Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 2002, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 270-S.F.No. 222
An act relating to natural resources; establishing a
gross misdemeanor penalty for gross overlimit
violations of fish and game laws; setting certain
restitution values; providing criminal penalties;
requiring fish and game license seizure for certain
violations; establishing possession criteria for
commercial fishing operations; modifying commercial
license reinstatement provisions; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2000, sections 97A.015, by adding a
subdivision; 97A.225, subdivision 1; 97A.255, by
adding a subdivision; 97A.421, subdivision 5, by
adding a subdivision; 97C.505, by adding a
subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapters 97A; 97C.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97A.015, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 42a. [RESTITUTION VALUE OF THE WILD
ANIMALS.] "Restitution value of the wild animals" means the
total value of the wild animals taken in a violation based on:
(1) the values established under section 97A.345; or
(2) the values determined by the court under section
97A.341, subdivision 4, if the values are not established under
section 97A.345.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97A.225,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [SEIZURE.] (a) An enforcement officer must
seize all motor vehicles used to:
(1) shine wild animals in violation of section 97B.081,
subdivision 1;
(2) transport big game animals illegally taken or
fur-bearing animals illegally purchased; or
(3) transport minnows in violation of section 97C.501,
97C.515, or 97C.525.
(b) An enforcement officer must seize all boats and motors
used in netting fish on Lake of the Woods, Rainy Lake, Lake
Superior, Namakan Lake, and Sand Point Lake in violation of
licensing or operating requirements of section 97A.475,
subdivision 31, 32, 33, or 37 30, 97C.825, 97C.831, or 97C.835,
or a rule of the commissioner relating to these provisions.
(c) An enforcement officer may seize all boats and motors
with their trailers, that are used to take, possess, or
transport wild animals when the restitution value of the wild
animals exceeds $500.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97A.255, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. [JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY.] When two or more
people intentionally aid, advise, counsel, conspire with, or act
in concert with each other to unlawfully take, transport, or
possess wild animals when the restitution value of the wild
animals exceeds $500, each person is jointly and severally
liable for the wild animals for purposes of:
(1) license seizure and revocation under sections 97A.420
and 97A.421;
(2) equipment and property seizure under section 97A.221;
(3) boat, motor, and trailer seizure under section 97A.225;
and
(4) restitution under section 97A.341.
Sec. 4. [97A.338] [GROSS OVERLIMITS OF WILD ANIMALS;
PENALTY.]
A person who takes, possesses, or transports wild animals
over the legal limit, in closed season, or without a valid
license, when the restitution value of the wild animals is over
$1,000 is guilty of a gross overlimit violation. A violation
under this section is a gross misdemeanor.
Sec. 5. [97A.420] [SEIZURE OF LICENSES.]
Subdivision 1. [SEIZURE.] (a) An enforcement officer shall
immediately seize the license of a person who unlawfully takes,
transports, or possesses wild animals when the restitution value
of the wild animals exceeds $500. Except as provided in
subdivisions 2, 4, and 5, the person may not obtain any license
to take the same type of wild animals involved, including a
duplicate license, until an action is taken under subdivision 6.
(b) In addition to the license seizure under paragraph (a),
if the restitution value of the wild animals unlawfully taken,
possessed, or transported is $5,000 or more, all other game and
fish licenses held by the person shall be immediately seized.
Except as provided in subdivision 2, 4, or 5, the person may not
obtain any game or fish license or permit, including a duplicate
license, until an action is taken under subdivision 6.
(c) A person may not take wild animals covered by a license
seized under this subdivision until an action is taken under
subdivision 6.
Subd. 2. [ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.] (a) At any time after
the seizure of a license under subdivision 1 and before
revocation under section 97A.421, a person may request in
writing a review of the seizure under this section. Upon
receiving the request for review, the commissioner shall review
the seizure, the evidence upon which it was based, and other
material information brought to the attention of the
commissioner, and determine whether sufficient cause exists to
sustain the seizure.
(b) Within 15 days after receiving the request for
administrative review, the commissioner shall issue a written
report of the review and shall order that the seizure be either
sustained or rescinded.
(c) The review provided in this subdivision is not subject
to the contested case provisions of the Administrative Procedure
Act under chapter 14. The availability of administrative review
does not preclude judicial review under this section.
Subd. 3. [JUDICIAL REVIEW.] (a) Within 30 days following
the seizure of a license under subdivision 1, a person may
petition the court for review. The petition must be filed with
the district court administrator in the county where the
incident occurred, together with proof of service of a copy on
the commissioner and the county attorney. A responsive pleading
is not required of the commissioner of natural resources, and
court fees may not be charged for the appearance of the
representative of the commissioner in the matter.
(b) The petition must be captioned in the name of the
person making the petition as petitioner and the commissioner as
respondent. The petition must state specifically the grounds
upon which the petitioner seeks rescission of the license
seizure.
(c) The filing of the petition does not stay the license
seizure. The judicial review shall be conducted according to
the Rules of Civil Procedure.
Subd. 4. [HEARING.] (a) A hearing under subdivision 3 must
be before a district court judge in the county where the
incident occurred giving rise to the license seizure. The
hearing must be to the court and may be conducted at the same
time as hearings upon pretrial motions in a related criminal
prosecution. The commissioner must be represented by the county
attorney.
(b) The hearing must be held at the earliest practicable
date and in any event no later than 60 days following the filing
of the petition for review.
(c) The scope of the hearing must be limited to the issue
of whether there is probable cause to believe that the person
violated section 97A.338.
(d) The court shall order that the license seizure be
either sustained or rescinded. Within 14 days following the
hearing, the court shall forward a copy of the order to the
commissioner.
(e) Any party aggrieved by the decision of the reviewing
court may appeal the decision as provided in the Rules of Civil
Appellate Procedure.
Subd. 5. [TEMPORARY RELEASE OF COMMERCIAL LICENSES.] At
any time during the period that a game or fish license is seized
under subdivision 1, a person possessing a commercial license
issued under the game and fish laws may make a written request
to the commissioner to temporarily release the commercial
license. If the commissioner determines that the public welfare
will not be injured, the commissioner may temporarily reinstate
the commercial license upon payment of a temporary reinstatement
fee of $1,000 cash or bond in favor of the state for each
commercial license to be released. An additional fee is not
required for vehicles licensed under section 97A.475,
subdivision 26, clause (2) or (4). If the license is returned
under subdivision 6, paragraph (a), the temporary reinstatement
fee shall be returned to the licensee. If the license is
revoked under subdivision 6, paragraph (b), the temporary
reinstatement fee shall be deposited in the game and fish fund
and is not refundable.
Subd. 6. [RETURN OR REVOCATION OF LICENSES UPON DISMISSAL
OR CONVICTION.] (a) Upon acquittal, dismissal, or determination
not to charge a person for a violation, the license seizure
under subdivision 1 is immediately rescinded and any license
seized in connection with the incident must be returned to the
licensee.
(b) Upon conviction of a violation when the restitution
value of the wild animals exceeds $500, revocation of licenses
and license privileges must be imposed as provided under section
97A.421, subdivision 2a.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97A.421, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 2a. [LICENSE REVOCATION AFTER CONVICTION.] (a) A
person may not obtain a license to take a wild animal and is
prohibited from taking wild animals for a period of five years
after the date of conviction of:
(1) a violation when the restitution value of the wild
animals is $5,000 or more; or
(2) a violation when the restitution value of the wild
animals exceeds $500 and the violation occurs within ten years
of one or more previous license revocations under this
subdivision.
(b) A person may not obtain a license to take the type of
wild animals involved in a violation when the restitution value
of the wild animals exceeds $500, and is prohibited from taking
the type of wild animals involved in the violation for a period
of three years after the date of conviction of a violation.
(c) The time period of multiple revocations under paragraph
(a), clause (2), shall be consecutive and no wild animals of any
kind may be taken during the entire period.
(d) The court may not stay or reduce the imposition of
license revocation provisions under this subdivision.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97A.421,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [COMMISSIONER MAY REINSTATE CERTAIN LICENSES
AFTER CONVICTION.] If the commissioner determines that the
public welfare will not be injured, the commissioner may
reinstate licenses voided under subdivision 1 and issue licenses
to persons ineligible under subdivision 2 or 2a. The
commissioner's authority applies only to licenses to:
(1) maintain and operate fur or game farms, aquatic farms,
or private fish hatcheries;
(2) take fish commercially in Lake of the Woods, Rainy
Lake, Namakan Lake, or Lake Superior by commercial netting;
(3) buy fish from Lake of the Woods, Rainy Lake, Namakan
Lake, or Lake Superior commercial fishing commercial netting
licensees; and
(4) sell or export turtles or live minnows.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 97C.505, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 8. [POSSESSION FOR MINNOW DEALERS.] When nets and
traps are lawfully set and tended, minnows and incidentally
taken game fish under four inches in length are not considered
to be in possession until the minnows or game fish are placed on
a motor vehicle or trailer for transport on land.
Sec. 9. [97C.843] [POSSESSION FOR COMMERCIAL NETTING.]
When commercial nets, seines, bags, or cribs are lawfully
set and tended, incidentally taken fish not included in the
license are not considered in possession if they are returned to
the water or if they are tagged in accordance with section
97C.835 before they are placed on a motor vehicle or trailer for
transport on land.
Sec. 10. [RULES FOR RESTITUTION VALUES FOR FISH AND
WILDLIFE.]
(a) The restitution value for a canvasback is $100. The
restitution value for trumpeter swans is $1,000. The base
restitution value for a yellow perch is $10 and the quality size
limit is ten inches. The restitution values for the following
game fish based on size are:
(1) green or orange spotted sunfish that are less than four
inches in length, no value;
(2) yellow perch and members of the Centrarchidae family,
not included in clause (1), that are less than four inches in
length, ten cents per fish;
(3) walleye taken on Lake Superior or in St. Louis bay that
are less than two inches in length, ten cents per fish; and
(4) all other game fish that are less than four inches in
length and not included in clauses (1) to (3), $1 per fish.
(b) The commissioner of natural resources shall amend the
permanent rules relating to restitution values for fish and
wildlife, Minnesota Rules, chapter 6133, according to this
section and pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 14.388,
clause (3). Except as provided in Minnesota Statutes, section
14.388, section 14.386 does not apply.
Sec. 11. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 1 to 10 are effective March 1, 2003, and the
criminal provisions apply to crimes committed on or after that
date.
Presented to the governor March 22, 2002
Signed by the governor March 25, 2002, 2:15 p.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes