whose home state was not the
issuing state.

(5) Allow the home state to recognize and treat convictions recorded against
its residents, which convictions occurred in a participating state, as though they had
occurred in the home state.

(6) Extend cooperation to its fullest extent among the participating states
for enforcing compliance with the terms of a wildlife citation issued in one
participating state to a resident of another participating state.

(7) Maximize effective use of law enforcement personnel and information.

(8) Assist court systems in the efficient disposition of wildlife violations.

(c) The purpose of this compact is to:

(1) Provide a means through which participating states may join in a
reciprocal program to effectuate the policies enumerated in paragraph (b) of this
article in a uniform and orderly manner.

(2) Provide for the fair and impartial treatment of wildlife violators operating
within participating states in recognition of the violator's right to due process and
the sovereign status of a participating state.

ARTICLE II

Definitions

As used in this compact, unless the context requires otherwise:

(a) Citation means any summons, complaint, summons and complaint,
ticket, penalty assessment, or other official document issued to a person by a
wildlife officer or other peace officer for a wildlife violation which contains an order
requiring the person to respond.

(b) Collateral means any cash or other security deposited to secure an
appearance for trial in connection with the issuance by a wildlife officer or other
peace officer of a citation for a wildlife violation.

(c) Compliance with respect to a citation means the act of answering a
citation through an appearance in a court or tribunal, or through the payment of
fines, costs, and surcharges, if any.

(d) Conviction means a conviction, including any court conviction, for any
offense related to the preservation, protection, management, or restoration of
wildlife which is prohibited by state statute, law, regulation, ordinance, or
administrative rule, and such conviction shall also include the forfeiture of any bail,
bond, or other security deposited to secure appearance by a person charged with
having committed any such offense, the payment of a penalty assessment, a plea of
nolo contendere and the imposition of a deferred or suspended sentence by the
court.

(e) Court means a court of law, including magistrate's court and the justice
of the peace court.

(f) Home state means the state of primary residence of a person.

(g) Issuing state means the participating state which issues a wildlife
citation to the violator.

(h) License means any license, permit, or other public document which
conveys to the person to whom it was issued the privilege of pursuing, possessing,
or taking any wildlife regulated by statute, law, regulation, ordinance, or
administrative rule of a participating state.

(i) Licensing authority means the department or division within each
participating state which is authorized by law to issue or approve licenses or
permits to hunt, fish, trap, or possess wildlife.

(j) Participating state means any state which enacts legislation to become
a member of this wildlife compact.

(k) Personal recognizance means an agreement by a person made at the
time of issuance of the wildlife citation that such person will comply with the terms
of the citation.

(l) State means any state, territory, or possession of the United States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Provinces of Canada,
and other countries.

(m) Suspension means any revocation, denial, or withdrawal of any or all
license privileges, including the privilege to apply for, purchase, or exercise the
benefits conferred by any license.

(n) Terms of the citation means those conditions and options expressly
stated upon the citation.

(o) Wildlife means all species of animals including, but not limited to,
mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mollusks, and crustaceans, which are
defined as wildlife and are protected or otherwise regulated by statute, law,
regulation, ordinance, or administrative rule in a participating state. Species
included in the definition of wildlife vary from state to state and determination of
whether a species is wildlife for the purposes of this compact shall be based on
local law.

(p) Wildlife law means any statute, law, regulation, ordinance, or
administrative rule developed and enacted for the management of wildlife
resources and the uses thereof.

(q) Wildlife officer means any individual authorized by a participating state
to issue a citation for a wildlife violation.

(r) Wildlife violation means any cited violation of a statute, law, regulation,
ordinance, or administrative rule developed and enacted for the management of
wildlife resources and the uses thereof.

ARTICLE III

Procedures for Issuing State

(a) When issuing a citation for a wildlife violation, a wildlife officer shall issue
a citation to any person whose primary residence is in a participating state in the
same manner as though the person were a resident of the issuing state and shall
not require such person to post collateral to secure appearance, subject to the
exceptions noted in paragraph (b) of this article, if the officer receives the
recognizance of such person that he will comply with the terms of the citation.

(b) Personal recognizance is acceptable (1) if not prohibited by local law or
the compact manual and (2) if the violator provides adequate proof of identification
to the wildlife officer.

(c) Upon conviction or failure of a person to comply with the terms of a
wildlife citation, the appropriate official shall report the conviction or failure to
comply to the licensing authority of the participating state in which the wildlife
citation was issued. The report shall be made in accordance with procedures
specified by the issuing state and shall contain information as specified in the
compact manual as minimum requirements for effective processing by the home
state.

(d) Upon receipt of the report of conviction or noncompliance pursuant to
paragraph (c) of this article, the licensing authority of the issuing state shall
transmit to the licensing authority of the home state of the violator the information
in form and content as prescribed in the compact manual.

ARTICLE IV

Procedure for Home State

(a) Upon receipt of a report from the licensing authority of the issuing state
reporting the failure of a violator to comply with the terms of a citation, the
licensing authority of the home state shall notify the violator and shall initiate a
suspension action in accordance with the home state's suspension procedures and
shall suspend the violator's license privileges until satisfactory evidence of
compliance with the terms of the wildlife citation has been furnished by the issuing
state to the home state licensing authority. Due process safeguards will be
accorded.

(b) Upon receipt of a report of conviction from the licensing authority of the
issuing state, the licensing authority of the home state shall enter such conviction
in its records and shall treat such conviction as though it occurred in the home state
for the purposes of the suspension of license privileges.

(c) The licensing authority of the home state shall maintain a record of
actions taken and shall make reports to issuing states as provided in the compact
manual.

ARTICLE V

Reciprocal Recognition of Suspension

(a) All participating states shall recognize the suspension of license
privileges of any person by any participating state as though the violation resulting
in the suspension had occurred in their state and could have been the basis for
suspension of license privileges in their state.

(b) Each participating state shall communicate suspension information to
other participating states in form and content as contained in the compact manual.

ARTICLE VI

Applicability of Other Laws

(a) Except as expressly required by provisions of this compact, nothing
herein shall be construed to affect the right of any participating state to apply any
of its laws relating to license privileges to any person or circumstance or to
invalidate or prevent any agreement or other cooperative arrangement between a
participating state and a nonparticipating state concerning wildlife law
enforcement.

ARTICLE VII

Compact Administrator Procedures

(a) For the purpose of administering the provisions of this compact and to
serve as a governing body for the resolution of all matters relating to the operation
of this compact, a board of compact administrators is established. The board shall
be composed of one representative from each of the participating states to be
known as the compact administrator. The compact administrator shall be appointed
by the head of the licensing authority of each participating state and shall serve
and be subject to removal in accordance with the laws of the state he represents. A
compact administrator may provide for the discharge of his duties and the
performance of his functions as a board member by an alternate. An alternate shall
not be entitled to serve unless written notification of his identity has been given to
the board.

(b) Each member of the board of compact administrators shall be entitled to
one vote. No action of the board shall be binding unless taken at a meeting at which
a majority of the total number of the board's votes are cast in favor thereof. Action
by the board shall be only at a meeting at which a majority of the participating
states are represented.

(c) The board shall elect annually from its membership a chairman and vice-chairman.

(d) The board shall adopt bylaws not inconsistent with the provisions of this
compact or the laws of a participating state for the conduct of its business and
shall have the power to amend and rescind its bylaws.

(e) The board may accept for any of its purposes and functions under this
compact any and all donations and grants of moneys, equipment, supplies,
materials, and services, conditional or otherwise, from any state, the United States,
or any governmental agency, and may receive, utilize and dispose of same.

(f) The board may contract with, or accept services or personnel from, any
governmental or intergovernmental agency, individual, firm, or corporation, or any
private nonprofit organization or institution.

(g) The board shall formulate all necessary procedures and develop uniform
forms and documents for administering the provisions of this compact. All
procedures and forms adopted pursuant to board action shall be contained in a
compact manual.

ARTICLE VIII

Entry into Compact and Withdrawal

(a) This compact shall become effective at such time as it is adopted in a
substantially similar form by two or more states.

(b) (1) Entry into the compact shall be made by resolution of ratification
executed by the authorized officials of the applying state and submitted to the
chairman of the board.

(2) The resolution shall substantially be in the form and content as provided
in the compact manual and shall include the following:

(i) A citation of the authority from which the state is empowered to become a
party to this compact;

(ii) An agreement of compliance with the terms and provisions of this
compact; and

(iii) An agreement that compact entry is with all states participating in the
compact and with all additional states legally becoming a party to the compact.

(3) The effective date of entry shall be specified by the applying state but
shall not be less than sixty days after notice has been given (a) by the chairman of
the board of the compact administrators or (b) by the secretariat of the board to
each participating state that the resolution from the applying state has been
received.

(c) A participating state may withdraw from participation in this compact by
official written notice to each participating state, but withdrawal shall not become
effective until ninety days after the notice of withdrawal is given. The notice shall
be directed to the compact administrator of each member state. No withdrawal of
any state shall affect the validity of this compact as to the remaining participating
states.

ARTICLE IX

Amendments to the Compact

(a) This compact may be amended from time to time. Amendments shall be
presented in resolution form to the chairman of the board of compact
administrators and shall be initiated by one or more participating states.

(b) Adoption of an amendment shall require endorsement by all participating
states and shall become effective thirty days after the date of the last
endorsement.

(c) Failure of a participating state to respond to the compact chairman within
one hundred twenty days after receipt of a proposed amendment shall constitute
endorsement thereof.

ARTICLE X

Construction and Severability

This compact shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate the purposes
stated herein. The provisions of this compact shall be severable and if any phrase,
clause, sentence, or provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the
constitution of any participating state or of the United States, or the applicability
thereof to any government, agency, individual, or circumstance is held invalid, the
validity of the remainder of this compact shall not be affected thereby. If this
compact shall be held contrary to the constitution of any participating state, the
compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining states and in full
force and effect as to the participating state affected as to all severable matters.

ARTICLE XI

Title

This compact shall be known as the Wildlife Violator Compact.

Legislative History

Source: L. 89: Entire part added, p. 1085, � 1, effective April 12.