North Carolina § 113-270 - 1B. License required to hunt, fish, or trap; fees set by Commission.

§ 113-270. 1B. License required to hunt, fish, or trap; fees set by Commission.

Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, no person may hunt, fish, trap, or participate in any other activity regulated by the Wildlife Resources Commission for which a license is provided by law without having first procured a current and valid license authorizing the activity. Except as indicated otherwise, all licenses, permits, stamps, and certifications are valid from the date of issue for a period of 12 months. As used in this section, the term "effective date" means the later of: The date of purchase of a new license. The first day after the expiration of a currently valid license of the same type held by the licensee. For those licenses sold directly through the Commission by telephone, mail, online, or at a service counter, the Commission may charge a fee of two dollars ($2.00) per transaction. A fee may not be charged by the Commission for federal Harvest Information Program (HIP) certification, big game harvest report cards for lifetime license holders, exempt landowners, persons of less than 16 years of age, or for any other license or vessel transactions for which there is no charge. The Wildlife Resources Commission shall adopt rules to establish fees for all licenses, permits, stamps, and certifications issued and administered by the Wildlife Resources Commission, except those specified in G.S. 113-173. No rule may increase a fee in excess of the total increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, rounded up to the next whole dollar, over the period of time since the last fee change. The statutory fees for the hunting, fishing, trapping, and activity licenses issued and administered by the Wildlife Resources Commission shall expire when the rules adopted pursuant to this subsection become effective. History (1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 684, s. 1; 2012-81, s. 1; 2013-283, ss. 16, 20(b), (c); 2017-57, s. 13A.3; 2019-204, s. 6(a).) Local Modification. - Forsyth County: 2005-257, s. 1. Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2012-190, s. 1, provides: "(a) It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide funding for the dredging and maintenance of the State's coastal inlets from fees charged to those who make use of the inlets. "(b) In order to identify possible sources of funds for the purposes set out in subsection (a) of this section, the Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Executive Director of the Wildlife Resources Commission, and the Deputy Secretary for Transit of the Department of Transportation shall jointly study the fees associated with the issuance of coastal fishing licenses pursuant to Chapter 113 of the General Statutes and the numbering and titling of vessels pursuant to Chapter 75A of the General Statutes. "(1) For coastal fishing licenses, the Director and Executive Director shall specifically: "a. Identify all types of fishing licenses issued for the purpose of taking fish in coastal fishing waters, both recreational and commercial. "b. Identify the fees associated with these licenses. "c. Identify the analogous licenses issued and fees charged by states with fisheries profiles similar to those of North Carolina, including at least South Carolina and Virginia. "d. Recommend several levels of increases in the license fees and calculate the amount of revenue that would be generated by the different levels of increase. "e. Identify any limitations under State or federal law on the use of license fees for purposes not related to the management of marine fisheries. "(2) For the numbering and titling of vessels, the Executive Director shall specifically: "a. Identify all requirements for the numbering and titling of vessels. "b. Determine whether there is a method for differentiating between vessels that are used predominantly in coastal fishing waters versus those that are used predominantly in inland fishing waters. "c. Identify the fees associated with the numbering and titling of vessels. "d. Identify the analogous vessel numbering and titling requirements and fees charged by states with coastal boating profiles similar to those of North Carolina, including at least South Carolina and Virginia. "e. Recommend several levels of increases in the fees associated with the numbering and titling of vessels and calculate the amount of revenue that would be generated by the different levels of increase. "f. Identify any limitations under State or federal law on the use of fees associated with the numbering and titling of vessels. "(3) The Director and the Executive Director shall examine all other sources of funding, including the gas tax. "(c) The Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Executive Director of the Wildlife Resources Commission, and the Deputy Secretary for Transit of the Department of Transportation shall jointly submit a report on the study required by subsection (b) of this section to the Legislative Research Commission's Committee on Marine Fisheries no later than September 1, 2012." Subsection (d) was enacted by Session Laws 2013-283, s. 16, as subsection (c). It was redesignated at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2013-283, s. 20(a), provides: "Effective January 1, 2015, the statutory fees for the hunting, fishing, trapping, and activity licenses issued and administered by the Wildlife Resources Commission shall remain at the levels existing on that date until the rules required to be adopted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section become effective." Session Laws 2013-283, s. 20(b) and (c), effective January 1, 2015, were codified as subsection (e) of this section at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2013-283, s. 22 provides, in part: "Sections 15, 16, 17, and 18 of this act become effective January 1, 2014. Section 20 becomes effective January 1, 2015." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2012-81, s. 1, effective July 1, 2013, at the end of the introductory language of subsection (b), substituted "12 months from the effective date printed on the face of the license" for "12 months"; and added subsection (c). Session Laws 2013-283, s. 16, effective January 1, 2014, added the subsection designated herein as (d) Session Laws 2017-57, s. 13A.3, effective July 1, 2017, substituted "total increase" for "average increase" and "period of time since the last fee change" for "preceding five years" in subsection (e). Session Laws 2019-204, s. 6(a), effective September 1, 2019, substituted "licenses, permits, stamps and certifications are" for "licenses are annual licenses" in subsection (b); and rewrote subsection (e).