Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
150.170,
150.175,
26 U.S.C.
501(c)(3)
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
150.025 authorizes the department to
promulgate administrative regulations to establish hunting seasons, bag limits,
and the methods of taking wildlife.
KRS
150.177 authorizes the department to issue a
special permit to an incorporated nonprofit wildlife conservation organization.
KRS
150.195(1) requires the
department to promulgate administrative regulations pertaining to the issuance
of licenses and permits. This administrative regulation establishes the
requirements for the issuance and use of Special Commission Permits.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Incorporated nonprofit wildlife
conservation organization" means an entity that:
(a) Has a stated purpose, as expressed in its
articles of incorporation or bylaws, to conserve and enhance fish and wildlife
resources to provide opportunities for hunting, fishing, trapping, wildlife
education, habitat enhancement, or related activities such as shooting sports,
hunter and angler education and training, boating, etc.;
(b)
1.
Holds status as a nonprofit organization pursuant to
26 U.S.C.
Section 501(c)(3);
and
2. Is incorporated under the
laws of this state or any other state; or
(c) Is an affiliated regional, state, or
local chapter of a parent organization that meets the requirements of
subsection (1)(b) of this section.
(2) "Proceeds" means the amount of money
received by an incorporated nonprofit wildlife conservation organization from
the sale or transfer of a special commission permit minus all expenses directly
attributable to the sale of the permit.
(3) "Project" means an enterprise designed to
achieve stated purposes, which shall conserve and enhance fish and wildlife
resources within Kentucky by enhancing habitat or providing opportunities for
hunting, fishing, trapping, wildlife education, habitat enhancement, or related
activities such as shooting sports, hunter and angler education and training,
boating, etc.
(4) "Special
commission permit" means a species-specific permit issued by the Kentucky Fish
and Wildlife Commission to an incorporated nonprofit wildlife conservation
organization that allows the permit recipient, depending on the species listed
on the permit, to harvest:
(a) One (1)
additional deer of either sex per license year;
(b) One (1) additional turkey of either sex
per license year;
(c) One (1) elk
of either sex per license year; or
(d) Up to a daily bag limit of waterfowl per
day.
Section
2. Issuance and Sale of Special Commission Permit.
(1) There shall be no more than ten (10)
special commission permits issued per species per license year.
(2) An incorporated nonprofit wildlife
conservation organization may apply for one (1) special commission permit per
species. The incorporated nonprofit wildlife conservation organization shall
accurately complete a Special Commission Permits Application Form.
(3) A national organization and its
affiliated regional, state, and local chapters shall all be eligible to apply
for a special commission permit in the same year if each organization meets the
definition in Section 1(1) of this administrative regulation.
(4) No more than one (1) special commission
permit per species shall be awarded per distinct Internal Revenue Service
Employer Identification Number (EIN).
(5) In addition to the completed application,
the organization shall also submit:
(a) A
copy of the organization's articles of incorporation;
(b) A copy of the Internal Revenue Service
determination letter establishing the organization's current tax-exempt status,
including the applicant's Employer Identification Number (EIN);
(c) A copy of the organization's bylaws that
state the purposes of the organization, if the purposes of the organization are
not stated in the articles of incorporation; and
(d) A letter, dated within ninety (90) days
of the application, from the organization's parent organization, if applicable,
stating that the chapter organization is in good-standing and is recognized by
the parent organization.
(6) The completed application and
accompanying documents listed in subsection (5) of this section shall be
postmarked or delivered to the department by May 1 of each year.
(7) Applications shall be disqualified from
the awards process for the criteria listed in paragraphs (a) through (d) of
this subsection:
(a) Failure to submit the
required application and accompanying documents to the department by the
deadline established in subsection (6) of this section;
(b) An incomplete or missing Special
Commission Permits Application Form or accompanying documents required pursuant
to subsection (5) of this section;
(c) Failure to qualify as an incorporated
nonprofit wildlife conservation organization; or
(d) Beginning in 2022, the wildlife
conservation organization applicant failed to:
1. Sell a special commission permit awarded
in the previous two (2) years;
2.
Comply with the requirements of subsections (11)(b) and 11(c) of this section
during the previous two (2) years; or
3. Timely submit all of the information
required by subsections (11)(d) and 11(f) of this section during the previous
two (2) years.
(8) Prior to selecting special commission
permit recipients, the Fish and Wildlife Commission shall review and consider
all applications and documents submitted by each wildlife conservation
organization that has not been disqualified pursuant to subsection (7) of this
section.
(9) The department shall
provide the Fish and Wildlife Commission with information concerning each
applicant's relative standing with regard to:
(a) Past compliance; and
(b) History of funds generated.
(10) The Fish and Wildlife
Commission shall select permit recipients based on the information listed in
subsection (9) of this section and the information contained within the
organization's application.
(11) An
incorporated nonprofit wildlife conservation organization that is awarded a
special commission permit shall:
(a) Generate
proceeds through the sale of each permit awarded;
(b) Use the proceeds from the sale of the
permits only for the project listed in the application;
(c) Remit to the department any proceeds from
the sale of the permit that are not expended by the May 1 reporting deadline
three (3) years after the submission deadline of the application for which the
special commission permits were awarded;
(d) Submit to the department the information
listed in subparagraphs 1. through 5. of this paragraph for the hunter to whom
the permit shall be issued. Failure to submit the required information by the
applicable deadline will result in no permit being issued.
1. Name;
2. Address;
3. Date of birth;
4. A copy of the hunter's valid Kentucky
Hunting license; and
5. For
waterfowl, the requested location and date of the hunt.
(e) The information to be submitted, as
established in paragraph (d) of this section, shall be submitted to the
department no later than the following dates during the license year for which
the permit is valid:
1. March 1 for
turkey;
2. August 1 for
elk;
3. August 1 for deer;
and
4. September 1 for
waterfowl.
(f) Submit to
the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, by May 1 of the following year,
and each subsequent year until all funds generated by the sale of the permit
are expended or remitted to the department, a report, subject to audit, that
includes:
1. A financial statement containing:
a. Total funds raised;
b. A detailed list of expenditures directly
attributable to the sale of the permit;
c. Net profit;
d. A detailed list of expenditures
attributable to the conservation project with receipts attached; and
e. Balance of funds remaining;
2. A summary of the conservation
project; and
3. A synopsis of the
project's impact in regards to the goals stated in the application.
(12) Once a special
commission permit has been issued to a hunter, it shall not be transferred to
another hunter.
Section
3. Special Permit Use.
(1) A
special permit shall only be valid for the:
(a) Individual named on the permit;
(b) Species of wildlife listed on the permit;
and
(c) The first season for that
species in the license year following the commission meeting that the special
permit was awarded, except that during 2020 permits for deer and waterfowl
shall also be awarded for the current license year.
(2) A special commission permit holder shall
comply with all other department statutes and KAR Title 301.
(3) A holder of a special commission permit
to hunt deer may hunt on any Wildlife Management Area during an open deer
season or nonmobility impaired quota hunt pursuant to
301
KAR 2:178, except:
(a) Hunting shall not be allowed on closed
waterfowl refuges, pursuant to
301 KAR
2:222;
(b)
A permit holder shall contact the wildlife area manager at least forty-eight
(48) hours before hunting; and
(c)
A permit holder shall notify the area manager upon leaving a Wildlife
Management Area.
(4) A
holder of a special commission permit to hunt wild turkey shall not hunt on a
Wildlife Management Area that is closed to turkey hunting.
(5) A holder of a special commission permit
to hunt waterfowl may, subject to the timely submission of all applicable
information by the wildlife conservation organization, hunt on Ballard,
Boatwright, or Sloughs Wildlife Management Areas from one (1) of the areas'
hunting units during one (1) of the available hunt periods established by the
department, pursuant to
301 KAR
2:222.
(6)
Each special commission permit to hunt elk shall be randomly assigned a hunting
unit at the time of the selection of the wildlife conservation organizations to
be awarded special commission permits. Each unit will be assigned once prior to
assigning a second permit to the unit. No unit will be assigned more than two
(2) permits. The permit holder shall be restricted to hunting in the assigned
unit only.
(7) A holder of any
special commission permit may hunt on private land with the permission of the
landowner.
Section 4.
Incorporation by Reference.
(1) "Special
Commission Permits Application Form", 2019 edition, is incorporated by
reference.
(2) This material may be
inspected, copied, or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the
Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, #1 Sportsman's Lane, Frankfort,
Kentucky, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
150.025,
150.177,
150.195(1)