STATE OF NEW YORK
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5835
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 3, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to waiv-
ing fishing, hunting and trapping license fees for certain first
responders
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision 2 of section 11-0715
2 of the environmental conservation law, as amended by section 4 of part R
3 of chapter 58 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
4 A member of the Shinnecock tribe or the Poospatuck tribe or a member
5 of the six nations, residing on any reservation wholly or partly within
6 the state, is entitled to receive free of charge a fishing license, a
7 hunting license, a muzzle-loading privilege, a trapping license, and a
8 bowhunting privilege; a resident of the state who is a member of the
9 United States armed forces in active service who is not stationed within
10 the state and has not been herein longer than thirty days on leave or
11 furlough, is entitled to receive free of charge a fishing license, a
12 hunting license, and a trapping license; a resident of the state who is
13 an active member of the organized militia of the state of New York as
14 defined by section one of the military law, or the reserve components of
15 the armed forces of the United States, and excluding members of the
16 inactive national guard and individual ready reserve, is entitled to
17 receive free of charge a fishing license, a hunting license, and a trap-
18 ping license; a resident of the state who is a certified first responder
19 who was disabled as a result of a certified World Trade Center medical
20 condition is entitled to receive free of charge a fishing license, a
21 hunting license, and a trapping license; and a resident who is blind is
22 entitled to receive a fishing license free of charge. For the purposes
23 of this subdivision a person is blind only if either: (a) [his or her]
24 their central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09196-01-5
S. 5835 2
1 with correcting lenses, or (b) [his or her] their visual acuity is
2 greater than 20/200 but is accompanied by a limitation of the field of
3 vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an
4 angle no greater than 20 degrees.
5 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
