HB 835: WILDLIFE/MGT AREAS: Establishes a charter guide wildlife management area access permit (EN INCREASE SD RV See Note) - Louisiana

HB835 Original → HB835 Act 321 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the legal text for charter boat fishing guides operating in wildlife management areas, replacing specific acronyms with full terms for clarity. It also reorganizes penalty structures to impose stricter fines and longer vessel monitoring requirements for repeat offenders.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on charter boat fishing guides and their clients in wildlife management areas, but the applicability of penalties is clarified to distinguish between general violations and specific violations of Subsections A or B.

DEFINITION

Replaced the acronym 'WMA' with the full phrase 'wildlife management area' throughout the text to improve readability and precision.

REQUIREMENT

Expanded the requirements for landing reports to explicitly include data on trip numbers, angler counts, fished areas, and time spent fishing to aid in resource management.

ENFORCEMENT

Reorganized penalty clauses to establish a tiered system where first offenders face a $1,000 fine, second offenders must use vessel monitoring systems for three years, and third or subsequent offenders must use them for ten years.

Added a specific provision allowing for license suspension and community service for charter guides found operating vessels without the required monitoring systems.

HB835 Enrolled → HB835 Original · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill transitions from an enrolled version to its original draft, introducing a new $100 annual permit for charter fishing guides to access Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). The change allows these guides to legally operate in WMAs for their clients, provided they purchase the specific access permit, which was not explicitly detailed in the previous enrolled text. This expands the scope of permitted activities for charter guides while maintaining existing penalties for violations.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to explicitly authorize charter boat fishing guides to conduct for-hire fishing trips within Wildlife Management Areas, subject to a new specific permit requirement.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new provision allowing charter boat fishing guide licensees to purchase a 'Charter Guide WMA Access Permit' for $100 to legally conduct for-hire fishing trips within wildlife management areas.

REQUIREMENT

Established that the new access permit satisfies all WMA access requirements for both the guide and their clients during the fishing trip.

TECHNICAL

Changed the document header from 'ENROLLED' to 'ORIGINAL' and updated page counts from 3 to 4, indicating this is the draft version before final approval.

HB835 Reengrossed → HB835 Enrolled · 4 edits · May 18, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an enrolled act, removing the House digest and adding official signatures. Substantively, the bill strengthens enforcement for charter boat fishing guides by increasing fines for repeat offenses and extending the mandatory vessel monitoring system requirement from three years to ten years for third or subsequent violations.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on charter boat fishing guides and wildlife management areas, but the severity of penalties for non-compliance has increased.

ENFORCEMENT

The mandatory vessel monitoring system requirement for third or subsequent offenses was extended from three years to ten years.

Penalties for repeat offenders were clarified to include a mandatory fine of at least $1,000 for first offenses and stricter vessel monitoring requirements for subsequent offenses.

TECHNICAL

The House digest, abstract, and legislative services notes were removed as the bill became an enrolled final act.

Official signatures from the Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, and the Governor were added to finalize the bill.

HB835 Engrossed → HB835 Reengrossed · 1 edit · May 13, 2026

MINOR

The bill was reengrossed to correct the terminology for the new Charter Guide WMA Access Permit, changing references from 'WMA' to 'wildlife management area' for consistency. The substantive policy content regarding the $100 permit fee, reporting requirements, and penalties for non-compliance remains unchanged.

Scope change

The scope of applicability remains identical to the previous version; the change is purely terminological to align with standard definitions of wildlife management areas.

TECHNICAL

Corrected the text to replace the abbreviation 'WMA' with the full phrase 'wildlife management area' in the permit description and eligibility section for clarity.

WILDLIFE/MGT AREAS: Establishes a charter guide wildlife management area access permit (EN INCREASE SD RV See Note)

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