Carcass tags issued under fish and game laws; registration of carcasses of wild animals; methods of storing, retrieving, printing, and displaying fish and game approvals; counterfeiting or illegal alteration of fish and game approvals; forgery in applying for fish and game approvals or for registration of an all-terrain vehicle, utility terrain vehicle, or snowmobile; transfers of wolf harvesting licenses; the place of trial for a violation of certain fish and game laws; methods of issuing, retrieving, reprinting, duplicating, and exhibiting registration documents and safety certificates and proving registration for all-terrain vehicles, utility terrain vehicles, and snowmobiles; methods of issuing, retrieving, reprinting, duplicating, and exhibiting certification and registration documents for boats; methods of issuing, retrieving, reprinting, and exhibiting proof of a trail pass for all-terrain vehicles and utility terrain vehicles and of a trail use sticker for snowmobiles; suspension and revocation of a certificate of number or registration for a boat; reasonable suspicion for a law enforcement officer to stop an all-terrain vehicle, utility terrain vehicle, boat, or snowmobile; extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures; providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures; granting rule-making authority; making an appropriation; and providing penalties. (FE)

Under the bill, if DNR maintains a system under which DNR stores information in an electronic format that relates to individuals who have been issued hunting, fishing, or trapping approvals or recreational vehicle safety certificates, DNR may issue a conservation card to any individual who applies for the card for purposes of enabling DNR to access information about that individual in the system. The bill allows DNR to authorize an individual to carry a conservation card or another form of identification in lieu of carrying proof of an approval or safety certificate. The bill allows DNR to charge a $3.25 fee for a conservation card, along with a 25-cent issuing fee.

Under current law, a "validated registration receipt" is a receipt issued by DNR or its agent that shows that an application and the required fees for a registration certificate or certificate of number for a recreational vehicle have been submitted to DNR or its agent. The bill changes this term to "temporary operating receipt."

Current law requires an operator of a recreational vehicle to have proof that the vehicle is registered, or covered by a certificate of number, if applicable, while operating the vehicle. Depending on the vehicle, this requires attaching certain plates, decals, or numbers to the vehicle or possessing certain documents while operating the vehicle. Under this bill, for a recreational vehicle for which the owner has received a temporary operating receipt but has not yet received the registration certificate or certificate of number, the bill instead requires the operator to have in his or her possession, and display to a law enforcement officer on request, proof of the temporary operating receipt.

This bill also allows DNR to maintain a system under which an individual may obtain a reprint of certain approvals and recreational vehicle safety certificates. The bill requires DNR to designate by rule who may produce such a reprint, for which approvals and safety certificates a reprint may be produced, and the manner in which a reprint may be produced. The bill sets fees for reprints and establishes how much of those fees may be retained by an agent.

All-terrain vehicles and utility terrain vehicles Generally under current law, a nonresident may not operate an unregistered ATV or UTV on a public ATV corridor unless a nonresident trail pass, issued by DNR or its agent, is permanently affixed in a highly visible location on the forward half of the vehicle. This bill allows DNR or an agent to issue a temporary trail use receipt showing that an application and the required fees for a nonresident trail pass have been submitted to DNR or an agent. The bill allows a person to operate an ATV or UTV on a public ATV corridor without a nonresident trail pass if the person is carrying proof of a valid temporary trail use receipt.

Under current law, every person who is an ATV or UTV manufacturer, ATV or UTV dealer, ATV or UTV distributor, or ATV or UTV renter or any combination of these is required to register with DNR, obtain a commercial ATV or UTV certificate, and attach, in a clearly visible place, a reflectorized plate issued by DNR or a similar plate or sign that is removable and temporarily but firmly mounted to any ATV or UTV that the person leases, rents, offers for sale, or otherwise allows to be used whenever the ATV or UTV is being operated. Under this bill the plate is not required to be reflectorized.

The bill prohibits a person from intentionally making a false statement on an application for an ATV or UTV registration and from altering, removing, or changing any number or character in an ATV or UTV engine serial number or in a vehicle identification number (VIN). The bill also prohibits a person from manufacturing a VIN tag the person knows to contain false information to be placed on an ATV or UTV and from placing a VIN tag the person knows to be false on an ATV or UTV.

Snowmobiles Generally under current law, the owner of a snowmobile may not operate a snowmobile or give permission to another person to operate a snowmobile on a snowmobile corridor unless a trail use sticker, issued by DNR or its agent, is displayed on the snowmobile. This bill allows DNR or its agent to issue a temporary trail use receipt showing that an application and the required fees for a trail use sticker have been submitted to DNR or the agent. The bill allows a person to operate a snowmobile on a snowmobile corridor without a trail use sticker if the person is carrying proof of a valid temporary trail use receipt.

Under current law, every person who is a snowmobile manufacturer, snowmobile dealer, snowmobile distributor, or snowmobile renter or any combination of these is required to register with DNR, obtain a commercial snowmobile certificate, and attach a reflectorized plate in a clearly visible place to any snowmobile not registered for public use that the person leases, rents, offers for sale, or otherwise allows to be used whenever the snowmobile is being operated.

Under this bill, instead of issuing three reflectorized plates with a commercial snowmobile certificate, DNR is required to issue three registration decals. Instead of requiring a reflectorized plate to be attached to a snowmobile, the bill requires only a plate and specifies that it must be removable and temporarily but firmly mounted to a snowmobile. The bill also requires a registration decal to be attached to the plate.

The bill prohibits a person from intentionally making a false statement on an application for a snowmobile registration and from altering, removing, or changing any number or character in a snowmobile VIN. The bill also prohibits a person from manufacturing a VIN tag the person knows to contain false information to be placed on a snowmobile and from placing a VIN tag the person knows to be false on a snowmobile.

Boats Current law prohibits a person from intentionally falsifying an application for a certificate of title, a certificate of number, or a registration of a boat or intentionally falsifying certain official identification numbers related to boats. A person guilty of violating any of these prohibitions is guilty of a Class H felony, except for a violation of the prohibition against falsifying an application for a certificate of number or registration. This bill makes that violation a Class H felony as well.

Under current law, DNR is required to suspend or revoke a certificate of title for a boat if it finds that the certificate of title was fraudulently procured; the boat has been scrapped, dismantled, or destroyed; or the transfer of a certificate of title has been set aside by a court order or judgment. If DNR suspends or revokes a certificate of title, current law requires the owner or person in possession of the certificate of number or registration to deliver it to DNR and allows DNR to seize and impound a certificate of number or registration that is suspended or revoked. This bill adds that DNR is also required to suspend or revoke a certificate of number or registration for a boat under these circumstances.

Hunting, fishing, and trapping Generally, under current law, no person may hunt, fish, or trap unless DNR issues the person the appropriate approval, which could be a license, permit, certificate, card, stamp, or tag. Current law generally requires a person to carry the required approval at all times while hunting, fishing, or trapping and to exhibit the approval to DNR or its wardens on demand. The bill requires a person to carry proof of an approval instead of carrying the approval.

Current law requires DNR to issue a carcass tag to each person who is issued a deer hunting license, an elk hunting license, a wolf hunting license, a bear hunting license, an archer hunting license, a crossbow hunting license, a sports license, or a conservation patron license, and a certain number of carcass tags to a person who is issued a sturgeon spearing license. Generally, a person who kills a deer, elk, bear, or wolf or who spears a sturgeon must immediately validate and attach the carcass tag to the animal. Current law also allows DNR to promulgate by rule a requirement that hunters tag each sharp-tailed grouse killed with a tag issued by DNR. This bill eliminates the requirement that a carcass tag be attached to an animal and requires only that the carcass tag be validated in the manner required by DNR. The bill also allows DNR to require hunters to validate, not to attach, a tag to each sharp-tailed grouse killed.

Under current law, no person may change or alter an approval or enter other than the correct date of issuance on an approval. Under this bill, no person may alter an approval or proof of an approval or falsely represent that the person holds an approval.

Under current law, no person may possess or control deer or elk antlers in the velvet or a deer or an elk skin in the spotted coat of a lawfully killed deer or elk unless DNR has authorized the possession. This bill eliminates this restriction.

This bill prohibits a person from possessing, buying, exhibiting, using, transferring, selling, or offering for transfer or sale an approval or proof of an approval if the person knows the approval or proof is counterfeit, if the person has illegally or erroneously obtained the approval or proof, or if the approval has been suspended or revoked. A person who violates this prohibition may be required to forfeit not less than $250 and not more than $2,000 and is subject to a natural resources restitution surcharge.

Enforcement Under current law, after having identified himself or herself as an enforcing officer, and within certain limitations, an enforcing officer may stop a person in a public place for a reasonable period of time when the officer reasonably suspects that the person is committing, is about to commit, or has committed a violation of certain natural resource or environment-related statutes, administrative rules, or ordinances. Under the bill, an enforcing officer has reasonable suspicion to perform such a stop if an ATV or UTV does not visibly display a registration plate or decal or a nonresident trail pass, if a boat does not visibly display a registration or certification decal, or if a snowmobile does not visibly display a registration decal or trail use sticker.

Under current law, generally, a civil action resulting from a violation of certain natural resource or environment-related statutes, administrative rules, or ordinances must be tried in the county where the offense was committed. Under the bill, if the offense results from the violation of a requirement to possess an approval, a prohibition against breaking, removing, interfering with, altering, forging, or falsely representing that the person holds an approval or proof of an approval, or a prohibition against counterfeit approvals or illegally-obtained approvals, the defendant may be tried in the county where the offense was committed or Dane County.

Under current law, in an action for intentionally falsifying an application for a boat certificate of number, a registration, or a certificate of title, the defendant may be tried in the defendant's county of residence at the time that the complaint is filed, in the county where the defendant purchased the boat if purchased from a dealer, or the county where DNR received the application. This bill applies these same venue options for an action for intentionally falsifying an application for an ATV, UTV, or snowmobile registration.

Under current law, many penalties for violations of natural resource statutes include forfeitures. This bill increases many of those forfeiture amounts.