State Rep. Julie Calley today voted to eliminate a mandate recently put in place by the unelected Natural Resources Commission (NRC) that, if allowed to stand, could result in criminal penalties for deer hunters who fail to comply.

The NRC mandate that takes effect this year requires all hunters to report detailed information to the Department of Natural Resources within 72 hours of harvesting a deer in Michigan. Anyone who does not complete the online report can be charged with a misdemeanor. House Bill 6354, approved by the House today, would prohibit the NRC from requiring hunters to report harvested deer.

“It’s unreasonable to expect Michigan hunters to log on to the internet while they are deep in the woods to report every deer they harvest, and even more unreasonable to charge them with a misdemeanor if they don’t,” said Calley, of Portland. “The plan we approved rectifies this major overstep by an unelected commission.”

House Bill 6354 now advances to the Michigan Senate for further consideration.

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