1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to game and fish; allowing accumulation of bear hunter preference points 
1.3 	for youth;amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 97B.405.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 97B.405, is amended to read:
1.6 	97B.405 COMMISSIONER MAY LIMIT NUMBER OF BEAR HUNTERS.
1.7 	(a) The commissioner may limit the number of persons that may hunt bear in an area, 
1.8 	if it is necessary to prevent an overharvest or improve the distribution of hunters. The 
1.9 	commissioner may establish, by rule, a method, including a drawing, to impartially select 
1.10 	the hunters for an area. The commissioner shall give preference to hunters that have 
1.11 	previously applied and have not been selected. Additionally, the commissioner may award 
1.12 	points toward a preference under this section to a person who is too young to be a bear 
1.13 	hunter, so that by the time the person is old enough to be a bear hunter the person has 
1.14 	accumulated a number of preference points.
1.15 	(b) If the commissioner limits the number of persons that may hunt bear in an area under 
1.16 	paragraph (a), the commissioner must reserve one permit and give first preference for that 
1.17 	permit to a resident of a Minnesota veterans home.
1.18 	(c) A person selected through a drawing must purchase a license by August 1. Any 
1.19 	remaining available licenses not purchased shall be issued to any eligible person as prescribed 
1.20 	by the commissioner on a first-come, first-served basis beginning three business days after 
1.21 	August 1.