NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6815A
SPONSOR: Woerner TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
hunting of deer with a crossbow
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to allow individuals that are sixty years of
age or older to hunt deer with a crossbow in a special archery season.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: amends subdivision 3 of section 11-0701 of the Environmental
Conservation Law, by adding a new paragraph (4) to allow individuals
that are sixty years of age or older to hunt deer with a crossbow during
a special archery season and requires the Department to establish regu-
lations for such privilege.
§ 2: provides that the effective date shall take effect on June 1, 2024,
provided, however, that effective immediately, the addition, amendment
and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
completed on or. before such date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
Section one has a technical change and section two changes the effective
date to June 1, 2025.
JUSTIFICATION:
Deer hunting is a recreational activity that thousands of people, of
varying ages and experiences, enjoy in the State. Older hunters, many of
whom have engaged in the sport of hunting for their entire lives, some-
times struggle with the heavy draw weight of longbows. These bows can be
difficult to use effectively because of the strength required to pull
back the bowstring. and fire. As such, a hunter's experiehce could be in
jeopardy due to factors that are out of their control.
In contrast to longbows, crossbows are a suitable alternative for those
that struggle with the draw weight of longbows. Forty-eight other States
permit crossbow use in hunting for either certain individuals or specif-
ic portions of the hunting season. Recognizing the benefits of crossbow
hunting for older hunters, Minnesota recently passed a law that allows
licensed hunters that are sixty years or older to use crossbows in hunt-
ing during the regular archery deer, bear, turkey, or rough fish
season.Allowing hunters that are sixty years or older to hunt deer with
a crossbow during a special archery season would only prove to benefit
the State. Older hunters would be able to continue enjoying the sport
that they love without experiencing any difficulties associated with
using a longbow.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill will take effect on June 1, 2024, provided, however, that
effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
or regulation necessary-for.the implementation of this act on its effec-
tive date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such
date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6815--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 8, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER, BUTTENSCHON, EACHUS -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation -- recommitted
to the Committee on Environmental Conservation in accordance with
Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
hunting of deer with a crossbow
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs 2 and 3 of subdivision 3 of section 11-0701 of
2 the environmental conservation law, as amended by section 1-a of part R
3 of chapter 58 of the laws of 2013, are amended and a new paragraph 4 is
4 added to read as follows:
5 (2) who is eighteen years of age or older to hunt wild deer and bear
6 with a longbow, as provided in title [9] nine of this article, in a
7 special longbow season; [and]
8 (3) who is sixteen or seventeen years of age to exercise the same
9 privileges subject to the provisions of section 11-0929 and subdivision
10 3 of section 11-0713 of this article[.]; and
11 (4) who is sixty years of age or older to hunt deer with a crossbow,
12 as provided in title nine of this article, in a special archery season.
13 The department shall adopt regulations to allow the hunting of deer by
14 the use of a crossbow to any person sixty years of age or older in a
15 special archery season, subject to such restrictions as the department
16 may adopt by regulation. The department shall adopt regulations requir-
17 ing documentation to establish that an applicant is eligible to use a
18 crossbow pursuant to this paragraph.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect June 1, 2025. Effective immediately,
20 the addition, amendment, and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
21 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
22 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10308-03-4
