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An Act To Allow Hunting on Sunday for Landowners
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §11152-A  is enacted to read:
§ 11152-A. Hunting on Sunday
 
1.  Landowner; hunting on Sunday.     A landowner may hunt deer on Sunday during open season on deer on the landowner's land if:
 
A.  The land is open to hunting by the public;
 
B.  The land is 20 acres or more in size;
 
C.  The landowner has a permit to hunt deer under this chapter; and
 
D.  The landowner registers with the department and pays the required fee.
 
A member of the landowner's immediate family is permitted to hunt on Sunday if that family member is a licensed hunter and pays the required fee.
 
The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this section, including establishing registration fees pursuant to this subsection that may not exceed $25 per registration, and may adjust the rules for game management purposes. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
 
2.  Fee distribution.     Fees collected pursuant to subsection 1 must be transferred to the Support Landowners Program in section 10108, subsection 4, paragraph A.
 
3.  Violation; penalty.     A person may not hunt deer on Sunday except as provided in subsection 1.
 
A.  A person who violates this section commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500 may be adjudged.
 
B.  A person who violates this section after having been adjudicated as having committed 3 or more civil violations under this Part within the previous 5-year period commits a Class E crime.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §11205, sub-§1, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is amended to read:
 
A. Hunt wild animals or wild birds on Sunday, except as provided in section 11152-A; or
 
SUMMARY
This bill allows the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to authorize private landowners to hunt on Sunday on their own land if they own 20 or more acres and the land is open to hunting by the public. A landowner must register with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The department shall adopt rules to implement a Sunday hunting permit system. The fee for a Sunday hunting permit may not exceed $25.