[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 731 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 731

  To reaffirm the authority of States to regulate certain hunting and 
                          fishing activities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 9, 2005

   Mr. Udall of Colorado (for himself and Mr. Otter) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To reaffirm the authority of States to regulate certain hunting and 
                          fishing activities.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Reaffirmation of State Regulation of 
Resident and Nonresident Hunting and Fishing Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY AND CONSTRUCTION OF CONGRESSIONAL 
              SILENCE.

    (a) In General.--It is the policy of Congress that is in the public 
interest for each State to continue to regulate the taking for any 
purpose of fish and wildlife within its boundaries, including by means 
of laws or regulations that differentiate between residents and non-
residents of such State with respect to the availability of licenses or 
permits for taking of particular species of fish or wildlife, the kind 
and numbers of fish and wildlife that may be taken, or the fees charged 
in connection with issuance of licenses or permits for hunting or 
fishing.
    (b) Construction of Congressional Silence.--Silence on the part of 
Congress shall not be construed to impose any barrier under clause 3 of 
Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution (commonly referred to as the 
``commerce clause'') to the regulation of hunting or fishing by a State 
or Indian tribe.

SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed--
            (1) to limit the applicability or effect of any Federal law 
        related to the protection or management of fish or wildlife or 
        to the regulation of commerce;
            (2) to limit the authority of the United States to prohibit 
        hunting or fishing on any portion of the lands owned by the 
        United States; or
            (3) to abrogate, abridge, affect, modify, supersede, or 
        alter any treaty-reserved right or other right of any Indian 
        Tribe as recognized by any other means, including but not 
        limited to agreements with the United States, Executive Orders, 
        statutes, and judicial decrees, and by Federal law.

SEC. 4. STATE DEFINED.

    For purposes of this Act, the term ``State'' includes the several 
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands.
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