OHA Legislative Report 

Bills target Oregon hunters and gun owners!

Hello!

We are three weeks into the 2019 Legislative Session and still receiving on an average thirty new bills a day to analyze.  OHA is currently tracking 117 bills daily. We are adding more bills each week.

Here are three new bills we added to our list last week:

HB 2955 – This bill requires State Department of Fish and Wildlife to allow person meeting criteria to hunt game mammals using crossbow.

HB 2950 – This bill allows for subtraction from the federal taxable income for purchase of qualifying gun safe.

SB 801 – This bill authorizes public schools to provide firearm safety and accident prevention class to all students in first grade.

Here is a partial list of the bills OHA is following:

HOUSE BILLS:

  • HB 2069 – This bill removes the requirement that State Fish and Wildlife Commission issue unallocated game mammal hunting tags in order requested. Leftover tags would still be sold over the counter until they are sold out, but a purchaser of a leftover tag will only be able to have one tag per hunt series.
  • HB 2072 – Would authorize ODFW to operate wildlife inspection stations for purposes of preventing spread of infections or infestations harmful to wildlife or of furthering wildlife management efforts.
  • HB 2080 – Raises boat registration fees by 32 percent, doubling them since 2015. Hunters who own motorboats should take note. New fee is almost $6 per foot.
  • HB 2082 – Would require Class II and Class IV all-terrain vehicle operator 16 years of age or older to carry and present both driver license and all-terrain vehicle operator permit.
  • HB 2566 – Would require owner to register all-terrain vehicle with DMV, if vehicle is not otherwise registered in this state (Class II). Fees in addition to State Park ATV permit. Requires numbers or plates on ATV.
  • HB 2746 – Requires ODFW to report every 2 years to Legislature regarding changes in wolf population. Requires funding for wolf depredation and financial assistances. Provides for nonlethal wolf deterrence techniques to discourage depredation.

We will likely see more wolf bills before this session is over.

SENATE BILLS:

  • SB 723 – Would prohibit person from organizing, sponsoring, promoting, conducting or participating in contest, competition, tournament or derby that has objective of taking wildlife for prizes or other inducement or for entertainment. Requires transportation of injured wildlife to licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility or veterinarian. Would ban big “buck and bull” contests, might prohibit entries into Pope and Young, or Boone and Crockett.
  • SB 47 – Would require a person operating a nonmotorized boat to have a waterway access permit. Hunters with canoes, kayaks, layout boats or drift boats should take notice.
  • SB 340 – Requires ODFW to annually establish special season during which holder of cougar tag or purchaser of SportsPac may use dogs to hunt cougars.
  • SB 439 – This bill prohibits confining, restricting or exercising control over movements of game bird or game mammal for use in or promotion of hunting.
  • SB 655 – Requires ODFW to report on Access and Habitat programs/projects. Prohibits persons from receiving program grants if fees are charged for access, or sites are closed to the public.

Cougar Bills

  • HB 2370, HB 2795, SB 306, SB 340 and SB 622 all deal with cougars and are various attempts to establish county-based programs, pilot programs or special requirements to allow the use of dogs to hunt cougars. Several versions have been tried in the past without success. There is a great deal of interest in cougars, and OHA is closely tracking and supporting these efforts.

Elk Damage

  • HB 2067, SB 301, SB 302, SB 303, SB 398 deal with the issue of elk damage on private lands and the issuance of damage tags, kill permits and elk numbers. OHA is on top of this issue and will be working to protect hunters’ interests. We anticipate this will be a hot topic this session.

Gun Bills

  • HB 2505 and SB 275 – Recycled versions of Initiative Petition 44. Would require the owner or possessor of firearm to secure firearm with trigger or cable lock or in locked container. Makes failure to report theft (with serial number) a crime, with strict liability for any injuries/deaths that result. Negatively impacts youth hunting. Please read these bills.
  • HB 2251– Governor Brown’s gun bill. Defines “assault rifle.” The bill also prohibits the transfer of a handgun or center fire assault rifle to a person under 21 years of age. Makes background checks more restrictive. Creates crime of endangering a minor if person under 18 has access to firearms, with 1 year in jail and 5-year prohibition on owning firearms if guilty.
  • SB 5 – Would make shooting ranges subject to city and county regulations. Any person discharging a firearm at a shooting range strictly liable for injuries resulting from bullets that stray outside boundaries of the shooting range. Intended to address illegal shooting from a gravel pit, it makes things much worse for organized shooting ranges.
  • SB 87 – Prohibits sale or transfer of firearms or ammunition to persons under 21. Prohibits parent, guardian (or person with permission of parent/guardian e.g. grandparent) from giving a firearm to person under 21. Prohibits transfer of firearm to youth for hunting.
  • SB 501 – This bill is a kitchen sink full of bad ideas that will negatively impact law abiding hunters and gun owners in Oregon. Requires permit from Sheriff before purchasing firearm (in addition to background check). More gun locks and theft reporting or you’re a criminal. Ban on magazines over 5 rounds, or you’re a criminal. Requires a background check to buy ammunition, limits sales to 20 rounds within 30 days, and much more. Read this bill. This is by far the biggest threat yet to gun ownership and our rights. OHA is strongly opposed and will work with other groups to stop these bad ideas from becoming law.
  • Other – There are a variety of other gun bills dealing with everything from tax credits for gun safes to reciprocity for concealed gun permits. OHA is tracking all of these.

To find more information about any bill go to this website:

https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2019R1/Measures/list/

If any of these bills hit you close to home and you want to comment, send your comments to your legislator.  You can find your legislator by visiting this site:

https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/FindYourLegislator/leg-districts.html

OHA Lobbyist Al Elkins Email: alvinelkins@yahoo.com

Looking for bills?  Try these links:

This one takes you to the main Bills page, where you can search by bill number:

https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws

This page allows you to subscribe for bill updates and alerts:

https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/citizen_engagement/Pages/e-Subscribe.aspx

You’ll see a “sign up” box towards bottom of page, which allows you to sign up and customize the bills you want to get updates on.

Sign up for OHA updates and alerts at:

https://oregonhunters.org/sign-up/