S 7415: Allows for the hunting of deer by individuals age sixty and older with a crossbow in a special archery season.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7415 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 15, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. C. RYAN, ASHBY, GALLIVAN, HELMING, O'MARA, STEC, WALCZYK, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the hunting of deer with a crossbow The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs 2 and 3 of subdivision 3 of section 11-0701 of 2 the environmental conservation law, as amended by section 1-a of part R 3 of chapter 58 of the laws of 2013, are amended and a new paragraph 4 is 4 added to read as follows: 5 (2) who is eighteen years of age or older to hunt wild deer and bear 6 with a longbow, as provided in title [9] nine of this article, in a 7 special longbow season; [and] 8 (3) who is sixteen or seventeen years of age to exercise the same 9 privileges subject to the provisions of section 11-0929 and subdivision 10 3 of section 11-0713 of this article[.]; and 11 (4) who is sixty years of age or older to hunt deer with a crossbow, 12 as provided in title nine of this article, in a special archery season. 13 The department shall adopt regulations to allow the hunting of deer by 14 the use of a crossbow to any person sixty years of age or older in a 15 special archery season, subject to such restrictions as the department 16 may adopt by regulation. The department shall adopt regulations requir- 17 ing documentation to establish that an applicant is eligible to use a 18 crossbow pursuant to this paragraph. 19 § 2. This act shall take effect June 1, 2026. Effective immediately, 20 the addition, amendment, and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces- 21 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 22 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10298-01-5