Police Jury adopts Section 16 hunting permit law

Hunting on Avoyelles Parish School Board property without a board-issued permit is illegal under an ordinance adopted by the Avoyelles Police Jury at its March 8 meeting.
The Police Jury approved the ordinance on a 6-1 vote, with jurors Marsha Wiley and Kirby Roy abstaining. Juror Trent Clark voted against the law, saying he disagreed with the School Board charging $200 for a hunting permit on board property when the permit to hunt on other public property is much less.
Wiley said the ordinance did not affect her one way or another, but abstained out of an abundance of caution because her husband, Darrell Wiley, is the School Board president. Roy is a teacher at Marksville High and abstained because he works for the School Board.
A School Board delegation had asked the jury to strengthen the board’s Section 16 permit policy by incorporating it into a parish ordinance. Prior to the jury action, the trespassing statute was the only law the board could use to punish those without a permit.
The new law specifically deals only with those who are hunting on board property. It cannot be used to punish birdwatchers, hikers, picnickers, etc.
District Attorney Charles Riddle had advised the School Board that they could only enforce a “hunting permit” policy applying to those on the property with a loaded weapon. He said the board could not enforce a “user permit,” which would apply to anyone venturing onto board property for any reason.
Juror Henry Moreau said he was voting for the ordinance only because the School Board requested the jury’s assistance with that ordinance “and it is not our responsibility to tell the School Board what it can or cannot do” with respect to managing its Section 16 property.
The jury’s ordinance states, “The hunting by any person of any animal of any species on public property under the control, management and supervision of the Avoyelles Parish School Board without a permit issued exclusively by the Avoyelles Parish School Board is prohibited.”
Conviction of a first offense can be punishable by a fine of $250 to $500 and/or 30 days in jail. A second offense conviction carries a fine of $350 to $750 and/or 90 days in jail.
If someone has a third offense within seven years, the punishment would be a fine of $500 to $1,000 and/or 60 days to six months in jail and forfeiture to the law enforcement authority of any weapon or firearm seized in connection with the violation.