BILL NUMBER:S7150

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
suspension or revocation of fishing, hunting and trapping licenses
pursuant to the interstate wildlife violator compact

PURPOSE:
To amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
suspension or revocation of fishing, hunting and trapping licenses
pursuant to the interstate wildlife violator compact.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) - § 71-0919(1) is amended by
adding a new paragraph g to provide that when a license privilege is
revoked or suspended by a participating state in the IWVC, the
violation and subsequent revocation or suspension in that state shall
constitute the basis for revocation or suspension in this state for
the same privilege and period of time.

JUSTIFICATION:
The text of the IWVC is found at ECL § 11- 2503. Article V of the IWVC
- reciprocal recognition of suspension - requires that all participating
states 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. Each
participating state is responsible for communicating suspension
information to the other participating states.

New York State-joined the IWVC in 2005; at that time there were 16
participating states in the Compact, today there are 30 states and
more signing up each year, including Pennsylvania in the very near
future which alone is expected to add thousands more revocations to a
backlog of nearly 5000 which exist today. - Currently, each
revocation notice posted on the IWVC Web page must be painstakingly
reviewed for content and applicability to New York revocable
violations. Other participating states in the IWVC eliminate. this
large administrative burden by simply adopting all revocations and
suspensions posted by other participating states. New York State's
law puts the additional requirement on the program that the violation
which a subject is revoked for must be identical to a revocable
violation in New York State. This additional requirement allows many
egregious violators of wildlife laws in other member states (some
even New York State residents) to escape revocation in New York due
to narrow scope of revocable offenses under the ECL.

The purpose of the IWVC is to prevent these offenders from farming
around for sporting privileges when they have been revoked in another
state, it is also intended to prevent member states from becoming a

dumping ground for all the violators that can't get a sporting
license anywhere else, New York state does not want or need the
license sales from these individuals.

Amending the ECL as per this proposal will eliminate the backlog of
current suspensions to be reviewed by making them all eligible for
revocation in New York State. It will eliminate the large
administrative burden currently existing to individually review and
process these thousands of notices, and eliminate the need for
additional staffing to accomplish the time consuming review of each
of these IWVC suspensions. Most importantly however, it will protect
wildlife and legitimize the program by revoking the hunting and or
fishing privileges of all persons who have committed serious wildlife
offenses in other member states.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This law will take effect immediately.