Assembly Bill 104 – Authored by State Rep. Daniel LeMahieu (R–Cascade)
Status
Assembly Bill 104 passed the Assembly on October 25, 2011 with a vote of 81-14.
The Senate passed Assembly Bill 104 on January 17, 2012 with a 23-9 vote.
2011 Act 149 was signed into law by Governor Walker on March 23, 2012.
Summary
Assembly Bill 104 looks to change the prerequisites for members of the Natural Resources Board. These changes include that at least one member of the board has an agricultural background. The bill also requires that, beginning in 2017, at least three members of the NR Board have held a hunting, fishing or trapping license in at least seven of the past 10 years before the nomination year. The only exception is if the member served in active duty in the military during the 10 years before nomination, then the time they must have held a hunting, fishing or trapping license is adjusted to omit their time served.
Background
Currently, there are seven members on the Department of Natural Resources Board that are nominated by the governor, with advice and consent from the senate, for a six year term. The current law requires only that at least three of the members of the NR Board be from the northern portion of the state and at least three members be from the southern portion of the state. This is determined by a line that runs east and west through the southern city limits of City of Stevens Point.
