Nuisance wildlife management at airports

Under current law generally, a person is prohibited from placing, possessing, or transporting a firearm, bow, or crossbow in or on a motorboat with the motor running or a motor vehicle unless the firearm is unloaded or is a handgun, the bow does not have an arrow nocked, or the crossbow is not cocked or is unloaded. A person is also prohibited from loading a firearm, other than a handgun, in a vehicle and from discharging a firearm or shooting a bolt or an arrow from a bow or crossbow in or from a vehicle. A person is also prohibited from discharging a firearm or shooting a bolt or an arrow from a bow or crossbow from or across a highway or within 50 feet of the center of a roadway.

Under current law generally, it is a felony to discharge a firearm at or toward another person, vehicle, or building from a vehicle while on a highway or on a vehicle parking lot that is open to the public.

This bill creates an exception to each of these provisions applicable to designated personnel at a public-use airport or an airport under the exclusive control of the national guard or U.S. Department of Defense for the purposes of nuisance wildlife management and control that is conducted in accordance with applicable state or federal permits. For the purpose of these provisions, the bill provides that “designated personnel” includes any person who is acting within the scope of his or her employment or employer and who is an employee or contractor of the airport or the local government that operates the airport or a federal employee or agent.