ARTICLE 2B. WILDLIFE ENDOWMENT FUND.

§20-2B-1. Purpose.

Recognizing the inestimable importance to the state and its people of conserving the wildlife resources of West Virginia, and for the purpose of providing the opportunity for citizens and residents of the state to invest in the future of its wildlife resources, there is created the West Virginia wildlife endowment fund, the interest and principal of which shall be used only for the purpose of supporting wildlife conservation programs of the state in accordance with this section.

§20-2B-2. Board created; composition.

The board of trustees of the wildlife endowment fund of the Division of Natural Resources has full authority over the administration of the wildlife endowment fund. The chairman of the board is the director of the Division of Natural Resources and the members are the executive secretary of the division, the division fiscal officer, the chief of the wildlife resources section, the chief of the law-enforcement section and six citizen members, to be appointed by the Governor. To the extent possible, the Governor shall appoint the citizen members to ensure an equal geographic representation throughout the state and their terms shall be staggered from July 1, 1999. Existing citizen members shall retain their appointed positions for a period of two years from that date. Initial citizen appointments to the board shall be as follows: Two citizen members shall be appointed for a term of three years; two citizen members shall be appointed for a term of four years; and subsequent citizen member appointments to the board shall be for a term of four years. No more than three citizen members may be members of one political party. The actual expenses of the citizen members incurred in the performance of their duties under this section are payable from funds of the division. The State Treasurer is the custodian of the wildlife endowment fund and shall invest its assets in accordance with the provisions of article six, chapter twelve of this code.

§20-2B-2a.

Repealed.

Acts, 2015 Reg. Sess., Ch. 53.

§20-2B-3. Source of fund assets.

The assets of the wildlife endowment fund shall be derived from the following:

(a) The proceeds from the sale of lifetime hunting and fishing licenses under the provisions of section seven of this article; and

(b) The proceeds of any gifts, grants, contributions or other moneys accruing to the state which are specifically designated for inclusion in the fund.

§20-2B-4. Status of fund; expenditures from the fund.

The wildlife endowment fund is declared to constitute a special fund within the department, to be expendable only after legislative approval, with the following limitations and restrictions on expenditures from the funds:

(a) The income received and accruing from the investments of the wildlife endowment fund shall be spent only in furthering the conservation and management of wildlife resources in the state;

(b) The income received and accruing from the investments of the wildlife endowment fund shall be distributed among divisions within the department as prescribed by section six of this article;

(c) No expenditure or disbursement shall be made from the principal of the wildlife endowment fund except at such time as the income received and accruing from the investments of the wildlife endowment fund is expended or disbursed for purposes other than the conservation and management of wildlife resources;

(d) Any disbursement of the principal of the wildlife endowment fund shall be made in the same manner as that prescribed for investment income in section six of this article; and

(e) Any expenditure or disbursement from the wildlife endowment fund must result in benefits to the department of natural resources and must be spent only for the conservation and management of wildlife resources.

§20-2B-5. Accumulation of investment income; how expenditures made; fund exclusive of other receipts and

appropriations; dissolution of department.

(a) The board of trustees of the wildlife endowment fund may accumulate investment income of the fund within the fund until the income, in the sole judgment of the trustees, can provide a significant supplement to the budget of the department of natural resources. After that time the trustees, in their sole discretion and authority, may direct expenditures from the income of the fund to further the conservation of wildlife resources.

(b) Expenditure of the income derived from the wildlife endowment fund shall be made through the state budget accounts of the department of natural resources. The wildlife endowment fund is subject to the oversight of the State Auditor.

(c) The wildlife endowment fund and the income derived therefrom shall not take the place of any other receipts or appropriations accruing to the department of natural resources, or any part thereof, but any portion of the income of the wildlife endowment fund shall be used to supplement other income of and appropriations to the department of natural resources to the end that the department may improve and increase its services to the people of the state and the conservation of their wildlife resources.

(d) In the event of the future dissolution of the department of natural resources, such state agency as shall succeed to its statutory authority to conserve the wildlife resources of the state shall, ex officio, assume the trusteeship of the wildlife endowment fund and shall be bound by all the limitations and restrictions placed by this section on expenditures from the fund. No appeal or modification of this section shall alter the fundamental purposes to which the wildlife endowment fund may be applied. No future dissolution of the department of natural resources shall invalidate any lifetime license issued in accordance with section seven of this article.

§20-2B-6. Expenditure of funds for specific and general purposes.

In accordance with the intent of sections thirty-four and forty-two-o, article two of this chapter and pursuant to sections three and four of this article, income accruing from the investments of the wildlife endowment fund shall be distributed in the following manner:

(1) Income accruing from the investment of moneys resulting from the sale of Class O-L licenses shall be distributed and disbursed in the same manner as revenues accruing from the sale of Class O licenses as provided in section forty-two-o, article two of this chapter.

(2) Income accruing from the investment of any portion of the principal of the wildlife endowment fund which, at the time of its deposit into the fund, is specifically designated for the activities of a particular section within the Division, shall accrue solely to that section within the Division; and

(3) All other income accruing from the investments of the wildlife endowment fund shall be distributed within the Division in the same manner as provided in section thirty-four, article two of this chapter.

§20-2B-7. Lifetime hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses created.

(a) Pursuant to §20-2B-3 of this code, the director may issue the following lifetime hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses and for the lifetime of the licensee, the lifetime licenses serve in lieu of the equivalent annual license: Lifetime resident statewide hunting and trapping license; lifetime resident combination statewide hunting, fishing, and trapping license; lifetime resident statewide fishing license; and lifetime resident trout fishing license.

(b) The director shall propose a rule for legislative approval in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code, setting fees for lifetime licenses and shall have authority to promulgate emergency legislative rules necessary to make effective the provisions of this section by July 1, 2021. The fees for adult lifetime licenses shall be 23 times the fee for the equivalent annual licenses or stamps. The rule shall provide that the fee for any resident who has not reached his or her 15th birthday shall be:

(1) Forty percent of the adult fee set under rule for any resident who has not reached his or her first birthday;

(2) Fifty-five percent of the adult fee set under rule for any resident who is over one year old but has not reached his or her fifth birthday;

(3) Seventy-five percent of the adult fee set under rule for any resident who is over five years old but has not reached his or her 10th birthday; and

(4) Ninety percent of the adult fee set under rule for any resident who is over 10 years old but has not reached his or her 15th birthday.

The rule shall also provide that any resident who has not reached his or her 15th birthday and has been legally adopted shall be provided the same fee schedule, except the division shall use the date of entry of the order or decree of adoption as the licensee’s date of birth for purposes of calculating the appropriate fee: Provided, That in addition to the provisions of this subsection for adopted children, foster parents may also purchase a lifetime license for their respective foster children under the same guidelines, except the division shall use the date of entry of the order placing the child in foster care as the licensee’s date of birth for purposes of calculating the appropriate fee.

§20-2B-8. Privileges of lifetime licensees.

(a) Pursuant to §20-2B-7 of this code, resident lifetime licensees shall be entitled to the same privileges and subject to the same restrictions as resident licensees possessing the equivalent annual license with the following exceptions:

(1) Class A-L, AB-L, B-L and O-L licenses shall be valid for the lifetime of the licensee;

(2) A Class O-L lifetime resident trout fishing license shall be issued only to residents of the state and shall be valid only when accompanied by a Class AB-L, B, B-L, X or XJ license; and

(3) No additional fee shall be required of Class A-L, AB-L or B-L licensees for the conservation stamp required by §20-2B-9 of this code. No additional fee shall be required of Class A-L or AB-L licensees for the Class BG stamp required by §20-2-42v of this code.

(b) Pursuant to §20-2B-7 of this code, nonresident lifetime licensees shall be entitled to the same privileges and subject to the same restrictions as nonresident licensees possessing the equivalent annual license with the following exceptions:

(1) Class E-L, EE-L, F-L and OO-L licenses shall be valid for the lifetime of the licensee; and

(2) No additional fee shall be required of Class E-L, EE-L, or F-L licensees for the nonresident conservation law-enforcement and sports education stamp required by §20-2B-10 of this code.

(3) A Class OO-L lifetime nonresident trout fishing license shall be issued only to nonresidents of the state and shall be valid only when accompanied by a Class F or F-L license; and

(4) A Class UU-L lifetime resident archery deer hunting stamp shall be issued only to nonresidents of the state and shall be valid only when accompanied by a Class E-L license; and

(5) A Class VV-L lifetime nonresident muzzleloading deer hunting stamp shall be issued only to nonresidents of the state and shall be valid only when accompanied by a Class E-L license; and

(6) A Class WW-L lifetime nonresident turkey hunting stamp shall be issued only to nonresidents of the state and shall be valid only when accompanied by a Class E-L license; and

(7) A Class I-L lifetime nonresident national forest hunting, trapping, and fishing stamp shall be issued only to nonresidents of the state and shall be valid only when accompanied by a Class E-L, EE-L , or F-L license.

§20-2B-9. Class CS resident conservation stamp; purposes, etc.

A resident hunter, angler or trapper licensed to hunt, fish or trap in this state shall have, in addition to a Class A, B or L license, a Class CS conservation stamp. The fee for the stamp is $5.

The revenue derived from the sale of conservation stamps shall be deposited in the State Treasury and shall be credited to the Division of Natural Resources. The revenue shall be used and paid out, upon order of the director, for capital improvements and land purchases or leases benefitting wildlife except that at the discretion of the director, a maximum of twenty percent of the revenue may be used for the operation and maintenance of capital improvements and lands: Provided, That none of this revenue shall be expended for the purchase of wetlands, or for land to be flooded so as to create wetlands, to attract migratory waterfowl within sixty air miles of any established poultry industry: Provided, however, That no expenditures of the revenue derived from the sale of the conservation stamps shall be made for recreational facilities or activities that are used by, or for the benefit of, the general public rather than by or for purchasers of hunting, fishing or trapping licenses. Any unexpended moneys derived from the sale of conservation stamps shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year.

§20-2B-10. Class CS/LE nonresident conservation law-enforcement and sports education stamp.

(a) Any nonresident hunter, angler or trapper licensed to hunt, fish or trap in this state, in addition to a Class E, EE, F, H, LL or XXJ license, shall have a Class CS/LE nonresident conservation, law-enforcement and sports education stamp. The fee for the stamp is $12.

(b) The revenue derived from the sale of Class CS/LE stamps shall be deposited in the State Treasury and shall be credited to the Division of Natural Resources. Fifty percent of the revenue shall be used and paid out, upon order of the Director, for the law-enforcement section's expenses relating to the general enforcement of state laws pertaining to the conservation of fish and wildlife and law-enforcement education programs for hunters, anglers and trappers: Provided, That no expenditures of the revenue derived from the sale of the Class CS/LE stamp shall be made for law-enforcement purposes not directly related to the wildlife resources of the state or for the educational programs set forth in this subsection. Fifty percent of the revenue shall be used and paid out for capital improvements and land purchases or leases benefitting wildlife except that at the discretion of the Director, a maximum of twenty percent of the revenue may be used for the operation and maintenance of the capital improvements and lands: Provided, however, That no expenditures of the revenue derived from the sale of the conservation stamps shall be made for recreational facilities that are used by or for the benefit of the general public rather than by or for purchasers of hunting, fishing or trapping licenses. Any unexpended moneys derived from the sale of Class CS/LE stamps shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year.