MINNOWS, WIGGLERS, & CRAYFISH H.B. 5053 (H-2):
COMMITTEE SUMMARY
House Bill 5053 (Substitute H-2 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative Mike Shirkey
House Committee: Natural Resources, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation
Senate Committee: Outdoor Recreation and Tourism
CONTENT
The bill would amend Part 487 (Sport Fishing) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to allow the export of minnows, wigglers, or crayfish, if they were harvested from outside the State and imported wholesale into the State.
Part 487 prohibits a person from transporting outside of Michigan any minnows, wigglers, or crayfish, dead or alive, taken either in or outside of the State. Upon receiving a payment of $25, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) may issue a permit to a resident licensed under Section 48732, enabling him or her to transport outside of the State minnows, wigglers, and crayfish preserved in liquid and bottled for fish bait. (Section 48732 provides for a limited retail minnow dealer's license that entitles the licensee to operate one place of business and one motor vehicle and to buy, transport, and retail minnows, wigglers, and crayfish. The section also provides for a wholesale minnow dealer's license that allows the licensee to operate one place of business, to transport with up to three vehicles, and to sell at wholesale to licensed dealers minnows, wrigglers, and crayfish.)
The bill would prohibit a person from exporting out of the State any dead or alive minnows, wigglers, or crayfish taken in or outside the State unless he or she held a permit. Upon payment of the fee, the DNR could issue a permit to a resident licensed under Section 48732 enabling him or her to transport outside of the State minnows, wigglers, or crayfish that were harvested from waters outside of Michigan's jurisdictional border and imported wholesale across that border.
The bill would prohibit the export of minnows, wigglers, and crayfish taken from Michigan's jurisdictional waters. Imported wholesale minnows, wigglers, and crayfish would have to be held separately from any minnows, wigglers, or crayfish taken from Michigan's jurisdictional waters.
The bill would delete a provision authorizing the DNR to limit to 15 days per year the taking of minnows by a licensed person for preservation for fish bait purposes.
Currently, a person holding a permit must allow the DNR to inspect his or her books and records at any reasonable time. The bill would delete this requirement. Instead, a permit holder who transported wholesale minnows, wigglers, or crayfish would have to produce documentation that contained the origin of the shipment, registration or permit copies,
documentation demonstrating the shipment's destination, and any other proof required by the DNR, upon demand of the DNR Director or a law enforcement officer.
MCL 324.48729 Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.