H.B. 111 Wildlife Amendments

What this bill does

The bill caps the late fee for failing to report big game hunt harvests at $25. It also lets the state post property purchase notices on its wildlife website, requires contacting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if a grizzly bear enters Utah, and cuts the required distance for firing weapons from roads and structures on wildlife management areas from 600 feet to 300 feet.

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Every vote

• 9 yes, 0 no, 5 absentHouse Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee: vote to approve it · Jan 28, 2026Who voted how
• 65 yes, 1 no, 9 absentFinal House vote · Feb 6, 2026
• 3 yes, 1 no, 3 absentSenate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee: vote to approve it · Feb 26, 2026Who voted how
• 18 yes, 5 no, 6 absentFinal Senate vote · Mar 6, 2026
• 50 yes, 15 no, 10 absentHouse vote to accept the other chamber's changes · Mar 6, 2026

Hearings and debates

• Jan 28, 2026 House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (37 turns)

  1. Committee chair33:28

     Time's yours, Representative Bolinder.

  2. Rep. Bridger Bolinder33:32

     All right. Uh, thank you Mr. Chair. Members of the committee. So this is the, what I've heard called over the years is the Annual Wildlife Cleanup bill. So this bill has a couple of components to it. Um, it addresses, uh, late fees. And this is something that, um, I added in the division. I don't think love this, but I had a couple of tags last year that I did not harvest on. And you're required to report your harvest. You get the emails when you, when you, uh, apply for the tag, you get an email mid-season, and then you get one, uh, right before the deadline. So I missed the deadline by just a little bit. And, uh, what popped up on the screen when I missed the deadline or Uintah do my harvest reporting, it looked like, uh, pretty serious. It said, you have failed to do your reporting. And, uh, it made me feel like I was gonna ding my credit or something. Almost. It was, it looked pretty serious, so, which was fine. I mean, I missed the deadline. And then, uh, and then I Uintah pay the price at the end, and it was, you know, between me and my son, it was three tags, $50 each. And so this bill serves you, right? I, I know, right? Yeah. So this bill addresses that and, uh, it, it, uh, changes it to where they can't charge anything that exceeds a a $25 late fee because it was 50. And that's what I paid for the tack. So, so anyway, it goes into that. It goes into, uh, acquiring property and changes the, the DWR to make notices publicly available on their website rather than, than in the public notice website, or excuse me, public newspaper. This reaches a, a broader, broader audience, and, and it actually saves money, um, in newspaper advertisement fees. So the other issue that it addresses is grizzly bears. And Utah does not have grizzly bears right now, nor do we want them, because we don't have the tools to, to manage those. And so they're protected, uh, federally. And, um, this just says, look, if they come into our state, we know that there's been some on the Wyoming Utah border that have been close to our state. And, uh, this is giving the division some tools to be able to address that, uh, if they do happen to come into the state of Utah. And, uh, that's kind of the main talking points of the bill. And I would love to answer any questions that anybody on the committee may have about any of these items.

  3. Committee chair36:00

     Representative, were you speaking to the sub?

  4. Rep. Bridger Bolinder36:03

     Yes. I think the sub already got adopted, though, in rules, right? Oh, okay. Yeah. Very good.

  5. Committee chair36:08

     Alright, uh, we're bringing it back for clarifying questions from the committee.

  6. Unknown speaker36:17speaker not certain

     I can't believe that the, uh, fish and Game only had, or DWR only had, uh, that many cleanup items. Well, I think, uh, our good friend from Paradise does a pretty good job or has done a good job. We know he does a good job now, but he has in the past. And, and so this is all we had to, to, to work with

  7. Committee chair36:35

     Representative Shallenberger.

  8. Rep. David Shallenberger36:38

     Thank you, Mr. Chair. I've got some serious concerns about this bill. Let's express 'em, I, regarding the hunting penalty. Um, what problem is the Hunt reporting trying to address?

  9. Justin Shannon, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources36:55

     Happy to tackle that one. Um, you have To introduce yourself, Justin Shannon, Utah, divisional Wildlife Resources. So for years we had a late fee for limited entry and once in a lifetime hunts, and this, uh, last couple years, the Sportsmen of Utah approached our Wildlife board and said, can we also have this apply to general season hunts? And the reason it was, is because it would make mandatory reporting, and it's really not mandatory reporting unless there's a, a fee associated, like a late fee or a penalty for not doing it, otherwise it becomes nobody does it and there's, there's no repercussions. And so in order to do that, we had the $50 fee on the books, um, and what we heard from the representatives, how come the fee is more than the actual cost of the permit? And it got so bad that, uh, representative Bolander started a GoFundMe. I'm not sure if you saw it circulating socially, but I'm, I'm joking he did not do that. But, but you think he would've given the earful I got. So this is a, this is just a way to say, if we don't, we, we need the data for our harvest in our management, the way we used to do it was phone calls and nobody answers calls to numbers that they don't recognize anymore. And so this is the, the way for us to get our data. So

  10. Rep. David Shallenberger38:15

      Thank you. And one more question is, uh, regarding discharge of firearms near W MAs, uh, what safety issues is that trying to address?

  11. Justin Shannon, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources38:24

      Oh, yeah. Do you want me to talk about one?

  12. Committee chair38:27

      Yeah, go ahead and talk about it.

  13. Justin Shannon, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources38:28

      So there's a, there's a law that says you can't discharge a firearm within 600 feet of a building and a structure and those types of things. We have a lot of older buildings on our WMAs. Um, and, and the purpose of that is for hunting. And so what we didn't want to do is have a scenario where we have an old barn or something like that, that people can't hunt within 600 feet of without written permission. And so we, we set on our properties. These properties are for hunting, they are for discharging firearms. And so we felt like 300 feet made a lot of sense for, for our properties.

  14. Rep. David Shallenberger39:01

      Okay. Thank you. Those are my questions.

  15. Unknown speaker39:02speaker not certain

      And satisfied. So thanks, Representative Chew, I I've had my Questions answered.

  16. Committee chair39:08

      Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Representative of

  17. Unknown speaker39:13speaker not certain

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a couple quick questions about the public notice of acquisition for property. Um, you've taken out the notice in newspapers, which I understand not very many people are using the newspapers, but a lot of property notifications are still going in local newspapers. And there's also the state has a website. Is there coordination between the public notice website from the state with your website? So is that, is there like an automatic where that's sharing information so that it goes more widely than just the DNR website? I believe the bill is an, and it has to be on our website. And that website that you cited, is that not correct? It just says We have to post it in two locations. In Both locations, Yeah. Okay. That was, that was the intent. Oh, there it is. It is an and my apologies. Okay. Okay.

  18. Committee chair40:04

      Representative saying no further questions from the committee. Is there anyone in the public that would like to speak to this? Come on up. Uh, I see three hands, so let's move it along. Representative Bolander, maybe you could slide back and two of you could take a seat and we'll go ahead. State your name and who you represent.

  19. Kirk Robinson, Western Wildlife Conservancy40:26

      Uh, yes. But first of all, is this a question period or a, It's a comment period, comment, Period, Comment. No Public questions. Okay. Well, I do have questions and, uh, there are three parts to the Grizzly Bear section of this bill, and the second part seems very puzzling to me. Um, if I remember what it said, it says that once, uh, grizzly bears have been delisted throughout all of the state, the state will try to ensure that there is no viable population in the state. Is that correct?

  20. Committee chair41:06

      Well, let's have them address that when you come back, that's a comment.

  21. Kirk Robinson, Western Wildlife Conservancy41:10

      And state your name and who you represent, please. Well, That was a question, but my name is Kirk Robinson. I represent Western Wildlife Conservancy. Okay. And I would just like clarification on that before I, uh, want to comment.

  22. Committee chair41:22

      Okay. We'll, uh, we'll let them respond when they come back up next.

  23. Willis LeFeure, United Basin41:27

      Willis la you in a basin. I appreciate what you're trying to do with this. I've had a lot of, a lot of concerns and questions for my constituents about this, this $50 fee. If you wanna hold me accountable, do it, just restrict my ability to get a tag the next year. Fine. But you don't need to get in their pocket books. Thank

  24. Committee chair41:45

      You. Thank you for your comment. Next,

  25. Matt Anderson, Utah Sportsman's Caucus41:48

      Mr. Chair, members of the committee get to be with you today, Matt Anderson, um, director of the Utah Sportsman's Caucus. Um, we think this is a great piece of legislation. Commend the sponsor, the division, uh, also working with us and bring it forward to us. Um, this is a great cleanup, bill, and also does some great things for the state. Thank You. Thank you.

  26. Committee chair42:05

      Any others? Seeing none. Any online? No, nobody online. Okay. You come back up, representative. And Justin, first of all, would you answer Mr. Robertson's question?

  27. Justin Shannon, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources42:22

      You want me to take it? Yeah, go ahead. Yeah. Happy to. The grizzly bear language that we have in this bill mirrors the wolf language that we have, um, that we've had since I think, 2010 in state statute. And the idea is because we don't have management authority of wolves in most of the state or grizzly bears currently in the state, that if a bear entered into the state of Utah, we would contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service and ask 'em to remove it. And this just boils down to if we don't have management tools and options, then it's, it's really, really challenging to manage wildlife in a, in a former life, I, I owned a construction company with my brothers, and we would never ask our our employees to go dig a hole and take away their shovel. You have to have management tools in order to manage these species.

  28. Committee chair43:08

      So thank you. And if he has any further questions, would you get with him offline after the meeting? Happy To. Thank you. I'll close public comment and bring it back to the Committee for Action.

  29. Committee chair43:23

      Representative Shallenberger,

  30. Rep. David Shallenberger43:25

      Um, the amendment was adopted in rules or substitute. Yes. So I'd like to make a positive motion, a motion for a positive, uh, recommendation of from our committee On HB one 11, so On HB one 11 first. So

  31. Committee chair43:41

      Thank you. That motion's in order. Would you like to speak to it?

  32. Rep. David Shallenberger43:45

      Uh, no. No discussions of the motion by the Committee. This is good, bill. My concerns were solved. Thank you.

  33. Committee chair43:51

      Motion by the committee.

  34. Unknown speaker43:55speaker not certain

      Yeah, I just like to comment. I support the motion and I just think it's really important, uh, to keep potential predators out of our state. We, we have issues going on with other predators in our state, and it's, it's devastating to our wildlife. And so I just wanted to, uh, comment on that. Thank you.

  35. Committee chair44:16

      Thank you. Uh, back to the sponsor for some reason. Uh,

  36. Rep. Bridger Bolinder44:21

      I appreciate the motion and, and the discussion that we've, we've had today. So, uh, we'll continue the conversation. Sounds Like. Thank you,

  37. Committee chair44:29

      Mr. Shallenberger. Would you like to sum? I'll waive. Good. Bill, you waive? Alright, I'll place the motion. All in favor of passing out with a favorable recommendation. HB one 11 First Sub Wildlife Amendments by Representative Bolinder say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed?

• Feb 6, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (26 turns)

  1. Speaker (presiding)1:00:06

     Our substitute house bill one 11 Wildlife Amendments by Representative Bolinder. This bill was assert in natural Resources, agriculture and Environment with a vote of 9 0 5 Representative Bolinder.

  2. Rep. Bridger Bolinder1:00:17

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. So I'd like to move Amendment one in my name please. Motion is in order, which I speak to it. Yeah, I would. So All Amendment one does is on line 1 55. It strikes the word golf course in that bill. And this was important for the Division of Wildlife Resources because there are certain areas in our state that have, uh, Turkey problems and so they've actually come into golf courses and the division is trapped them and relocated them and they just want the ability to have a youth hunt or something like that during the winter months of the year. So that's what that amendment does.

  3. Speaker (presiding)1:00:55

     Thank you Representative Bollinger. Discussion to the Motion to adopt Amendment one. Representative Cutler The sponsor. Yield to a question. Representative Bollinger, will you yield?

  4. Rep. Paul A. Cutler1:01:09

     Yes. Are any of these prob places having problems, uh, with turkeys? Uh, ha happen to be located near Paradise, Utah?

  5. Rep. Bridger Bolinder1:01:19

     Thank you for the question, Mr. Speaker. I'm not familiar with any golf courses in Paradise, Utah, so

  6. Speaker (presiding)1:01:25

     Thank you. Thank, thank you Representative Keller. Further discussion to the motion to adopt Amendment one Representative Wilcox.

  7. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:01:34

     Mr. Speaker, will the sponsor yield President Boulder? Will

  8. Rep. Bridger Bolinder1:01:36

     you yield? Yes. Yes.

  9. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:01:39

     Uh, Mr. Speaker, would the, in this scenario where we're allowing these youth hunts, um, would that, would they need to shoot from the t or from the green or is there a specific location identified for the Turkey hunt on the golf course?

  10. Rep. Bridger Bolinder1:01:54

      Yeah. Thank you for the question, Mr. Speaker. I think they just need to be in shotgun range is the, is the rule the Division of Wildlife Resources would use.

  11. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:02:03

      Thank you Mr. Speaker. That's helpful.

  12. Speaker (presiding)1:02:07

      Thank you Representative. Further discussion to the motion to amend Representative Bollinger, would you like to sum?

  13. Rep. Bridger Bolinder1:02:15

      Uh, no, I'll waive.

  14. Speaker (presiding)1:02:16

      Okay, we'll go ahead and place the motion, the motion before us the house adopt amendment number one on first substitute HB one 11 under represent Bollinger's name. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Rule that motion passes. The bills have been amended and before the body for further consideration. Back to your representative Bollinger.

  15. Rep. Bridger Bolinder1:02:34

      Thank you Mr. Speaker. So this is what some call the Annual Wildlife Cleanup Bill. Um, other representatives have run this in the past and, and I got to run it this year. So I think what the most important part of the bill is the first thing that I'm gonna describe. So those of you that applied for, uh, hunts this last year, big game hunts, they have a harvest reporting requirement and you get the email when you apply for the hunt, you get the email, uh, midseason, and then you get a final reminder at the end of the year. So, but if you're late on that, that reporting requirement, you, there's two things that happen. You don't get to apply, uh, the next year, which I think is probably the biggest penalty for us Hunters. The other thing that I was unaware of that's new this year is a $50, uh, late fee, which actually cost me more than a tag in the state for. Um, so after talking with the Division of Wildlife Resources, um, we decided, I decided they didn't decide to put a cap on that and say that there's a $25 maximum. And that's where we settled with them. So the other pieces of the bill are less important than that, but it actually gives, when the division acquires real property, they can actually put that notice on the Division of Wildlife Resources website along with, uh, the Utah's public notice website. So rather than a newspaper, and that applies, it, it gives a broader audience a, a chance to look at that. The other piece that this addresses is grizzly bears. Now we don't have grizzly bear bears in the state of Utah. We have had them on the border of Wyoming and Utah and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources does not have any tools to deal with them. So this bill just says that if we get a grizzly bear in Utah, the division will contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service and they'll work together to, to get it removed from our state because we don't have the, the right kind of programs and the right kind of game management or state to be able to handle grizzly bears. The other thing that it does is if and when grizzly bears are delisted from the feds, that we can manage them our own way, whether that's hunting or, or whatever that might be. So that's the grizzly bear piece. The last and final piece is in regards to discharging a weapon on WMAs or wildlife management areas. And there's a lot of structures, old structures, old barns, and different things. Right now in the state of Utah, you can't discharge, uh, a firearm within 600 feet of a road or a structure. This would actually amend that for just WMAs only to say within 300 feet. And so with that Mr. Speaker, I would be open to any questions.

  16. Speaker (presiding)1:05:22

      Thank you, representative Bollinger. Uh, discussion to the bill Representative Shipp?

  17. Rep. Rex P. Shipp1:05:28

      Yeah. Thank you. Mr. Speaker. Would the sponsor yield to a question?

  18. Speaker (presiding)1:05:31

      Representative Bollinger, will you yield? Yes. Yes. Representative Shipp,

  19. Rep. Rex P. Shipp1:05:35

      Uh, Mr. Speaker, I was just wondering if this, uh, penalty fee is retroactive.

  20. Rep. Bridger Bolinder1:05:44

      Yeah, thanks for the question, Mr. Speaker. I wish it were, but it's not.

  21. Rep. Rex P. Shipp1:05:50

      Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

  22. Speaker (presiding)1:05:53

      Thank you Representative Shipp for the discussion to the bill Resident ball.

  23. Rep. Melissa G. Ballard1:05:58

      Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to commend the sponsor for, uh, getting that fee changed. It was a little bit steep for some folks who can't remember to fill out their harvest application and it, it's a good change to the bill. So thank you Mr. Speaker.

  24. Speaker (presiding)1:06:15

      Thank you Representative Albrecht. Further discussion to the bill. Back to your representative. Bollinger,

  25. Rep. Bridger Bolinder1:06:20

      I'll waive. Thank

  26. Speaker (presiding)1:06:20

      You. Motion has been waived. Voting will now be open on HB one 11. Representative Pucci, would you like to vote? Seeing all present, having voted votings now closed First substitute HB one 11 passed this body with 65 yes votes one, no vote be sent to the Senate for its consideration.

• Feb 26, 2026 Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (30 turns)

  1. Committee chair43:36

     we're moving house Bill one 11 per substitute. Up to be second on the agenda. This is Wildlife Amendments. Representative Boland are welcome to our committee.

  2. Rep. Bridger Bolinder43:48

     Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, uh, HB one 11 is a wildlife cleanup bill. These happen every year and it addresses a couple different, uh, areas. So the first section that it addresses is kind of a, a personal one to me. I, when you get a hunting tag or a hunting license, you have to, uh, report on your harvest every year. And, uh, you get an email when you purchase the tag, you get an email like midsummer, and then you get an email, uh, during the hunt. And, uh, I failed to do this, and so I paid a a fine. Um, I actually failed to do it for myself and my son as well. So, you know, it came up on my screen. You gotta pay this, this fee, which is fine. I, I failed to, to do it, but the fee was $50. And so I said, okay, well that's more than the cost of a general season elk tag. And so, uh, what the bill does is it limits that fee to not to exceed $25, is actually what it does. So, um, anyway, that's the first piece that it addresses. The other piece that, that this bill addresses is when the division is acquiring real property, um, they're supposed to make public notices. So they're allowed to do this public notice on their website and the Utah's, uh, public notice website. So this actually gives the, the notice a little bit broader audience. Uh, we feel like the other piece that it does is it talks about grizzly bears and it instructs the d the DWR to notify the US Fish and Wildlife Service if a grizzly bear were to come into Utah. And we've had a few cases that that, uh, Justin Shannon can talk about, I'm sure here in a little bit, where we've had grizzlies that have come close to our state. And so this just gives us, uh, it makes it clear that we notify the US Fish and Wildlife Service that, that they are in our state and that we expect them to, to not be in our state. The last and final piece this addresses is discharging a weapon. So right now, uh, current law, you can't discharge a weapon 600 feet, uh, from a highway or a structure. So within our WMAs, this would change it to 300 feet. The reason for that would be some old structures that are in our WMAs, old barns, different things like that. So that's the bill. Um, happy to answer any questions. I have Justin Shannon here with me, with the, with the DWR. So thanks. Okay. I don't know if you wanted him to present or just be here for questions representative here. I think just for questions, I think I nailed it pretty much so.

  3. Committee chair46:20

     Okay. Yeah, you nailed it. All right. Let me bring it to the committee then. If there's any clarifying questions. I, uh, rep, uh, Senator Stratton, go ahead.

  4. Sen. Keven J. Stratton46:33

     Thank you. I, I want to talk a little bit about appreciate the sponsor's personal vulnerability and, and, uh, sharing 80 lines, 80 to 85. I don't think we need to make a change here, but it seems, uh, in rules that it would make sense to me, uh, that what we're trying to do is gather good information, right, to be better managers. And it would seem wise to be, to be able to, uh, waive that if at the time the fee is issued that they give the information. Would that be helpful? What, what is maybe that's already there.

  5. Justin Shannon, Deputy Director, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources47:16

     Well, if I can speak to this for a minute, Justin Shannon, uh, with the DWR, um, we used to have it where if you went on a general season deer hunt, we would have, uh, a company reach out a third party and get harvest information. They would call you after hours. Um, and what we have found is that more and more people just aren't answering their phones to numbers. They don't recognize, and I fall in that camp, I think a lot of us do. And so it was really hard to get the, the harvest information as to how many, how many deer were harvested and some of our other species as well. And with good information comes good recommendations. And so what we were finding was that was, was one component. And then the other component was our public kept asking us, they'd say, we need to go to mandatory harvest reporting. Like we, we want that burden to be on hunters. And this was something that came from conservation organizations, sportsman's groups, those types of things. And so what we said was, well, if there's not a penalty, then it's not mandatory, and we would actually get less data, which is what some of our states have done. And so there, um, in, in working that with our wildlife board, they put that fee at $50 and said, no, this would incentivize people to do it. Um, but the represent good representative's, right? Like sometimes those, those penalty, those fees are higher than the cost of the permit. And, and I think that's what's being addressed here. And so we, we would still be in favor of making sure that there was a fee associated with it if it's gonna be a mandatory reporting system.

  6. Sen. Keven J. Stratton48:47

     So I'm not suggest, may I Please go ahead. Thank you. I'm not suggesting there shouldn't be a fee. I'm just suggesting you want the information. Correct. And you're not after money here.

  7. Justin Shannon, Deputy Director, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources48:57

     Yeah. This is not, You want the information.

  8. Sen. Keven J. Stratton48:59

     And so, uh, do you have a notice, Hey, you're being charged this unless you, this'll be waived in, in 10 days. You give us information, something like that.

  9. Justin Shannon, Deputy Director, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources49:11

     So right now, there's no fee if you report within 30 days. And so this is after you go 30 days without reporting. So

  10. Sen. Keven J. Stratton49:19

      I'm 60 days out, I haven't reported, you've sent me notice, Hey, you're gonna get a fine, right? Yes. Is there a notation if you wanna avoid the fine, fill this out in five days or 10 days? 'cause you want the information.

  11. Justin Shannon, Deputy Director, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources49:37

      Yeah. And, and 60 days is too late in a lot of instance for us because we have to make our hunt recommendations. And so, I mean, I guess what we could do is say you have 20 days and then you have a 10 day window and,

  12. Sen. Keven J. Stratton49:49

      And give notice on make it a thousand dollars fine. You want the information. Listen, I'm trying to understand what I'm saying. Yeah. If you want the information, the fines irrelevant. Make it high, high enough so that they'll give you the information. That's what I'm just saying. I it you're not after money, you're after the information.

  13. Sen. Keven J. Stratton50:08

      Correct. I would suggest that, do we need to make a change in the bill if we need it, or can you do that?

  14. Unknown speaker50:15speaker not certain

      You can do that by rule. Would you be willing to do that? Would we be willing to raise the fee? I guess I'm still struggling to understand. Maybe someone else needs to understand. I'm, I

  15. Unknown speaker50:27speaker not certain

      Wanna trying to say weigh in. I, I wanna weigh in with what I, I agree with. I think what the, what the Senator Vickers getting to, first of all, you're struggling to get the information you weren't getting probably very much. And I'm one not gonna answer my phone if I don't know either. Um, and so I don't know where the, and dealing with another issue, uh, and this happens a lot on fees, but the point is, you're after the information, I, I would've, I would've preferred trying it. Just, we need this information. Hunters, uh, get this to us. I would prefer putting that on the public without a fee to start with and see if you get enough information. I don't, I don't know. You're probably still not getting all you need. And I don't know how a $50 fee, which is more than an elk permit got put on there in the first place. That bothers me personally that we went that high to start with. And I get the, the, the, maybe the conservation and people were asking for it. But, but, um, that seemed like it to me, you're, that was just money hungry. And I get putting a fee on there to try to promote getting the information. But if you are able to get the information, do you still need to get the money? That's the question. I think that's fair. Thanks for explaining That. I, I think I understand a Little better. Let me let, give another analogy. If I get a speeding ticket, follow up. Yeah. Yes.

  16. Sen. Evan J. Vickers51:49

      Thank you, chair. If I get a speeding ticket, sometimes I can go to the court and say, you can mitigate that fee if you change your behavior. And what you're trying to do is change behavior. The behavior hasn't been to give you the information you need, but you might not need a hundred percent anyway, as the chair says, you know, I mean, you have good data, you get the sense. But I, I'm just suggesting, I I, I don't mind, I'm a little bit different. I don't mind the fee being 50 or a hundred or whatever it is. You need to get the information and the way to do that, if they've not provided it, changed the behavior and allow 'em to, to avoid the penalty by changing the behaviors. I've just taken the penalty. I hope that makes sense. Yes.

  17. Unknown speaker52:35speaker not certain

      No, I-I-I-I-I get a, I think I'm, yeah, Thank you, Mr. Chair. If I can just say, just add one thing to that too. So us that hunt and that enjoy hunting is, it's already a, a penalty for us. We can't apply, uh, for tags the next year unless we've done our harvest reporting. So that's already, that's already a rule, right? So the idea with this fee is that they get it in a timely manner, right? And so, um, to me, it's punishment enough that I can't apply the next year until I submit my data. And so, um, anyway, when I saw this $50 fee, the real issue to me was, you know, it's not a matter of whether or not I'm gonna put shoes on my kids, right? For me. But there are families that I know that have 10 plus kids, and they get elk permits every year, and they go and they feed their family with, with these elk permits. And so some of the, the notices come through school emails and go to junk mail and different things like that. And so, uh, it is a struggle to, to, on the reporting side, and I understand where the division's coming from as far as needing the data in a timely manner to be able to make good decisions on, on the hunts for the next year. So Thank you. I, I appreciate the discussion.

  18. Unknown speaker53:50speaker not certain

      Um, Senator, I, I think maybe what will help on your question too is line line 83, uh, here in the sub, it's, there it is the rule, and it says, uh, rule one may impose penalties for failure to provide hunt information. So it's not mandatory. You don't have to impose a mandatory fee. It's that you may impose. So I think if you're getting the information, um, but that now, it might not, but it won't exceed $25. So you could consider whether, oh, we got the information or maybe in a timely manner. I think you have the latitude director to take that advice in within what the amendment does.

  19. Sen. Keven J. Stratton54:31

      I, I agree. And I, that's why I said I don't think we need to change, change the statute. I think it's there. I'm just encouraging that there might be a, a space to take another shot at getting the information by waiving the fee in a timely manner that it's your space and I support you and I support the bill. I'm just trying to help but maybe offer another.

  20. Committee chair54:54

      So let's, we've spend enough time on it, we can talk offline.

  21. Unknown speaker54:58speaker not certain

      That's great. I think also just to throw in, um, I know of what you do director, and, um, and education is a big piece of it. And I maybe as you send out that email that here's what we need this information for and, and teach the people how critical it is. 'cause you're trying to do the best you can to raise the herd that is really struggling, and especially on the deer side. So that might, that might encourage people, um, more than, more than the money. So thank you. Thanks for your hand input. Okay. All right.

  22. Committee chair55:28

      And further questions from the committee. Okay. If now I'm gonna open it to the public, is there anyone in the public has come to speak to the bill? Quiet crowd today. Okay. We do have one online. Matt Anderson, if you would turn on your camera and unmute, introduce yourself. We have a second person. What's that? We have a second person, but they didn't put their name in. Okay. Matt, we can see you. Go ahead and let me before you start, Matt, we have a second person online who wanted to testify, and we'll take that. But we have to have a name first. We need to know who you are or the other person if they want to participate. Go ahead, Matt.

  23. Matt Anderson, Director, Utah Sportsman's Caucus56:18

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. Be very brief. Matt Anderson, director of the Utah Sportsman's Caucus representing hunters, trappers, and anglers across the state. It's a wonderful bill. We really appreciate the sponsor engaging with us. Um, love what it does with the grizzlies, you know, making sure that we're able to hunt on WMAs, um, with, uh, where you're able to shoot among many other things. This is an excellent bill. We would encourage you all to support it. Thank you.

  24. Committee chair56:42

      Great. Thank you. All right. We, uh, I'm gonna close public comment then and bring it back to committee. Uh, Senator Stratton, your light was on.

  25. Sen. Keven J. Stratton56:55

      Thank you Chair. I move that we, uh, move forward wildlife amendments. HB one 11, first substitute as stated here.

  26. Committee chair57:05

      Okay, thank you. The motion is that we pass out house bill one 11 per substitute to the full Senate, a discussion to the motion, not seeing any. So I'll come back to you representative for summation. I,

  27. Unknown speaker57:20speaker not certain

      I appreciated the witness, Mr. Anderson's comment about grizzly bear. And maybe my questions kind of focus on one spot, but I also like the, the easing of the, uh, health issue with the nurse practitioner. That makes a lot of sense. Well, that's good common sense, but I think it's a good cleanup. And thank you for the work, the sponsor and also our, our manager. I might just point out it's remarkable our wildlife resources we have and, and, uh, it, it's topnotch wonderful, wonderful resources and, and really want to compliment that the team and, and especially I, I was really pleased with the, with the things that we're doing to treat those. And those are your law enforcement arm as well. Get them up to speed, up, up high, get, get their benefits where they need to be as our first responders. So thank you.

  28. Committee chair58:11speaker not certain

      Thank you. Um, did you honor sum representative? Oh, wait, thanks. Thank you.

  29. Unknown speaker58:16speaker not certain

      I just want to, uh, echo the same, uh, sentiments there with your, thank you for your support of that director.

  30. Committee chair58:23

      Okay. Um, I'll go ahead and place the motion all in, uh, favor of passing out house bill one 11. First substitute Wildlife Amendment indicate by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? If any, say nay. No. Okay, I rule that passes as three to one. Thank you, representative. Alright,

• Mar 6, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (15 turns)

  1. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman2:12:42

     and body, uh, first substitute HB one 11 Wildlife of Minutes and replace it with second substitute HB one 11.

  2. Speaker (presiding)2:12:52

     Okay, we have that. Uh, will you state what the differences are?

  3. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman2:12:57

     Yeah, in fact I would, I would like to, 'cause there, there, there's a fairly substantive, uh, amount of addition from an, uh, from another, uh, negotiated portion of a bill. And I'd like to take a moment and go over that and then, and then vote if that's okay. Mr. Yes, That's great. Speaker Pro or President Proti. Um, so again, this has been highly negotiated language from, uh, another bill, but it, so it'll take me to go a moment to go through it, but, um, we can go through it in detail if you have questions. The bill strengths is wildlife law enforcement by creating a dedicated fund, primarily this is what it do. A dedicating fund to combat pro poaching and, and streamline the regulations governing professional hunting, fishing, and guide. So it does two things. Specifically. It establishes the poaching mitigation fund to finance, anti poaching technology, training and education. And secondly, it modified the guide and outfit or regulatory framework by removing the spotter category and adjusting license limits for specific high value hunts. Ultimately, this legislation ensures the restoration, uh, uh, restitution from wildlife crimes is directly reinvested into protecting Utah's natural resources and professionalizing the out outfitting industry. That completes my presentation on the sub Mr. President

  4. Speaker (presiding)2:14:17

     Thank you. Discussion to the substitute bill saying none. All in favor of deleting and title and body for substitute house bill one 11 and replacing it with second substitute house bill one 11 Say, aye. Aye. Aye. And opposed I'll rule that passes. The bill is substituted now to the substituted bill.

  5. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman2:14:36

     Thank you Mr. President Proti there circling to the underlying bill, the main portions of it were, um, along the, uh, allowing a nurse practitioner to diagnose illness or injury, uh, which allows them to surrender, uh, to surrender a permit for medical reasons. So we're talking about wildlife permits instead of just a doctor allowing them, we're now, it would be allowing a nurse practitioner to do those same things. Allows a nurse practitioner to verify an individual has a physical or an intellectual disability, which allows them to ordain the disability or COR, free fishing license, season date extensions, et cetera. This bill will benefit rural Utahans and those who see a nurse practitioner for medical care next late fees. Hunters that are late in the harvest reporting may be charged a late fee that does not exceed $25. The previous late fee was $50 and in some cases, the late fees was more than the cost of the actual big gain permit. So reduction in permit, um, property notices when acquiring real property. This change allows DWR to make notices publicly available on our website and Utah's public notice website as opposed to printed newspapers. So we're kind of moving forward in the digital world and in this process, this will reach a broader audience and save money and newspaper advertisement fees. Uh, the next is grizzly bears in instructs DWR to notify U-S-F-W-S If a grizzly bear comes into Utah and have U-S-F-W-S remove from our state, this is similar guidance from the legislature to DWR regarding wolves, for instance. Uh, lastly, discharging a weapon. A person on a W ma a waterfall management area or wildlife management area, may not legally discharge a weapon within 300 feet of a house. Regardless of where you are, they can't dwelling or building or structure without written permission. The law is 600 feet everywhere else in the state. DWR has a lot of of structures on d uh, WMAs, like old barns of facilities and they are fine if the under shoots closer to those buildings. With that, that concludes my presentation.

  6. Speaker (presiding)2:16:53

     Thank you for that presentation. Now to the bill. Senator Sandall.

  7. Sen. Scott D. Sandall2:16:57

     Thank you Mr. President per teel the sponsor yield. Senator Musselman, will you yield?

  8. Sen. Scott D. Sandall2:17:03

     Yeah, thank you. Um, just wondering, because the fiscal note, there is no fiscal note on this bill. Uh, the changes that are substantial was this parts of two bills that were married or where? I'm wondering why we haven't got a fiscal note on it already. So, Senator Musselman?

  9. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman2:17:22

     Yeah, it, it is parts of two bills that are married and there is a no fiscal impact in either Bill.

  10. Sen. Scott D. Sandall2:17:31

      So, okay. Could follow up if I might go ahead Please. Could, could I suggest that we wait till the fiscal note catches this bill just to make sure at this point in the budget, 'cause I don't know what the other bill was that was incorporated in.

  11. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman2:17:46

      Sure, sure. I I would be willing to circle. Okay, Mr.

  12. Sen. Scott D. Sandall2:17:49

      Thank you. Yeah. Motion to circle.

  13. Speaker (presiding)2:17:51

      Motion is to circle all in favor of the motion to circle, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? I'll rule that passes. Okay. Senator Mcha. And then we're gonna go to Senator Kwan after that. Senator Mikel.

  14. Unknown speaker2:18:05speaker not certain

      Mr. President ProAm. I moved to encircle first substitute house bill two 18. Oh, I Thought you were gonna do a list. Nope. Okay. Oh, I I I'm gonna unc encircle, but then I will do a list after that. Okay. Then I'll go to Yeah. Senator Quan after that. Okay.

  15. Speaker (presiding)2:18:18

      Before that. Okay. The motion is UNC encircle circles. Which bill House bill first substitute two 18 Digital skills amendments. Okay. The motions on circle first substitute house bill two 18 Digital skills amendments. Discussion of that motion. Seeing none. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? I'll rule that passes. The bill is Uncircled. Senator Mikel.

• Mar 6, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (10 turns)

  1. Rep. Bridger Bolinder25:31

     and we circled it, but I'll, I'll give a quick rundown of the bill. Again, the fiscal note is there for the, for the body to view it as well as the president. Um, quickly the, this allows, this bill allows for a nurse practitioner before only a doctor could do these things. But now a nurse practitioner could, uh, diagnose illness and injury, which allows them to surrender per, uh, uh, for medical residence for it. So if you had a license, you could surrender a back could. It also allows the practitioner to verify individual has a physical or intellectual disability as it pertains to licensing discounts. It also changes late fees from cuts 'em half from 50 to 25, uh, on certain, in certain circumstances, property notices. Instead of having to go out in the paper, we're actually bracing the modern world and doing property notices, uh, on the DWO our website, um, and the Utah Public Notice website. And then on grizzly bears, uh, it instructs DWR to notify U-S-F-W-S If the grizzly bear comes into Utah, this is the same thing we do with u uh, wolves. And the US FWS would remove the, the grizzly bear. Lastly, uh, dealing with discharging weapons, uh, within 300 feet in a waterfowl management area. Additionally, it does a couple other things that we moved in from another bill. It establishes a poaching and mitigation fund, finance and anti-poaching technology and training education. And it modified guide an outfit of regulatory framework by removing the spotter terminology from that category and adjusting licensing, uh, limits for specific high value hunts. That's my presentation. Thank you Mr. President.

  2. Speaker (presiding)27:11

     Thank you. Do we have, uh, discussion to the bill? Say no discussion. I'm going to you to Senator Musselman to from, uh, summation and a motion,

  3. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman27:25

     Uh, I call the question Mr. President. Thank you.

  4. Speaker (presiding)27:28

     Thank you. And the question, the question is, under suspension of the role shall second substitute house bill one 11 pass. Roll call vote.

  5. Senate clerk (roll call)27:36

     Senator Vickers Baldy Le Lewin Brammer Bus Comore Esia Fillmore Grover Harper Kinins Ipson Johnson. Juab McKay. Mikel Milner Aye. Musselman Owens pitcher Plum Rebe Sandal Stevenson Stratton Bickers Weiler Wilson Winterton. President Adams

  6. Speaker (presiding)28:51

     Aye. Second substitute house Bill one 11. Having received 17 y hold, excuse me, I'll call it again. Second substitute. Yep. We're not done voting. Make sure you get where you want to be. If you can, we're second substitute house bill one 11. Having received now 18 yay votes five nay votes, six being absent, passes his body and will be returned to the house for further consideration now.

  7. Speaker (presiding)29:23

     Senator Bramer.

  8. Sen. Chris H. Wilson29:27speaker not certain

     Thank you. Motion to encircle. Uh, four sub fourth substitute house Bill 5 39. Motion to circle four, substitute 5 39 public safety modifications.

  9. Speaker (presiding)29:38

     All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Roll up Motion passes. The bill is Uncircled. Senator Brammer,

  10. Sen. Brady Brammer29:45

      Thank you very much. This one deals with some of the modifications in the domestic violence space. So here's a few of the things that it does.

• Mar 6, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (5 turns)

  1. Speaker (presiding)1:19:24

     Second substitute House Bill one 11 Wildlife Amendments by Representative Bollinger. Representative Bollinger.

  2. Rep. Bridger Bolinder1:19:31

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. Motion to concur with the Senate amendments.

  3. Speaker (presiding)1:19:35

     Thank you representative. That motion is order. Go ahead and place the motion. The motion before us the House con or discussion. Sorry. Would you like to speak to that motion?

  4. Rep. Bridger Bolinder1:19:43

     Yeah, I would. So we had a bill HB 1 68 that passed this body with 65 VA votes. And this is something that we discussed and, and talked about during the, um, session with the Sportsman's caucus and, and all the stakeholders and, and wanted to get this piece of legislation passed. So that's what it does.

  5. Speaker (presiding)1:20:03

     Thank you representative, uh, discussion to the motion to concur with the Senate amendments on second substitute HB one 11. See none will go ahead and place the motion. The motion before is House concur with Senate amendments on Senate amendments on second substitute HB one 11. All in favor say aye. Any opposed? Will our motion passes voting now be open for final passage on second substitute H one 11 representatives. Let's vote quickly. Seeing all present, having voted voting is now closed. Second substitute HB one 11 passes this body with 50 yes votes. 15 no votes will be sent to this or sent to the Senate for the signature of the president. Madam Meeting Clerk