spectr17
06-20-2003, 07:24 PM
Hunting bill shot down at hearing
Measure may not be dead yet, though
June 18, 2003
By Jan Moller, Times Picayune Capital bureau
BATON ROUGE -- An attempt to enshrine the right to hunt and fish in Louisiana's Constitution was derailed Tuesday in a House committee by dispute over the bill's possible impact on property rights.
But Sen. Joe McPherson, D-Woodworth, who sponsored the legislation, said he will try to revive the bill this week by attaching it to another bill on the Senate floor.
From Our Advertiser
Senate Bill 47, which says the freedom to hunt, fish and trap "shall be forever preserved for the people," passed the Senate unanimously in April but has languished in the House Natural Resources Committee.
Supporters and opponents attribute the delay to opposition from the Louisiana Landowners Association, which is concerned that a constitutional amendment might give hunters and anglers the right to trespass on private property.
"We're afraid a judge will look at that and see that as a superior law to all other laws," said Michael Bourgeois, executive director of the landowners group, which represents the owners of about 3 million acres, mostly in south Louisiana.
McPherson said more than a dozen states have passed similar amendments, and that so far no court has interpreted them as giving people the right to trespass on private land.
"That was not the intent of the bill," McPherson said. "I and the rest of the world didn't feel that way about it."
The legislation appeared dead for the session Tuesday after McPherson failed to appear at the committee hearing to defend his proposal.
"He wanted a hearing, he got a hearing, and he didn't show up," said Rep. Wilfred Pierre, D-Lafayette.
McPherson said he decided to bypass the committee process because no one told him why the hearing wasn't scheduled until the last week of the session, when failure or delay can be fatal.
"There was no communication; they didn't talk to me about it," McPherson said.
Bourgeois said his group will drop its objections if McPherson inserts language spelling out that private property rights remain intact.
. . . . . . .
Jan Moller can be reached at jmoller@timespicayune.com or (225) 342-5207.
Measure may not be dead yet, though
June 18, 2003
By Jan Moller, Times Picayune Capital bureau
BATON ROUGE -- An attempt to enshrine the right to hunt and fish in Louisiana's Constitution was derailed Tuesday in a House committee by dispute over the bill's possible impact on property rights.
But Sen. Joe McPherson, D-Woodworth, who sponsored the legislation, said he will try to revive the bill this week by attaching it to another bill on the Senate floor.
From Our Advertiser
Senate Bill 47, which says the freedom to hunt, fish and trap "shall be forever preserved for the people," passed the Senate unanimously in April but has languished in the House Natural Resources Committee.
Supporters and opponents attribute the delay to opposition from the Louisiana Landowners Association, which is concerned that a constitutional amendment might give hunters and anglers the right to trespass on private property.
"We're afraid a judge will look at that and see that as a superior law to all other laws," said Michael Bourgeois, executive director of the landowners group, which represents the owners of about 3 million acres, mostly in south Louisiana.
McPherson said more than a dozen states have passed similar amendments, and that so far no court has interpreted them as giving people the right to trespass on private land.
"That was not the intent of the bill," McPherson said. "I and the rest of the world didn't feel that way about it."
The legislation appeared dead for the session Tuesday after McPherson failed to appear at the committee hearing to defend his proposal.
"He wanted a hearing, he got a hearing, and he didn't show up," said Rep. Wilfred Pierre, D-Lafayette.
McPherson said he decided to bypass the committee process because no one told him why the hearing wasn't scheduled until the last week of the session, when failure or delay can be fatal.
"There was no communication; they didn't talk to me about it," McPherson said.
Bourgeois said his group will drop its objections if McPherson inserts language spelling out that private property rights remain intact.
. . . . . . .
Jan Moller can be reached at jmoller@timespicayune.com or (225) 342-5207.