1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to game and fish; modifying restrictions on 
  1.3             fish houses; modifying the license period for fish 
  1.4             house licenses; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.5             section 97C.355, subdivision 7; Minnesota Statutes 
  1.6             1997 Supplement, section 97A.411, subdivision 1. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  1.9   97A.411, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [LICENSE PERIOD.] (a) Except as provided in 
  1.11  paragraph paragraphs (b) and (c), a license is valid during the 
  1.12  lawful time within the license year that the licensed activity 
  1.13  may be performed.  A license year begins on the first day of 
  1.14  March and ends on the last day of February. 
  1.15     (b) A license issued under section 97A.475, subdivision 6, 
  1.16  clause (5), 97A.475, subdivision 7, clause (2), (3), (5), or 
  1.17  (6), or 97A.475, subdivision 12, clause (2), is valid for the 
  1.18  full license period even if this period extends into the next 
  1.19  license year, provided that the license period selected by the 
  1.20  licensee begins at the time of issuance. 
  1.21     (c) When the last day of February falls on a Saturday, an 
  1.22  annual resident or nonresident fish house or dark house license, 
  1.23  including a rental fish house or dark house license, obtained 
  1.24  for the license year covering the last day of February, is valid 
  1.25  through Sunday, March 1. 
  1.26     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 97C.355, 
  2.1   subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  2.2      Subd. 7.  [DATES AND TIMES HOUSES MAY REMAIN ON ICE.] (a)  
  2.3   A fish house or dark house may not be on the ice between 12:00 
  2.4   a.m. and one hour before sunrise after the following dates: 
  2.5      (1) February 28, for state waters south of a line starting 
  2.6   at the Minnesota-North Dakota border and formed by rights-of-way 
  2.7   of U.S. Route No. 10, then east along U.S. Route No. 10 to Trunk 
  2.8   Highway No. 34, then east along Trunk Highway No. 34 to Trunk 
  2.9   Highway No. 200, then east along Trunk Highway No. 200 to U.S. 
  2.10  Route No. 2, then east along U.S. Route No. 2 to the 
  2.11  Minnesota-Wisconsin border; and 
  2.12     (2) March 15, for other state waters. 
  2.13     A fish house or dark house on the ice in violation of this 
  2.14  subdivision is subject to the enforcement provisions of 
  2.15  paragraph (b).  The commissioner may, by rule, change the dates 
  2.16  in this paragraph for any part of state waters.  Copies of the 
  2.17  rule must be conspicuously posted on the shores of the waters as 
  2.18  prescribed by the commissioner.  
  2.19     (b) A conservation officer must confiscate a fish house or 
  2.20  dark house in violation of paragraph (a).  The officer may 
  2.21  remove, burn, or destroy the house.  The officer shall seize the 
  2.22  contents of the house and hold them for 60 days.  If the seized 
  2.23  articles have not been claimed by the owner, they may be 
  2.24  retained for the use of the division or sold at the highest 
  2.25  price obtainable in a manner prescribed by the commissioner. 
  2.26     (c) When February 28, under paragraph (a), clause (1), or 
  2.27  March 15, under paragraph (a), clause (2), falls on a Saturday, 
  2.28  a fish house or dark house may be on the ice between 12:00 a.m. 
  2.29  and one hour before sunrise until 12:00 a.m. the following 
  2.30  Monday. 
  2.31     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.32     Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final 
  2.33  enactment.