SUBCHAPTER B. ENFORCEMENT POWERS
§ 12.102. INSPECTION OF WILDLIFE RESOURCES. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Residence" means a person's principal or ordinary
home or dwelling place.
(2) "Temporary residence" means a place where a person
temporarily dwells or seeks shelter. The term does not include a
hunting blind. The term does include a:
(A) hunting club or lodge;
(B) clubhouse;
(C) cabin;
(D) tent;
(E) manufactured home used as a hunting club or
lodge; and
(F) hotel room, motel room, or room in a
boardinghouse used during a hunting trip.
(3) "Wildlife resource" means any animal, bird,
reptile, amphibian, fish, or form of aquatic life or any part of an
animal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, or form of aquatic life the
hunting, catching, or possession of which is regulated by this
code.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a game warden or
other peace officer commissioned by the department who observes a
person engaged in an activity regulated by this code or under the
jurisdiction of the commission or reasonably believes that a person
is or has been engaged in an activity regulated by this code or
under the jurisdiction of the commission may inspect:
(1) any license, permit, tag, or other document issued
by the department and required by this code of a person hunting or
catching wildlife resources;
(2) any device that may be used to hunt or catch a
wildlife resource;
(3) any wildlife resource in the person's possession;
and
(4) the contents of any container or receptacle that
is commonly used to store or conceal a wildlife resource.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a game warden or
other peace officer commissioned by the department may inspect any
wildlife resource that has been taken by a person and is in plain
view of the game warden or other peace officer.
(d) Nothing in this section authorizes a game warden or
other peace officer commissioned by the department to conduct a
search otherwise authorized by this section:
(1) in a person's residence or temporary residence; or
(2) on a publicly maintained road or way that is:
(A) improved, designed, or ordinarily used for
vehicular traffic;
(B) open to the public; and
(C) distinguishable from a shoulder, berm, or
other area not intended for vehicular traffic.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 558, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 12.103. ENTERING LAND; USE OF INFORMATION OBTAINED BY
ENTRY; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) To enforce the game and fish laws of the
state and to conduct scientific investigations and research
regarding wild game or fish, an authorized employee of the
department may enter on any land or water where wild game or fish
are known to range or stray. No action may be sustained against an
employee of the department to prevent his entering on land or water
when acting in his official capacity as described by this
subsection.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the department may
use information collected by an employee of the department on
privately owned land only for the purposes of scientific
investigations and research described in Subsection (a) and only if
authorized in writing by the landowner or the landowner's agent.
Unless the department first obtains the written consent of the
landowner or the landowner's agent, the department may not:
(1) use other incidental information obtained on the
land that does not pertain directly to the investigation or
research authorized under Subsection (a); or
(2) enter or permit the entry of any information that
does not pertain directly to the investigation or research
authorized under Subsection (a), into a database:
(A) maintained by the department and available to
a person other than a department employee;
(B) maintained by a natural heritage program
administered by the department; or
(C) established and maintained by any other
person.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), information
collected under this section may only be reported or compiled in a
manner that prevents the identification of an individual parcel or
specific parcels of private property without the written consent of
the landowner or the landowner's agent.
(d) The department may collect and enter data as necessary
relating to the occurrence or harvest of natural resources in
public land or water. The department may collect and report
standardized annual wildlife survey information required by the
Pitman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. Section 669 et
seq.).
(e) The department is liable to a private landowner for a
civil penalty in the amount of $1,000 for a violation of this
section involving information collected by an employee of the
department on the landowner's property. A landowner may bring suit
to collect the penalty in the county in which the land is located or
the county in which the landowner resides.
Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 521, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
§ 12.104. RIGHT TO SEARCH AND INSPECT. (a) A game warden
or other peace officer commissioned by the department may search a
game bag, vehicle, vessel, or other receptacle if the game warden or
peace officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the game
bag, vehicle, vessel, or receptacle contains a wildlife resource
that has been unlawfully killed or taken.
(b) A game warden or other peace officer commissioned by the
department may inspect a wildlife resource or a part or product of a
wildlife resource that is discovered during a search under
Subsection (a) of this section.
(c) In this section "wildlife resource" means an animal,
bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, or other aquatic life the taking or
possession of which is regulated in any manner by this code.
Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.
Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 261, § 1, eff. Aug. 26,
1991.
§ 12.105. SUITS. (a) The department may file complaints
in the name of the State of Texas to recover fines and penalties for
violations of the laws relating to game, birds, and fish.
(b) The department may file a complaint and commence
proceedings against an individual for violation of the laws
relating to game, birds, and fish without the approval of the county
attorney of the county in which the proceedings are brought. The
department is not required to furnish security for costs for
proceedings under this subsection.
Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.
§ 12.106. NOTICE TO APPEAR. (a) Any peace officer of this
state or a political subdivision of this state or an authorized
employee of the department who arrests a person for a violation of
this code or a regulation of the commission adopted under this code
may deliver to the alleged violator a written notice to appear
before the justice court, county court, or another court having
jurisdiction of the offense not later than 15 days after the date of
the alleged violation.
(b) On signing the written notice to appear and thereby
promising to appear as provided in the notice, the alleged violator
shall be released.
(c) A person who fails to appear for a violation of this code
or a regulation of the commission adopted under this code within the
time specified in the written notice commits an offense that is a
Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor, and a warrant for the
arrest of the alleged violator may be issued.
Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.
Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 267, art. 3, § 4, eff. Sept.
1, 1985; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 338, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
§ 12.107. REMISSION OF FINES. (a) A justice of the peace,
clerk of any court, or any other officer of the state who receives a
fine imposed by a court for a violation of this code or a regulation
of the commission adopted under this code shall send the fine to the
department within 10 days after the date of collection. A statement
containing the docket number of the case, the name of the person
fined, and the section of this code or the regulation violated must
accompany the remission of the fine.
(b) The amount of the fine to be remitted to the department
is 80 percent in county court or higher court cases and 85 percent
in justice court cases.
Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.
Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 269, § 4, eff. Sept. 1,
1985; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 338, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
§ 12.108. EXPENSES. In making an arrest, summoning a
witness, and serving a process, the department is entitled to the
same fee and mileage allowance as a sheriff. The fee is charged and
collected in the same manner as sheriff's fees.
Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975.
