101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB0201

Introduced 1/30/2019, by Sen. Iris Y. Martinez

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
520 ILCS 5/2.5b new

Amends the Wildlife Code. Provides that nontoxic ammunition, as certified by the Department of Natural Resources, shall be required when taking all wildlife, including game mammals, game birds, non-game birds, and non-game mammals with any firearm. Provides that the Department shall adopt by rule a public process to certify ammunition as nontoxic ammunition and shall define, by rule, nontoxic ammunition to include only ammunition in which there is no lead content, excluding the presence of trace elements of lead. Provides that to the extent that funding is available, the Department shall establish a process that provides hunters with nontoxic ammunition at no or reduced charge. Grants rulemaking authority to the Department. Provides for penalties. Makes other changes.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning wildlife.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by adding Section
52.5b as follows:
6 (520 ILCS 5/2.5b new)
7 Sec. 2.5b. Nontoxic ammunition.
8 (a) Except as provided in subsections (e) and (g), and as
9soon as can be practicably implemented by the Department of
10Natural Resources under subsection (d), nontoxic ammunition,
11as certified by the Department, shall be required when taking
12all wildlife, including game mammals, game birds, non-game
13birds, and non-game mammals with any firearm.
14 (b) The Department shall adopt by rule a public process to
15certify ammunition as nontoxic ammunition and shall define, by
16rule, nontoxic ammunition to include only ammunition in which
17there is no lead content, excluding the presence of trace
18elements of lead. The Department shall establish and annually
19update a list of certified ammunition. The list of certified
20ammunition shall include, but not be limited to, any federally
21approved nontoxic shotgun ammunition.
22 (c) To the extent that funding is available, the Department
23shall establish a process that provides hunters with nontoxic

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1ammunition at no or reduced charge. The process shall provide
2that the offer for nontoxic ammunition at no or reduced charge
3may be redeemed through a coupon sent to a permit holder with
4the appropriate permit tag. If available funding is not
5sufficient to provide nontoxic ammunition at no charge, the
6Department shall set the value of the reduced charge coupon at
7the maximum value possible through available funding, up to the
8average cost within this State for nontoxic ammunition, as
9determined by the Department. The nontoxic ammunition coupon
10program described in this subsection (c) shall be implemented
11to the extent that there is sufficient funding within the
12Department.
13 (d) The Department shall adopt rules phasing in the
14requirements of this Section by July 1, 2020. The requirements
15of this Section shall be fully implemented statewide by no
16later than January 1, 2021. If any of the requirements of this
17Section can be implemented practicably, in whole or in part, in
18advance of January 1, 2021, the Department of Natural Resources
19shall implement those requirements. The Department of Natural
20Resources shall not reduce or eliminate any existing
21restrictions on the use of lead ammunition until the additional
22requirements for use of nontoxic ammunition as required are
23implemented.
24 (e) If nontoxic ammunition is not commercially available
25for a specific and lawful hunting purpose due to the operation
26of the federal prohibitions relating to armor piercing

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1ammunition in 18 U.S.C. 44, the requirement for use of nontoxic
2ammunition shall be suspended for that specific hunting purpose
3until the time as any nontoxic ammunition becomes commercially
4available, at which point the suspension of the nontoxic
5requirement shall automatically expire. In this paragraph,
6"commercially available" means offered for sale in the consumer
7marketplace.
8 (f) A person who violates any provision of this Section is
9guilty of a petty offense and shall be fined $500. A second or
10subsequent offense is a petty offense punishable by a fine of
11not less than $1,000 or more than $5,000.
12 (g) This Section does not apply to government officials or
13their agents when carrying out a statutory duty required by
14law.