1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to game and fish; exempting archery bows used 
  1.3             for bowfishing from casing requirement; modifying 
  1.4             crossbow permit provisions; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1998, sections 97B.051; and 97B.106; 
  1.6             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.7             chapter 97C. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 97B.051, is 
  1.10  amended to read: 
  1.11     97B.051 [TRANSPORTATION OF ARCHERY BOWS.] 
  1.12     Except as specified under section 97C.376, a person may not 
  1.13  transport an archery bow in a motor vehicle unless the bow is:  
  1.14     (1) unstrung; 
  1.15     (2) completely contained in a case; or 
  1.16     (3) in the closed trunk of a motor vehicle.  
  1.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 97B.106, is 
  1.18  amended to read: 
  1.19     97B.106 [CROSSBOW PERMITS FOR HUNTING AND BOWFISHING.] 
  1.20     The commissioner may issue a special permit, without a fee, 
  1.21  to take big game or turkey or to take rough fish with a crossbow 
  1.22  to a person that is unable to hunt by archery because of a 
  1.23  permanent or temporary physical disability.  To qualify a person 
  1.24  for a special permit under this section, a temporary disability 
  1.25  must render the person unable to hunt or fish by archery for a 
  1.26  minimum of two years after application for the permit is made.  
  2.1   The permanent or temporary disability, established by medical 
  2.2   evidence, and the inability to hunt or fish by archery for the 
  2.3   required period of time must be verified in writing by a 
  2.4   licensed physician.  The person must obtain the appropriate 
  2.5   license.  The crossbow must:  
  2.6      (1) be fired from the shoulder; 
  2.7      (2) deliver at least 42 foot-pounds of energy at a distance 
  2.8   of ten feet; 
  2.9      (3) have a stock at least 30 inches long; 
  2.10     (4) have a working safety; and 
  2.11     (5) be used with arrows or bolts at least ten inches long 
  2.12  with a broadhead, except a tethered arrow with a barbed-fish 
  2.13  point must be used in taking rough fish. 
  2.14     Sec. 3.  [97C.376] [BOWFISHING EXEMPTION.] 
  2.15     A person using an archery bow used exclusively to harvest 
  2.16  rough fish and having an attached bowfishing reel and tethered 
  2.17  arrow with a barbed-fish point is exempt from section 97B.051 
  2.18  when the bow is being used in a motorboat for the pursuit of 
  2.19  legal rough fish species.