An Act To Allow A Junior Hunter To Apply for an Anterless Deer Permit
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1122
Committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Sponsors: CRESSEY, DAVIS, BERRY, CARR, DUPREY, GLYNN, JOY, MOODY, RICHARDSON
Amends: 12 MRSA §7101, 12 MRSA §7457

12lst MAINE LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1122 
H.P.825 
House of Representatives, March 4,2003 
An Act To Allow A Junior Hunter To Apply for an Anterless Deer 
Permit 
Reference to the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative CRESSEY of Baldwin. 
Cosponsored by Senator DAVIS of Piscataquis and 
77/~ 
/J7. 7l/ttc~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BERRY of Belmont, CARR of Lincoln, DUPREY of Hampden, GLYNN of 
South Portland, JOY of Crystal, McCORMICK of West Gardiner, MOODY of Manchester, 
RICHARDSON of Skowhegan. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §7101, sub-§7-A, as corrected by RR 1999, c. 
1, §22, is amended to read: 
7-A. 
Restrictions. 
Any resident or nonresident hunter 10 
years of age or older and under 16 years of age may hunt with 
firearms only in the presence of: 
A.. 
That hunter's parent or guardian; or 
B. 
A 
person at least 18 years of age approved by that 
hunter's parent or guardian who either holds a valid Maine 
hunting license 
or 
has 
successfully completed 
a 
hunter 
safety course acceptable under the provisions of sections 
7035 and 7071. 
For the purposes of this subsection, "in the presence of" means 
in visual and voice contact without the use of visual or audio 
enhancement 
devices, 
including 
binoculars 
and 
citizen 
band 
radios. 
A hunter who is 16 years of age and who is hunting with 
a 
junior hunting license prior to hunting without the adult 
supervision required by this section must 
complete 
a 
hunter 
safety course. 
A junior hunter who will be 10 years of age by 
the first day of hunting season may apply for the junior hunter 
license before the junior hunter's birthday. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §7457, sub-§I, 1[H, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
690, Pt. A, §8 and affected by §18, is further amended to read: 
H. 
The commissioner may regulate the taking of antlerless 
deer within any area of the State, as necessary, to maintain 
deer populations in balance with available habitat if the 
following conditions are met. 
(1) 
The 
demarcation 
of 
each 
area 
must 
follow 
recognizable physical boundaries such as rivers, roads 
and railroad rights-of-way. 
(2) 
The determination must be made and published prior 
to August 1st of each year. 
(4) 
The commissioner may adopt rules necessary for the 
administration, 
implementation, 
enforcement 
and 
interpretation of this subsection, except that there 
may not be an antlerless deer permit system unless 
otherwise 
specified 
in 
this 
paragraph. 
Any 
rules 
adopted by the commissioner that provide for permits to 
be issued to nonresident or alien hunters must provide 
that: 
(a) 
The percentage of antlerless deer permits 
issued to nonresident and alien hunters may not 
exceed the average percentage of applicants for 
antlerless deer permits over the previous 3 years 
who were nonresidents or aliens; and 
(b) 
No 
more 
than 
15q.o 
of 
the antlerless deer 
permits issued in any one district or in any one 
zone 
may 
be 
issued 
to 
nonresident 
and 
alien 
hunters. 
(5) 
An antler1ess deer permit system adopted by the 
commissioner pursuant to this section may include a 
provision giving special consideration to landowners 
who keep their lands open to hunting by the public. 
Any 2 or more areas of land owned by the same person 
that are open for hunting and that would be contiguous 
except for being divided by one or more 
roads 
are 
considered contiguous for the purposes of determining 
landowner eligibility for special consideration under 
this subparagraph. 
A junior hunter may apply for an anterless deer permit. 
A 
junior hunter or a person 65 years of age or older may take 
an antlerless deer, if a person who holds a valid antlerless 
deer permit transfers the permit to the junior hunter or 
person 65 years of age or older by identifying the name, age 
and address of the transferee on the permit as well as any 
other information reasonably requested by the commissioner 
and then returns the permit to the department prior to the 
start of the firearm season on deer. 
The commissioner shall 
record the transfer and return the permit to the junior 
hunter or person 65 years of age or older. 
A valid permit 
must be in the possession of the transferee in order for the 
transferee 
to 
take 
an 
antlerless 
deer. 
If 
the 
person 
transfers the permit to the junior hunter or person 65 years 
of age or older, that person is prohibited from taking an 
antler1ess deer. 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows 
a 
junior hunter to apply for 
a 
junior 
hunting license before the junior hunter's 10th birthday, if the 
junior hunter will be 10 years of age by the first day of hunting 
season. 
It also allows a junior hunter to apply for an anterless 
deer permit.