{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-29-29-10-101","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 29, § 29-10-101","heading":"Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact","body":"The Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact is hereby enacted into\n\nlaw and entered into with all jurisdictions legally joining therein,\n\nin the form substantially as follows:\n\nARTICLE 1. FINDINGS, DECLARATION OF POLICY, AND PURPOSE\n\nA. The participating states find that the following provisions\n\napply:\n\n1. Wildlife resources are managed in trust by the respective\n\nstates for the benefit of all residents and visitors;\n\n2. The protection of the wildlife resources of a state is\n\nmaterially affected by the degree of compliance with state statutes,\n\nlaws, ordinances, regulations, and administrative rules relating to\n\nthe management of such resources;\n\n3. The preservation, protection, management, and restoration of\n\nwildlife contributes immeasurably to the aesthetic, recreational,\n\nand economic aspects of such natural resources;\n\n4. Wildlife resources are valuable without regard to political\n\nboundaries; therefore, every person should be required to comply\n\nwith wildlife preservation, protection, management and restoration\n\nlaws, ordinances, regulations, and administrative rules of the\n\nparticipating states as a condition precedent to the continuance or\n\nissuance of any license to hunt, fish, trap, or possess wildlife;\n\n5. Violation of wildlife laws interferes with the management of\n\nwildlife resources and may endanger the safety of persons and\n\nproperty;\n\n6. The mobility of many wildlife law violators necessitates the\n\nmaintenance of channels of communication among the various states;\n\n7. In most instances, a person who is cited for a wildlife\n\nviolation in a state other than that person's own state:\n\na. is required to post collateral or a bond to secure\n\nappearance for a trial at a later date,\n\nb. is taken into custody until the collateral or bond is\n\nposted, or\n\nc. is taken directly to court for an immediate\n\nappearance;\n\n8. The purpose of the enforcement practices set forth in\n\nparagraph 7 of this subsection is to ensure compliance with the\n\nterms of a wildlife citation by the cited person who, if permitted\n\nto proceed after receiving the citation, could return to the home\n\nstate of the person and disregard their duty under the terms of the\n\ncitation;\n\n9. In most instances, a person receiving a wildlife citation in\n\nthe home state of the person is permitted to accept the citation\n\nfrom the officer at the scene of the violation and immediately\n\nproceed after agreeing or being instructed to comply with the terms\n\nof the citation;\n\n10. The practices described in paragraph 7 of this subsection\n\ncause unnecessary inconvenience and, at times, a hardship for the\n\nperson who is unable at the time to post collateral, furnish a bond,\n\nstand trial, or pay a fine and is thus compelled to remain in\n\ncustody until some alternative arrangement is made; and\n\n11. The enforcement practices described in paragraph 7 of this\n\nsubsection consume an undue amount of law enforcement time.\n\nB. It is the policy of the participating states to:\n\n1. Promote compliance with the statutes, laws, ordinances,\n\nregulations, and administrative rules relating to management of\n\nwildlife resources in their respective states;\n\n2. Recognize the suspension of wildlife license privileges of\n\nany person whose license privileges have been suspended by a\n\nparticipating state and may treat the suspension as if it had\n\noccurred in their state;\n\n3. Allow a violator, except as provided in subsection B of\n\nArticle 3 of this compact, to accept a wildlife citation and proceed\n\nwithout delay, whether or not a resident of the state in which the\n\ncitation was issued, provided that the home state of the violator is\n\nparty to this compact;\n\n4. Report to the appropriate participating state, as provided\n\nin the compact manual, any conviction recorded against any person\n\nwhose home state was not the issuing state;\n\n5. Allow the home state to recognize and treat convictions\n\nrecorded against its residents, which convictions occurred in a\nch the\n\ncitation was issued, provided that the home state of the violator is\n\nparty to this compact;\n\n4. Report to the appropriate participating state, as provided\n\nin the compact manual, any conviction recorded against any person\n\nwhose home state was not the issuing state;\n\n5. Allow the home state to recognize and treat convictions\n\nrecorded against its residents, which convictions occurred in a\n\nparticipating state, as though they occurred in the home state;\n\n6. Extend cooperation to its fullest extent among the\n\nparticipating states for enforcing compliance with the terms of a\n\nwildlife citation issued in one participating state to a resident of\n\nanother participating state;\n\n7. Maximize effective use of law enforcement personnel and\n\ninformation; and\n\n8. Assist court systems in the efficient disposition of\n\nwildlife violations.\n\nC. The purpose of this compact is to:\n\n1. Provide a means through which participating states may join\n\nin a reciprocal program to effectuate the policies enumerated in\n\nsubsection B of this article in a uniform and orderly manner; and\n\n2. Provide for the fair and impartial treatment of wildlife\n\nviolators operating within participating states in recognition of\n\nthe violator's right to due process and the sovereign status of a\n\nparticipating state.\n\nARTICLE 2. DEFINITIONS\n\nAs used in this compact, unless the context requires otherwise,\n\nthe following definitions apply:\n\n1. \"Citation\" means any summons, complaint, summons and\n\ncomplaint, ticket, penalty assessment, or other official document\n\nthat is issued to a person by a game warden, wildlife officer or\n\nother peace officer for a wildlife violation and that contains an\n\norder requiring the person to respond;\n\n2. \"Collateral\" means any cash or other security deposited to\n\nsecure an appearance for trial in connection with the issuance by a\n\ngame warden, wildlife officer or other peace officer of a citation\n\nfor a wildlife violation;\n\n3. \"Compliance\" with respect to a citation means the act of\n\nanswering a citation through an appearance in a court or tribunal,\n\nor through the payment of fines, costs, and surcharges, if any;\n\n4. \"Conviction\" means a conviction, including any court\n\nconviction, for any offense that is related to the preservation,\n\nprotection, management, or restoration of wildlife and that is\n\nprohibited by state statute, law, regulation, ordinance, or\n\nadministrative rule. The term also includes the forfeiture of any\n\nbail, bond, or other security deposited to secure appearance by a\n\nperson charged with having committed any such offense, the payment\n\nof a penalty assessment, a plea of nolo contendere, and the\n\nimposition of a deferred or suspended sentence by the court;\n\n5. \"Court\" means a court of law, including magistrate's court\n\nand the justice of the peace court;\n\n6. \"Home state\" means the state of primary residence of a\n\nperson;\n\n7. \"Issuing state\" means the participating state which issues a\n\nwildlife citation to the violator;\n\n8. \"License\" means any license, permit, or other public\n\ndocument that conveys to the person to whom it was issued the\n\nprivilege of pursuing, possessing, or taking any wildlife regulated\n\nby statute, law, regulation, ordinance, or administrative rule of a\n\nparticipating state;\n\n9. \"Licensing authority\" means the commission, department or\n\ndivision within each participating state that is authorized by law\n\nto issue or approve licenses or permits to hunt, fish, trap, or\n\npossess wildlife;\n\n10. \"Participating state\" means any state that enacts\n\nlegislation to become a member of this wildlife compact;\n\n11. \"Personal recognizance\" means an agreement by a person made\n\nat the time of issuance of the wildlife citation that the person\n\nwill comply with the terms of the citation;\n\n12. \"State\" means any state, territory, or possession of the\nermits to hunt, fish, trap, or\n\npossess wildlife;\n\n10. \"Participating state\" means any state that enacts\n\nlegislation to become a member of this wildlife compact;\n\n11. \"Personal recognizance\" means an agreement by a person made\n\nat the time of issuance of the wildlife citation that the person\n\nwill comply with the terms of the citation;\n\n12. \"State\" means any state, territory, or possession of the\n\nUnited States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto\n\nRico, the provinces of Canada, and other countries;\n\n13. “Suspension\" means any revocation, denial, or withdrawal of\n\nany or all license privileges, including the privilege to apply for,\n\npurchase, or exercise the benefits conferred by any license;\n\n14. \"Terms of the citation\" means those conditions and options\n\nexpressly stated in the citation;\n\n15. \"Wildlife\" means all species of animals including mammals,\n\nbirds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mollusks, and crustaceans, which\n\nare defined as \"wildlife\" and are protected or otherwise regulated\n\nby statute, law, regulation, ordinance, or administrative rule in a\n\nparticipating state. Species included in the definition of\n\n\"wildlife\" for purposes of this compact are based on state or local\n\nlaw;\n\n16. \"Wildlife law\" means any statute, law, regulation,\n\nordinance, or administrative rule developed and enacted for the\n\nmanagement of wildlife resources and the uses thereof;\n\n17. \"Wildlife officer\" means any individual authorized by a\n\nparticipating state to issue a citation for a wildlife violation;\n\nand\n\n18. \"Wildlife violation\" means any cited violation of a\n\nstatute, law, regulation, ordinance, or administrative rule\n\ndeveloped and enacted for the management of wildlife resources and\n\nthe uses thereof.\n\nARTICLE 3. PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING STATE\n\nA. When issuing a citation for a wildlife violation, a wildlife\n\nofficer shall issue a citation to any person whose primary residence\n\nis in a participating state in the same manner as though the person\n\nwere a resident of the issuing state and may not require the person\n\nto post collateral to secure appearance, subject to the exceptions\n\nnoted in subsection B of this article, if the officer receives the\n\nrecognizance of the person that the person will comply with the\n\nterms of the citation.\n\nB. Personal recognizance is acceptable if:\n\n1. Not prohibited by state or local law or the compact manual;\n\nand\n\n2. The violator provides adequate proof of identification to\n\nthe wildlife officer.\n\nC. Upon conviction or failure of a person to comply with the\n\nterms of a wildlife citation, the appropriate official shall report\n\nthe conviction or failure to comply to the licensing authority of\n\nthe participating state in which the wildlife citation was issued.\n\nThe report must be made in accordance with procedures specified by\n\nthe issuing state and must contain information as specified in the\n\ncompact manual as minimum requirements for effective processing by\n\nthe home state.\n\nD. Upon receipt of the report of conviction or noncompliance\n\npursuant to subsection C of this article, the licensing authority of\n\nthe issuing state shall transmit to the licensing authority of the\n\nhome state of the violator the information in form and content as\n\nprescribed in the compact manual.\n\nARTICLE 4. PROCEDURE FOR HOME STATE\n\nA. Upon receipt of a report from the licensing authority of the\n\nissuing state reporting the failure of a violator to comply with the\n\nterms of a citation, the licensing authority of the home state shall\n\nnotify the violator and may initiate a suspension action in\n\naccordance with the suspension procedures of the home state and may\n\nsuspend the license privileges of the violator until satisfactory\n\nevidence of compliance with the terms of the wildlife citation has\n\nbeen furnished by the issuing state to the home state licensing\n\nauthority. Due process safeguards will be accorded.\nhome state shall\n\nnotify the violator and may initiate a suspension action in\n\naccordance with the suspension procedures of the home state and may\n\nsuspend the license privileges of the violator until satisfactory\n\nevidence of compliance with the terms of the wildlife citation has\n\nbeen furnished by the issuing state to the home state licensing\n\nauthority. Due process safeguards will be accorded.\n\nB. Upon receipt of a report of conviction from the licensing\n\nauthority of the issuing state, the licensing authority of the home\n\nstate may enter the conviction in its records and may treat the\n\nconviction as though it occurred in the home state for the purposes\n\nof the suspension of license privileges if the violation resulting\n\nin a suspension could have been the basis for suspension of license\n\nprivileges in the home state.\n\nC. The licensing authority of the home state shall maintain a\n\nrecord of actions taken and shall make reports to issuing states as\n\nprovided in the compact manual.\n\nARTICLE 5. RECIPROCAL RECOGNITION OF SUSPENSION\n\nA. All participating states may recognize the suspension of\n\nlicense privileges of any person by any participating state as\n\nthough the violation resulting in the suspension had occurred in\n\ntheir state and could have been the basis for suspension of license\n\nprivileges in their state.\n\nB. Each participating state shall communicate suspension\n\ninformation to other participating states in form and content as\n\ncontained in the compact manual.\n\nARTICLE 6. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS\n\nExcept as expressly required by this compact, nothing herein may\n\nbe construed to affect the right of any participating state to apply\n\nany of its laws relating to license privileges to any person or\n\ncircumstance or to invalidate or prevent any agreement or other\n\ncooperative arrangement between a participating state and a\n\nnonparticipating state concerning wildlife law enforcement.\n\nARTICLE 7. COMPACT ADMINISTRATOR - PROCEDURES\n\nA. For the purposes of administering this compact and to serve\n\nas a governing body for the resolution of all matters relating to\n\nthe operation of this compact, a board of compact administrators is\n\nestablished. The board is composed of one representative from each\n\nof the participating states to be known as the compact\n\nadministrator. The compact administrator must be appointed by the\n\nhead of the licensing authority of each participating state and\n\nserves and is subject to removal in accordance with the laws of the\n\nstate the compact administrator represents. A compact administrator\n\nmay provide for the discharge of duties and the performance of\n\nfunctions as a board member by an alternate. An alternate is not\n\nentitled to serve unless written notification of the identity of the\n\nalternate has been given to the board.\n\nB. Each member of the board of compact administrators is\n\nentitled to one vote. No action of the board is binding unless\n\ntaken at a meeting at which a majority of the total number of the\n\nvotes by the board are cast in favor thereof. Action by the board\n\nmay be only at a meeting at which a majority of the participating\n\nstates is represented.\n\nC. The board shall elect annually from its membership a\n\npresiding officer and a vice presiding officer.\n\nD. The board shall adopt bylaws not inconsistent with the\n\nprovisions of this compact or the laws of a participating state for\n\nthe conduct of its business and may amend and rescind its bylaws.\n\nE. The board may accept for any of its purposes and functions\n\nunder this compact any and all donations and grants of money,\n\nequipment, supplies, materials, and services, conditional or\n\notherwise, from any state, the United States, or any governmental\n\nagency, and receive, utilize, and dispose of the same.\n\nF. The board may contract with, or accept services or personnel\n\nfrom, any governmental or intergovernmental agency, individual,\npurposes and functions\n\nunder this compact any and all donations and grants of money,\n\nequipment, supplies, materials, and services, conditional or\n\notherwise, from any state, the United States, or any governmental\n\nagency, and receive, utilize, and dispose of the same.\n\nF. The board may contract with, or accept services or personnel\n\nfrom, any governmental or intergovernmental agency, individual,\n\nfirm, or corporation, or any private nonprofit organization or\n\ninstitution.\n\nG. The board shall formulate all necessary procedures and\n\ndevelop uniform forms and documents for administering the provisions\n\nof this compact. All procedures and forms adopted pursuant to board\n\naction must be contained in a compact manual.\n\nARTICLE 8. ENTRY INTO COMPACT AND WITHDRAWAL\n\nA. This compact becomes effective at such time as it is adopted\n\nin a substantially similar form by two or more states.\n\nB. 1. Entry into the compact must be made by resolution of\n\nratification executed by the authorized officials of the applying\n\nstate and submitted to the presiding officer of the board.\n\n2. The resolution must substantially be in the form and content\n\nas provided in the compact manual and must include the following:\n\na. a citation of the authority from which the state is\n\nempowered to become a party to this compact,\n\nb. an agreement of compliance with the terms and\n\nprovisions of this compact, and\n\nc. an agreement that compact entry is with all states\n\nparticipating in the compact and with all additional\n\nstates legally becoming a party to the compact.\n\n3. The effective date of entry must be specified by the\n\napplying state but may not be less than sixty (60) days after notice\n\nhas been given by the:\n\na. presiding officer of the board of the compact\n\nadministrators, or\n\nb. secretariat of the board to each participating state\n\nthat the resolution from the applying state has been\n\nreceived.\n\nC. A participating state may withdraw from participation in\n\nthis compact by official written notice to each participating state,\n\nbut withdrawal does not become effective until ninety (90) days\n\nafter the notice of withdrawal is given. The notice must be\n\ndirected to the compact administrator of each member state.\n\nWithdrawal of any state does not affect the validity of this compact\n\nas to the remaining participating states.\n\nARTICLE 9. AMENDMENTS TO THE COMPACT\n\nA. This compact may be amended from time to time. Amendments\n\nmust be presented in resolution form to the presiding officer of the\n\nboard of the compact administrators and must be initiated by one or\n\nmore participating states.\n\nB. Adoption of an amendment requires endorsement by all\n\nparticipating states and becomes effective thirty (30) days after\n\nthe date of the last endorsement.\n\nC. Failure of a participating state to respond to the compact\n\npresiding officer within one hundred twenty (120) days after receipt\n\nof a proposed amendment constitutes endorsement thereof.\n\nARTICLE 10. CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY\n\nThis compact must be liberally construed so as to effectuate the\n\npurposes stated herein. The provisions of this compact are\n\nseverable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of this\n\ncompact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any\n\nparticipating state or the United States, or the applicability\n\nthereof to any government, agency, individual, or circumstance is\n\nheld invalid, the validity of the remainder of the compact is not\n\naffected thereby. If this compact is held contrary to the\n\nconstitution of any participating state, the compact remains in full\n\nforce and effect as to the remaining states and in full force and\n\neffect as to the participating state affected as to all severable\n\nmatters.","path":["OK Code","Title 29"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os29.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"e8953d87349573ccac561ac27368c3bfa7a4887bf9e051c2ebbc8ca51f7c3d2d","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-29-29-1-101","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-29-29-10-102"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}