South Carolina General Assembly
116th Session, 2005-2006

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H. 3952

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Stewart
Document Path: l:\council\bills\gjk\20421sd05.doc

Introduced in the House on April 19, 2005
Currently residing in the House Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs

Summary: Hunting prohibitions

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   4/19/2005  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-67
   4/19/2005  House   Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources 
                        and Environmental Affairs HJ-67

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

4/19/2005

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 50-11-760, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE PROHIBITION AGAINST HUNTING FROM CERTAIN PUBLIC ROADS AND RAILROAD RIGHTS-OF-WAY, SO AS TO FURTHER DEFINE THE TERM HUNTING AND CERTAIN OTHER TERMS FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 50-11-760 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 50 of 2003, is further amended to read:

"Section 50-11-760.    (A)    It is unlawful for a person to hunt from a public road or railroad right-of-way if the person does not have permission to hunt the land immediately adjacent to the public road or railroad right-of-way.

(B)(1)    For purposes of this section, 'hunting' includes:

(a)    taking deer by occupying stands for that purpose; or

(b)    possessing, carrying, or having readily accessible:

( i)    a loaded centerfire rifle; or

(ii)    a shotgun loaded with shot size larger than number four.

(2)    For purposes of this section, 'loaded' means a weapon within which any ammunition is contained.

(3)    For purposes of this section, the terms 'possessing', 'carrying', and 'having readily accessible' do not include a centerfire rifle or shotgun which is contained in a:

(a)    closed compartment;

(b)    closed vehicle trunk; or a

(c)    vehicle traveling on a public road.

(C)    A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days.

(B)    For purposes of this section, 'hunting' is defined as the act of trying to find, seek, obtain, pursue, or diligently search for game and includes, but is not limited to, taking deer by occupying stands for that purpose.

(C)(1)    For purposes of this section possessing, carrying, or having readily accessible within the public road or railroad right-of-way, a loaded centerfire rifle, or a shotgun loaded with shot size larger than number four may be considered by the finder of fact as evidence that a person engaged in hunting in violation of this section but does not independently constitute acts in violation of this section.

(2)    For purposes of this section, 'loaded' means a weapon within which any ammunition is contained.

(3)    For purposes of this section, the terms 'possessing', 'carrying', and 'having readily accessible' do not include a centerfire rifle or shotgun which is contained in a closed compartment, closed vehicle trunk, or vehicle traveling on a public road.

(D)    A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days.

(D)(E)    In addition to any other penalties, the department must suspend the hunting privileges of a person convicted of violating this section for one year from the date of the conviction."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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