(1)
(a) The presiding officer shall provide the
respondent with an opportunity for a hearing.
(b) A hearing shall be held if the division
receives a written request for a hearing from the respondent within 20 calendar
days after the date the notice of agency action is issued.
(2) The respondent, or a person designated by
the respondent to appear on the respondent's behalf, may testify at the hearing
and present any relevant information or evidence.
(3) Hearings shall be open to the
public.
(4) After reviewing all the
information provided by the parties, the presiding officer may suspend the
respondent's license, permit or certificate of registration privileges in
accordance with Section
23-19-9.
(5)
(a) The
type of license, permit or certificate of registration privilege suspension
imposed shall be within the following categories:
(i) all fishing licenses and
permits;
(ii) all furbearer and
trap registration licenses, including bobcat permits;
(iii) all hunting licenses and permits for
big game;
(iv) all hunting licenses
and permits for small game and wild turkey permits. Any person suspended for
small game will be eligible to purchase an alternate hunting license to apply
for and obtain big game, cougar, and bear permits but will not be issued a
hunting license valid to take small game;
(v) all permits to take and pursue cougar and
bear;
(vi) all falconry permits and
falconry certificates of registration;
(vii) certificates of registration of a type
specified; or
(viii) all hunting
licenses, permits and certificates of registration;
(ix) all licenses, permits and certificates
of registration issued by the division.
(b) The presiding officer may suspend the
license, permit or certificate of registration privileges most closely
associated with the activity for which the person was participating in when the
violation occurred.
(c) The
presiding officer may suspend the license, permit or certificate of
registration privileges most closely associated with the activity that involved
the unlawful taking of protected wildlife for which no season has been
established.
(d) If the violation
involves acts that occurred while participating in an activity regulated by
Title 23, Wildlife Resources Code of Utah, which include more than one of the
types of license or permit privileges as provided in Subsection (a), the
presiding officer may suspend the license, permit or certificate of
registration privileges for all categories that app l y.
(e) The presiding officer may impose a
suspension of all privileges to hunt protected wildlife or all privileges to
take protected wildlife if the violations are found by the presiding officer to
be conspicuously bad or offensive. This may include, but are not restricted to,
the violations described in Subsections (e)(i) through (e)(viii).
(i) Any violation which could result in
suspension that involves taking, in a single criminal episode, four times the
legal bag limit of any protected fish species.
(ii) Any violation which could result in
suspension that involves taking, in a single criminal episode, three times the
legal bag limit of any small game species or waterfowl.
(iii) Any violation which could result in
suspension that involves a once-in-a-lifetime species.
(iv) Any violation which could result in
suspension that occurs out of season or in a closed area for the species
illegally taken and involves a trophy animal.
(v) Three or more felony or class A
misdemeanor violations under Section
23-20-4
in a seven-year period, regardless of suspension periods previously
imposed.
(vi) Any violation which
could result in suspension that involves the unlawful taking, in a single
criminal episode, of two or more big game animals.
(vii) Any violation which could result in
suspension that involves the unlawful taking, in a single criminal episode, of
two or more cougar or bear.
(viii)
Any violation subject to Section
23-19-9
that further violates an existing order of revocation or suspension recognized
by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
(ix) Any violation which involves the
unlawful taking of big game for pecuniary gain.
(6) The director shall appoint a qualified
person as a presiding officer in accordance with Subsection
23-19-9(9).
(7) The presiding officer may suspend
privileges to take protected wildlife up to but not to exceed the limits as
defined in Subsections 23-19-9-(4) and (5). The presiding officer will take
into account any aggravating or mitigating circumstances when deciding the
length of a suspension period.
(8)
The presiding officer may suspend privileges based on two or more separate
criminal episodes either concurrently or consecutively.
(9) The presiding officer may suspend
privileges previously suspended by a court, presiding officer or the Wildlife
Board either concurrently or consecutively.
(10) The courts may suspend, in criminal
sentencing, a person's privilege to apply for, purchase, or exercise the
benefits conferred by a license, permit, or certificate of registration in
accordance with Subsection
23-19-9(10).
(11) The division shall suspend and reinstate
all hunting, fishing, trapping, and falconry privileges consistent with Title
23, Chapter 25, Wildlife Violator Compact.
