These summaries came from the Legislative Information System website for Virginia.

HB 172 Hunting; knowingly trespassing while carrying a firearm, penalty.
Summary: Prohibits hunting without permission or authority, while carrying a firearm, on land where the hunter knows a No Trespassing sign is posted or where the hunter should know entry is prohibited. In addition to being punishable by a fine of $500 to $1,000, a conviction for a violation allows the court trying the case to revoke the hunter’s license for one year and to order the forfeiture of any weapon

used in the violation.

HB 338 Hunting licenses, special; create separate licenses for hunting of bear, deer, and turkey.
Summary: Authority to create separate special hunting licenses. Authorizes the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries to create separate special licenses for the hunting of bear, deer, and turkey.

HB 369 Hunting; allows any person to hunt on private lands on Sunday, with permission of owner.
Summary: Hunting on Sundays. Allows any person to hunt on private lands on Sunday, with the permission of the owner of the land.

HB 381 Motorboat registration; changes expiration date.
Summary: Motorboat registration. Changes the expiration date for motorboat registration from three years from the first day of the month in which it was issued to three years from the last day of the month in which is was issued.
HB 538 Hunter education program; eliminates six full-time positions within DGIF.
Summary: Hunter education program. Eliminates the six full-time hunter education positions within the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The bill provides instead that the Department will administratively support the statewide delivery of the hunter education course.

SB 151 Hunting on Sundays.
Summary: Hunting on Sundays. Allows a person to hunt or kill any wild bird or wild animal on Sundays.

SB 173 Hunting on Sundays.
Summary: Hunting on Sundays. Allows landowners to hunt on their own property on Sundays. Also allows persons who have the written permission of the landowner to hunt on the landowner’s property on Sundays.

SB 176 Jurisdiction of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Summary: Jurisdiction of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Removes the jurisdiction to enforce fishing and boating laws in the waters of Back Bay, and the inlets and navigable waters in the Tidewater counties and cities.
Please contact your legislator with your opinion on each of these bills. Additionally, I should note that Senator Stuart from our area introduced what I think is a great bill to protect threatened citizens from lawsuits.

SB 4 Castle doctrine; self-defense and defense of others.
Summary: Castle doctrine; self-defense and defense of others. Codifies a version of the “castle doctrine,” allowing the use of physical force, including deadly force, by a person in his dwelling against an intruder in the dwelling who has committed an overt act against him or another person in the dwelling, without civil liability.

Mark Fike