Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §7457, sub-§1, ķA, as amended by PL 1999, c. 16, Pt. G, §5, is further amended to read:

A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, section 7102-B, or by rule adopted by the commissioner pursuant to this section, there is an open season on deer in each calendar year in all counties of the State from the 5th Monday preceding Thanksgiving to November 30th. In any year when November 30th falls on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, the commissioner may, by rule, extend the open season on deer to the first Saturday in December. The commissioner may by rule extend the season for hunting by firearm to September 30th to December 31st at the commissioner's discretion. In any year in which the commissioner extends the season beyond November 30th, the commissioner shall by rule open the season in the northern portion of the State a week before opening the season in the southern portion of the State. The commissioner may by rule establish for this purpose a northern and a southern zone.

SUMMARY

This bill allows the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to extend by rule the firearm hunting season from the current time frame to September 30th to December 31st at the commissioner's discretion.