House Bill 31 Summary

• Establishes reimbursement amounts for illegal killing, possession, or waste of game animals, birds, and fish, ranging from $50 for certain species to $750 for elk and $1,500 for caribou, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, and moose.

• Creates enhanced penalties for flagrant violations involving trophy big game animals, with reimbursement amounts ranging from $2,000 for trophy mule deer and white-tailed deer to $10,000 for trophy bighorn sheep, moose, mountain goat, and caribou.

• Implements a doubling penalty structure for each additional animal of the same category killed within a 12-month period, except for species with a $50 reimbursement value.

• Requires courts to order defendants to reimburse the state for costs of correcting damage from unlawful fish releases, not to exceed $10,000.

• Allows defendants up to 2 years to pay judgments in installments and authorizes courts to revoke hunting, fishing, or trapping privileges if a defendant is 90 or more days in arrears.