NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8597
SPONSOR: Stirpe TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend chapter 230 of the laws of 2023, amending the environ-
mental conservation law relating to big game hunting authorization for
the county of Onondaga, in relation to the effectiveness thereof
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to allow hunting of big game with a rifle in
Onondaga County.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends paragraph A of subdivision 2 of section 11-0907 of the
Environmental Conservation Law by adding a new item (o) to allow rifle
hunting of big game in Onondaga County from the first Saturday after
November 15 through the first Sunday after December 7.
Section 2: Amends item (f) of paragraph A of subdivision 2 of section
11-0907 of the Environmental Conservation Law to include a new item (o)
to allow rifle hunting of big game in Onondaga County from the first
Monday after November 15 through the first Tuesday after December 7.
Section 3: Amends paragraph A of subdivision 2 of section 11-0907 of the
Environmental Conservation Law by adding a new item (m) to allow rifle
hunting of big game in Onondaga County, from the first Saturday after
November 15 through the first Sunday after December 7.
Section 4: Amends item (f) of paragraph A of subdivision 2 of section
11-0907 of the Environmental Conservation Law to include a new item (m)
to allow rifle hunting of big game in Onondaga County from the first
Monday after November 15 through the first Tuesday after December 7.
Section 5: Provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Over 700,000 New York State residents hunt for big game in the State
each year. Hunting is a crucial conservation tool that keeps deer and
bear populations in check. Due to a variety of factors, the State's deer
population has rapidly increased to over 1.2 million. The overabundance
of deer negatively impacts farmers, homeowners, foresters, and drivers.
According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, hunters take
around 220,000 deer annually, thereby reducing the problems that accom-
pany deer overabundance.
Hunters across most of the State are permitted to use rifles to hunt big
game except in two Upstate counties - Onondaga and Livingston. Since
2005, several counties in the Finger Lakes Region, Central New York, and
the Southern Tier have permitted hunting big game with rifles with very
few reported incidents or problems. Most recently, in 2020, Tompkins
County was authorized to allow licensed hunters to use rifles for hunt-
ing big game. Since then, there have been no serious incidents reported
in that county because of that authorization. Therefore, this bill
should be passed to authorize big game hunting with rifles in Onondaga
County.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A06822 - signed chap.230
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8597
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 22, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STIRPE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend chapter 230 of the laws of 2023, amending the environ-
mental conservation law relating to big game hunting authorization for
the county of Onondaga, in relation to the effectiveness thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision d of section 5 of chapter 230 of the laws of
2 2023, amending the environmental conservation law relating to big game
3 hunting authorization for the county of Onondaga, is amended to read as
4 follows:
5 d. nothing contained in this act shall be construed so as to extend
6 the provisions of this act beyond October 1, [2025] 2027, when upon such
7 date this act shall expire and the provisions contained herein shall be
8 deemed repealed.
9 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13060-01-5
