House Bill 426 Summary

• Authorizes the Fish and Game Commission to set aside a maximum of 25% of nonresident deer and elk tags in a statewide pool for outfitted hunters in capped and controlled zone hunts, with unsold general hunt tags available to the public by July 15 or July 31.

• Establishes an administrative fee of $5.00 per allocated outfitted big game tag sold and $20.00 per tag submitted for verification, with all allocated outfitted tag use required to be verified and recorded by December 20 each year.

• Creates the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board's authority to designate allocated deer and elk tags to licensed outfitting operations using a formula prioritizing each operation's use history, with base allocation computed from the average of the last two years in capped hunts or the highest year in controlled hunts.

• Adds definitions for terms including "allocated tag," "capped hunt," "controlled hunt," "base allocation," "pool," and "utilized" to clarify tag allocation procedures.

• Declares an emergency, making the act effective immediately upon passage and approval.