Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 52, December 27, 2024
A.
The Commission authorizes the Department to implement a tag surrender program
if the Director finds:
1. The Department has
the administrative capacity to implement the program;
2. There is public interest in such a
program; or
3. The tag surrender
program is likely to meet the Department's revenue objectives.
B. The tag surrender program is
limited to a person who has a valid and active membership in a Department
membership program.
1. The Department may
establish a membership program that offers a person various products and
services.
2. The Department may
establish different membership levels based on the type of products and
services offered and set prices for each level.
a. The lowest membership level may include
the option to surrender one hunt permit-tag during the membership
period.
b. A higher membership
level may include the option to surrender more than one hunt permit-tag during
the membership period.
3. The Department may establish terms and
conditions for the membership program in addition to the following:
a. Products and services to be included with
each membership level.
b.
Membership enrollment is available online only and requires a person to create
a portal account.
c. Membership is
not transferable.
d. No refund
shall be made for the purchase of a membership, unless an internal processing
error resulted in the collection of erroneous fees.
C. The tag surrender program is
restricted to the surrender of an original, unused hunt permit-tag obtained
through a computer draw.
1. A person must have
a valid and active membership in the Department's membership program with at
least one unredeemed tag surrender that was valid:
a. On the application deadline date for the
computer draw in which the hunt permit-tag being surrendered was drawn,
and
b. At the time of tag
surrender.
2. A person
who chooses to surrender an original, unused hunt permit-tag shall do so prior
to the close of business the day before the hunt begins for which the tag is
valid.
3. A person may surrender an
unused hunt permit-tag for a specific species only once before any bonus points
accrued for that species must be expended.
D. A person who wants to surrender an
original, unused hunt permit-tag or an authorized nonprofit organization that
wants to return a donated original, unused hunt permit-tag shall comply with
all of the following conditions:
1. Submit a
completed application form to any Department office. The application form is
available at any Department office and on the Department's website. The
applicant shall provide all of the following information on the application
form:
a. The applicant's:
i. Name,
ii. Mailing address,
iii. Department identification
number,
iv. Membership
number,
b. Applicable
hunt number,
c. Applicable hunt
permit-tag number, and
d. Any other
information required by the Department.
2. A person shall surrender the original,
unused hunt permit-tag as required under subsection (C) in the manner described
by the Department as indicated on the application form.
E. Upon receipt of an original, unused hunt
permit-tag surrendered in compliance with this Section, the Department shall:
1. Restore the person's bonus points that
were expended for the surrendered tag, and
2. Award the bonus point the person would
have accrued had the person been unsuccessful in the computer draw for the
surrendered tag.
3. Not refund any
fees the person paid for the surrendered tag, as prohibited under A.R.S. §
17-332(E).
F. The Department may, at its sole
discretion, re-issue or destroy the surrendered original, unused hunt
permit-tag. When re-issuing a tag, the Department may use any of the following
methods in no order of preference:
1.
Re-issuing the surrendered tag, beginning with the highest membership level in
the Department's membership program, to a person who has a valid and active
membership in that membership level and who would have been next to receive a
tag for that hunt number, as evidenced by the random numbers assigned during
the Department's computer draw process;
2. Re-issuing the surrendered tag to a person
who has a valid and active membership in any tier of the Department's
membership program with a tag surrender option and who would have been next to
receive a tag for that hunt number, as evidenced by the random numbers assigned
during the Department's computer draw process;
3. Re-issuing the surrendered tag to an
eligible person who would have been next to receive a tag for that hunt number,
as evidenced by the random numbers assigned during the Department's computer
draw process; or
4. Offering the
surrendered tag through the first-come, first-served process.
G. For subsections (F)(1), (2),
and (3); if the Department cannot contact a person qualified to receive a tag
or the person declines to purchase the surrendered tag, the Department shall
make a reasonable attempt to contact and offer the surrendered tag to the next
person qualified to receive a tag for that hunt number based on the assigned
random number during the Department's computer draw process. This process will
continue until the surrendered tag is either purchased or the number of persons
qualified is exhausted. For the purposes of subsections (G) and (H), the term
"qualified" means a person who satisfies the conditions for re-issuing a
surrendered tag as provided under the selected re-issuing method.
H. When the re-issuance of a surrendered tag
involves a group application and one or more members of the group is qualified
under the particular method for re-issuing the surrendered tag, the Department
shall offer the surrendered tag first to the applicant designated "A" if
qualified to receive a surrendered tag.
1. If
applicant "A" chooses not to purchase the surrendered tag or is not qualified,
the Department shall offer the surrendered tag to the applicant designated "B"
if qualified to receive a surrendered tag.
2. This process shall continue with
applicants "C" and then "D" until the surrendered tag is either purchased or
all qualified members of the group application choose not to purchase the
surrendered tag.
I. A
person who receives a surrendered tag shall submit the applicable tag fee as
established under R12-4-102 and provide their valid hunting license number.
1. A person receiving the surrendered tag as
established under subsections (F)(1), (2), and (3) shall expend all bonus
points accrued for that genus, except any accrued Education and loyalty bonus
points.
2. The applicant shall
possess a valid hunting license at the time of purchasing the surrendered tag
and at the time of the hunt for which the surrendered tag is valid. If the
person does not possess a valid license at the time the surrendered tag is
offered, the applicant shall purchase a license in compliance with
R12-4-104.
3. The issuance of a
surrendered tag does not authorize a person to exceed the bag limit established
by Commission Order.
4. It is
unlawful for a person to purchase a surrendered tag when the person has reached
the bag limit for that genus during the same calendar year.
J. A person is not eligible to
petition the Commission under R12-4-611 for reinstatement of any expended bonus
points, except as authorized under R12-4-107(M).
K. For the purposes of this Section and
R12-4-121, "valid and active membership" means a paid and unexpired membership
in any level of the Department's membership program.
