ALC - Game & Fish/State Police
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Committee members if you would go ahead and take your seats we'll get started here in about one minute
members, Chair Cesar Quorum, this meeting is called to order. Committee members, I'll just make a brief comment before this before this committee before this meeting. Do you have a question? I thought somebody had a question. Anyways. Oh, okay. I don't know if it was last session or session before. There was a legislator, maybe a couple legislators they were going to they were going to introduce legislation that had to do with
the open field doctrine as it relates to the game and fish and uh it's my understanding and i you know if i'm incorrect about this then game fish can uh explain that when they get to the table was my understanding the game and fish met with those legislators and it was agreed upon that if if that legislation was pulled down that they would make the necessary corrections in their rules that addresses the open field doctrine so that's what we're here for today i understand
from visiting with the game and fish that those changes have been made and at this time i'd invite the game and fish to the table And while they're coming to the table, if you would, Lane, would you go ahead. We have a handout here of where the Game and Fish made that rule change, and so we're going to go ahead and hand that out to the committee members at this time.
Committee members, each one of you should have that exhibit now, that's Exhibit C, that's the rule change by the Game and Fish, and while you review that, I'm going to go ahead and ask the Game and Fish just to go ahead and explain their position and maybe briefly explain exactly what those changes were first i'd just like to say i i appreciate both of you being
here and thank you for our previous conversations that we as we have discussed this uh bringing us to this point and uh so with that uh you know what the discussion is about so just kind of briefly tell us you know i guess before you change the rules into um by i guess the arsenal game and Fish Commission adopted this new rule, which is in this Exhibit C. And prior to that, basically what Exhibit C did to change those. And so if you would just identify yourself, though, for the
Speaker 11
5:24
committee. Afternoon, folks. Thanks for having us. Ben Batten, Deputy Director, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Colonel Joe Williams, Arkansas Game and Fish. Thank you, Colonel. Thank you, Ben. Okay, y'all
Joe Williams
Unverified
5:39
are recognized to proceed. First, I want to thank the members of this committee for providing an opportunity to speak today. As I said, my name is Joe Williams. I'm a fourth-generation Arkansan. I grew up on the Louisiana line in Union County. I moved to Mountain Home a few years ago, and in taking this role, I've now moved to Saline County in central Arkansas.
And I consider it a profound honor to serve the citizens of Arkansas as the colonel of the Game of Fish. And so today I'm here. More than ever, our citizens have increasing concerns over evolving technology, its uses, and the application of government. This committee knows firsthand that transparency and accountability are not just flashy words that our citizens use. And so every morning for the last 17 years, I've put on my uniform in service to this state. I recognize my badge as an office and a symbol of public faith. And on that badge is a reminder of who I work for, simply written,
Regnat Populus, or the people rule. Game Wardens in Arkansas work under a simple mission statement to fairly administer the regulations of the AGFC, state and federal laws, while promoting resource conservation and public safety. The men and women of my department have been in continuous service to the state since 1915, including eight who have made the ultimate sacrifice and commitment to Arkansans. And so hunting and fishing are vital parts of our lives. We look forward to the opportunity of pulling trout from the White River, catfish from the Mississippi, or a crappie from Lake Chico.
Our kids' fondest memories are recalled often as the time that they harvested the first deer or turkey and how many friendships have been fostered in a duck blind. Our citizens expect us to know a year in advance when deer season opens so they can plan their vacation time accordingly. Our schools have an unofficial holiday in November that I often hear referred to as Deer Day, and how many of you in this room have been invited to an outdoor banquet to speak or to attend? And one of my favorite only-in-Arkansas events is officially known as the Gillette Coon Supper. arkansans are passionate about wildlife and rightfully so economically it generates about
three billion dollars in revenue for us sportsmanship plays a vital role in our local retail tourism and rural job creation and when bass pro came to little rock arkansans simply replied it's about time and so we've gone from a place where we had minimal wildlife and single digit numbers to today we have an abundance and that's many left in this room and our citizens and your constituents wondering what role conservation enforcement plays in the 21st century and so let me give you a little perspective from from my vantage point every one of you in here are a citizen of one of our 75 counties a few of these counties have large populations but
many the ones that I've lived in are rural and lack an abundance of resources in my own career it's not been unusual to see a county deputy needing assistance because he may be the only officer on duty at that particular time of night and so I promise you this I've never met a deputy even in the far away Chico County who was needing help and looked at my patch and said he didn't need it when he was responding to domestic disturbances burglary calls or home invasions inevitably someone in the local community will see our departments working together become increasingly concerned and a picture goes on social media just to make sure that everyone in
the community is okay those comments will ultimately be filled with concerns and at least one person saying that their cousin was once a deputy and in those they always request a game ward when they need to search a house without a warrant and so I'm here today to say this let me be clear. Game wardens are bound by the same rules of criminal arrest and procedures that all Arkansas law enforcement officers must abide by. We cannot walk into someone's home and open their freezer simply because it may contain deer meat. Both the U.S. and Arkansas constitutions are abundantly clear on the provisions of the Fourth Amendment, and our state game wardens are bound
by that. What makes us different from traditional law enforcement is that our primary focus is on wildlife laws, seasons, bag limits, evidence of wildlife crimes, habitat issues, boating or water access questions, and the science-based purpose behind regulations. In Arkansas, our citizens' natural resources are managed under the North American model of wildlife with the principle that certain natural resources are held by the government in trust for the public. In simple terms, the AGFC does not manage wildlife waters and related resources for itself. It manages them
for the people, which include future generations. As communities across this state continue to grow and we see an influx of residents to the area, it doesn't really lend its hand to the idea that land is suddenly going to be cheaper. My father worked his entire life and he owned 16 acres of land. And so I asked today, does this mean that my AGFC's management of wildlife no longer makes my dad's property private? No. The fact is that private land remains private. The principles of the public trust doctrine and AGFC's management of the natural resources do not erase land owner rights, nor does it erode the Fourth Amendment of our Constitution. And so as Colonel,
I sit here today and say I believe wholeheartedly that authority should be lawful, it should be limited, documented, respectful, and accountable. Arkansas game wardens abide by all state-mandated training requirements, continuing education, and are subject to oversight by our Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training, or CLEST. CLEST recently conducted an audit of my department's training academy and records. I'm happy to report that the review revealed zero deficiencies were concerns. In addition, this legislative body during the 95th General Assembly had a robust discussion about requiring all law enforcement agencies in the state to implement body-worn
cameras by December 31st of this year. I'm proud to report to you that since September of 2022, Arkansas Game Wardens have been utilizing body-worn cameras to document our interactions with the public and assistance to other law enforcement agencies. I think it's important to note that my department desires to be both transparent and accountable to the public and did so four years prior to a legislative mandate. In recent years, there have also been nationwide discussion about law enforcement and private property. It's why we're here today. In July of 2025, my department, in discussion with this body,
implemented written policies that specifically speak to concerns raised by our citizens. The policies place specific restrictions on game wardens entering private property and placing cameras on such property. These policies place more restrictions on game wardens entering private property than any other Arkansas law enforcement officer. AGFC has been a frontrunner in this perspective with many state conservation agencies requesting a copy of our policy that you have today, and they intend to implement that in their respective areas. And so what do these restrictions look like?
First, a game warden cannot enter your private property simply because he wants to. And so I say to the members today, if a game warden uses that expression because I can, I'd love to be the first to know. Instead, they need to have a reason which can be clearly expressed, explained, or justified. And so a few examples. An individual calls and reports they just witnessed their neighbor shoot a buck deer out of the back door of their house using a spotlight. This neighbor says that he's been having trouble for months. He's noticed things around his place come up missing. He says there's traffic in and out of the area at all times of the night, especially after midnight.
He admits that he's been watching this deer for months in anticipation his grandson might get the opportunity to hunt it on the opening day of youth season. Another example, someone reports that while they're sitting in their duck blind, they watched a crop duster fly over and drop a few hundred pounds of bait into a nearby flooded field. The duck hunter noticed that a bunch of people from out of state have been frequenting the area recently and knows they intend to duck hunt in that field this coming weekend. He said he's been working extra shifts to afford to be able to hunt in this blind. And because of this bait and because of these actions, he considers it a waste
because no birds are going to come and do his spot. And so I'll give you two scenarios with two very different circumstances. but both individuals are placing their faith in us they provided our officers with clearly expressed explained or justified reasons to respond and act and so i know without a doubt that someone sits in this committee today and says well colonel i know a constituent i know a friend that was sitting in his deer stand on opening day it's the only weekend he gets off all year and a game warden came and interrupted his hunt just to ask him for his hunt license and so i say today i'm glad you've said this to me because this policy instructs game wardens
to not enter private property for the sole purpose of checking a sportsman's license without first detesting violations. In other words, game wardens are not to go on private property for simply a compliance check of a hunter and fisherman in the process of hunting and fishing. I want to pause here for a moment and make a simple statement. In order for our citizens to trust us, we have to trust them. We have to explain and encourage the importance of purchasing a hunting or fishing license. A simple transaction can have a profound impact on our wildlife resources in Arkansas.
but simply going on to someone's property for a license check interrupts the balance needed to protect the natural resources of Arkansas and the state's respect to private property. Another large topic being discussed in the government's use of cameras, and so this policy also addresses and places significantly restricts us as game wardens going on to property and placing such cameras. We owe it to our citizens to be accountable, and we believe these policies strike an appropriate balance between the need of protecting resources and prohibiting unbridled surveillance.
Specifically, since the implementation of this policy last year, game wardens have placed cameras on private property four times. Each scenario was at the request of a property owner, and they were needing our assistance with the legal activity occurring on that property, and examples are trespassing and people hunting without permission. Another important component to keep in mind is that our agency receives no fine money from any citation issued by a game warden. We turn these funds over to local school districts in the county where they're issued to support outdoor education for the next generation of Arkansans.
And so, I end with this. Wardens do more than issue citations. We recover drowning victims, we locate lost people, and we provide a law enforcement presence in some of the most remote regions of this state. Mobsters have been involved in incidents from the tragic floods at Albert Pike to a recent Labor Day boating fatality at Beaver Lake that has garnered national media attention. And I say this, that game wardens are here to serve, and with that, I'd be happy to take any questions from the committee. You want to
take questions? Ben, did you have any statements you wanted to make before we open it up for questions?
the topic well. Okay. Committee members, any questions from committee members? Representative Ryle,
you're recognized for a question. okay okay
Chair
Unverified
16:01
senator rise you recognize for a question thank
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
16:16
you mr chair thank y'all for being here today
Colonel, I appreciate your remarks, and I'll just say that I have seen a change in game and fish enforcement, and I think it starts, like you say, from
the top down for everybody to know what the leader expects. And because I can remember getting calls where I was told that some said, because I can. and and again that's in the past and and i appreciate with the with the previous director
i think when i started uh seeing some changes and and i made the statement i think at the last meeting i don't get called like i used to i didn't have trouble in my home county we've had great ones but i had it
had them from uh other areas so i appreciate that uh something that's not and i i read this policy when it got posted uh on our website and i first thing i thought
is is y'all are getting it together and getting it more in line and and you're going to take some
pressure off some of us but i've got something here i need to to see if you can comment on uh for clarity for some citizens and when the
arkansas game and fish commission wildlife officer conducts a fishing or boating inspection on a lake or recreation area located on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property and the individual is lawfully carrying a firearm under Arkansas law is the game and fish officer instructed to enforce the Corps
of Engineers firearm restrictions and I'm going to cite the number if the officer discovers a firearm that violates the corps's regulation what action is the officer instructed to take is one is the individual cited or arrested by game and fish and is the matter referred to the corps of engineers or another federal agency or is no enforcement action taken by game and fish i don't think you'll
Joe Williams
Unverified
18:36
find a more supportive group of people for the second amendment than a group of game wardens and so i simply say this if the corps of engineers is prohibiting those firearms our game and fish officers are not enforcing those regulations we're going to focus on our game and fish regulations and so we'd not be siding and we certainly wouldn't be calling the corps of engineers to report that because from our perspective the state
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
19:01
has made it very clear on people carrying and possessing firearms lawfully appreciate that and to follow up does game and fish have a written policy directive or training material memorandum or other guidance addressing enforcement of
it's 327 13 during fishing hunting boating or wildlife inspection on core property and finally how do you have any idea how many enforcement action referrals citations arrests firearm seizures or as game and fish made in the past five years involving alleged violation of corps of engineers firearm restrictions on corps property i do not have that data sir do you feel like there has been some i
Speaker 30
19:41
to sit here and speculate i don't feel like there has but
i would be speculating wholeheartedly okay i
Speaker 32
19:50
appreciate that thank you mr chair Senator Rice,
is that something you'd want the Game and Fish to furnish to this committee, or is that a good enough answer at this time? That's good
enough at this time. Okay. Thank you. Father. Representative Richmond, you're recognized for a question. Thank
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
20:11
you, Mr. Chair. Over here on this again, I also express my appreciation, Game and
Fish, how you guys have cooperated here in the past, as well as the results,
Because I can remember when you couldn't hunt bear, you couldn't hunt turkey, and if you saw a deer track, it was a time for celebration. And that has all changed thanks to your effort in the education. The question I have is an articulable reason. Can you give me an example of what that means
just so I have a better understanding? Well, I'd say this, is that we
Joe Williams
Unverified
20:45
defined articulable reason as a reason that can be clearly expressed, explained, or justified. and so again as senator rice made the statement that he had heard game warden say that i can
because i can and that's not an article of reason that that's not something and in my opinion and again speaking as the colonel someone needs to have be articulating to us as i've used in this is that someone calls us and says hey i just saw someone shoot a deer out of the back door of their house using a spotlight that's clear that's articulable and that's justifiable because again it's illegal to take game specifically deer after dark another example i used was seeing a crop duster come and fly in bait over a duck field knowing that they intend to hunt it that reason
is articulable it's justifiable and it lines up completely that hunting birds waterfowl specifically over bait is illegal all right
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
21:36
mr chair one one more question yes sir thank
you uh concerning cameras on this i noticed that uh unmanned surveillance excluding drones do you guys use drones do you have drones do you use
drones and how do you use them over private property so we we do
Joe Williams
Unverified
21:58
we use for basically two things investigative purposes
places that an officer would go again lining up with this policy it does not exclude what what is written right here, but I would say that basically 50% of our uses are going to assisting other law enforcement agencies or a search and rescue function. We get a lot of calls about people that have been lost or people that are lost out on a WMA, and so these are massive areas to go and look for. If you've ever been up on the Ozark National Forest, you're talking thousands and thousands of remote areas with very little access, and so again, cooperating with our policy in line
with that. What's the other 50% of usage? It would be in investigative purposes related to enforcement of game
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
22:45
and fish regulations. Okay, and again, any special rules about flying over private property? Yes, it's
Joe Williams
Unverified
22:49
operating within this private property. You know, an officer can't just say, I want to go fly a drone over somebody's property. It's going to have to line up with this policy. All right,
thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Representative Gonzalez, you're recognize
Representative Justin Gonzales
Unverified
23:04
for a question. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate you bringing this policy and presenting
it. I think I was one of the ones that asked for it last year. We're talking about the open fields doctrine. You said something, though, that kind of piqued my interest a little bit when you said that game wardens will now be more restricted on private property than any other law enforcement. Can you explain that a little bit, or are you referring specifically to the open fields doctrine and their ability to yes to come on
Joe Williams
Unverified
23:30
no that's exactly what I'm referring to is that there is an open fields the fourth amendment makes it clear where officers can operate and so again all law enforcement all Arkansas law enforcement is bound by the fourth amendment and where we can
operate related to open fields we have placed more restrictions on our officers with this property than other law enforcement officers in Arkansas but
Representative Justin Gonzales
Unverified
23:50
open fields it applies to every other law enforcement agency as well it didn't just apply to game of fish no that's so they would have the ability to still come in and and place cameras or do whatever and claim that they are operating under i can't speak for a different department i can simply say this i'm not saying they would i'm just saying they they could it just leaves it open for that theoretically yeah okay all right
Speaker 57
24:16
thank you and i say that i'm making a lot of assumption having not looked at every
Representative Justin Gonzales
Unverified
24:22
department in arkansas's policy manual right right yeah i wouldn't ask you to guess what their policy is just yeah theoretically it
Representative Wayne Long
Unverified
24:35
opens it up that they could use that all right thank you
representative long you're recognized for a question thank you mr chairman um here on number two the um
articulable reason i was wondering is that you know speaking with a supervisor
or a captain who is is the local game warden speaking to who's he's articulating this reason to who well it could be
Speaker 44
24:57
any of their supervisors at the game and fish we have sergeants we have
Joe Williams
Unverified
25:02
lieutenants we have captains just like the state police and so again if an officer is not sure about something we are certainly encouraging let's let's fail on the safe side let's don't jump and make conclusions and so yes it doesn't specifically lay out a supervisor uh is them as far as an officer entering into it but yes we would certainly encourage them calling all of
Representative Wayne Long
Unverified
25:22
the above so for example if the owner of the property is not home you know you're not able to talk to them about why they're there and if he's not saying that he's unsure he basically then would be free to go on the property no i would say in that instance that again if the landowner is
Joe Williams
Unverified
25:40
requesting this out you know we're going to go on to the property with the land owner's consent type no but i'm saying if the landowner is not home oh yes and then he's going to need a situation just like the deer i talked about that you know gentleman has called he's
reported that his neighbor has shot a deer out of the back door under the spotlight there's a very good instance with him saying that traffic's coming in and out of here that when the game warden arrives that late at night that person may not be there you know that person may have left and so again he's going to have a clearly expressed explained or justified reason why he's pulling up there now again this doesn't mean that we're going to go rifling through things we're going to look around we're going to
Speaker 17
26:18
see if we can make contact with somebody but we're going to come back at a time when we can speak
Representative Wayne Long
Unverified
26:24
with an individual but maybe for example you know he's just cruising
around here's a shot he thinks it come from this spot there's nobody home he doesn't have he doesn't have to talk to a captain or anything so basically it's just up to the local game warden whether to decide whether or not he should go on the property that would be correct and in that instance i would say that things
Joe Williams
Unverified
26:42
play into a factor here is it you know is it turkey season is it not turkey season what is the shot relative to because in rural arkansas i'm sure every member of this house can say is that these guys love to go out and shoot their guns and they love the
Speaker 44
26:56
target practice and so i would simply say the shooting shoot him of a gun to me automatically yes i'm sorry
I'm using a very, very generic term there, but to me, it would have to be a totality of circumstances, a simple shot. But under that scenario,
Representative Wayne Long
Unverified
27:12
really, this change doesn't change anything then, is that correct? It's like the landowner's not home, and he doesn't speak to a supervisor, so it's just the individual warden is making the decision to go on the property or not, just like it was before this policy went into effect. No, sir. No, sir. again prior to this policy if they decided
Joe Williams
Unverified
27:32
that they want to go on the
property there was nothing writing that were prohibited them from that this here says that you as an officer need to be able to articulate and explain why you're on someone's property okay thank
you sir representative crack center rice you recognize thank
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
27:52
you in going back around I don't know if it was mentioned about expressing concern or whatever about a situation uh and i understand about when they feel the need to check with a supervisor when when is a warrant required in your mind well i think that go on private property well
Joe Williams
Unverified
28:15
for me the the fourth amendment would make it clear is that when you're coming into curtilage when you're coming into a home where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in their dwelling this would include outbuildings this would include anything inside of you know right the immediate areas of the home your vehicle your person for instance would be another thing that has a lot of restrictions we can't just go up and start patting you down and shaking you down because we want to you know the fourth amendment has made it clear is that we've got to have some
reason to believe that a crime is afoot we have to have some reason to believe and start going any of these areas but you know they've made it clear searching of a vehicle the vehicle can can drive off and so the circumstances aren't as high the threshold isn't as high for us to get inside of that vehicle not saying that a warrant isn't required but the question comes up when we start opening boxes inside of that vehicle you know do you need a warrant at that point but for me anytime you're going to some place that a person has a reasonable expectation of private such as
that are home such as their outbuildings such as things that are around there a camp would be a great example of me that we're not going to go up just because someone calls it a deer camp and they deer hunt out of it that does not give us the authority to go and open the door
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
29:37
and start searching that that camp okay and and everything that you feel like that gaming fish is complying with is the same thing that all law enforcement in arkansas should be
Speaker 13
29:45
complying with sir i'd say this is that we're complying with
Joe Williams
Unverified
29:48
all of the constitution that requires us to with course law
the law of the court and the court's decisions but in addition we've
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
29:55
added extra parameters because of the concerns that that arkansans have in this body have and by putting this
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
30:02
into place and i appreciate that because i think you will have more success from your leadership down than maybe sometime local law enforcements do that may not be trained with information as good
as we'd like for them to sometimes. So thank you for that.
Representative Poole, you're recognized for a question. Thank
Speaker 78
30:26
you. Are these private property entry logs and the camera footage available to the public? Yes. Thank you. senator hill
you're recognized for a question over here thank
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
30:44
you mr. chair you're going back to your comments you made just while going to make sure i heard you correctly did you say there's only been four instances where y'all have used cameras yes sir for society what time frame was
that uh that would be since the creation of this policy up until right now so july 1st 2025
Joe Williams
Unverified
31:04
until right now and y'all only using
four times correct at the at the request of landowners okay thank you Carla would you agree it'd be fair to say that there and I know there's been several questions but there's no possible way for your agency to be able to write policies that's going to cover ever conceivable situation that that could arise and those policies for your wardens
are more or less just a guide to say this is what you should do in this situation but if you deviate from that policy but then justification would you'd have to be accountable for that and that's the reason you have the discretion whether or not to call your supervisor if there's any doubt is that a fair assumption that's a fair assumption okay representative Gonzales you recognize for a question
Representative Justin Gonzales
Unverified
32:00
thank you mr. chair going back
like this was written around the open fields doctrine right and and what what you were allowable to do in the open fields um does this same apply to the curtilage of your home or is that there's greater protections
Speaker 44
32:16
on that's a totally different restriction again that for me not that there couldn't be a policy on that but i think the
Joe Williams
Unverified
32:23
courts have made it expressively clear to all law enforcement officers that again going into the curtilage of someone's home is very intrusive and there are much greater thresholds that a law enforcement officer has to cross to go into those areas.
Right, okay. Thank you for that. But I'd say
Speaker 52
32:39
this, nothing prohibits someone knocking on the door and simply talking. Asking. Yeah. Got it. Thanks. Senator
Hill, you're recognized for a question. Okay, I
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
32:54
just kind of want to back up to that. what you said this will go on the the cameras have only been used four times with permission of landowners to do have we use
them any without permission no sir the policy would would only allow in that certain circumstances and
Joe Williams
Unverified
33:08
it's a much greater threshold you know an officer has
to have to have a minimum of what a law enforcement officer would have to have for a traffic stop in arkansas plus they would
Speaker 59
33:16
have to have the approval of their captain or above to place a camera on someone's property okay thank you I
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
33:22
just want to make full transparency on this issue in case someone's watching and they start thinking and they start thinking this I just want to lay it all out there
Representative Chad Puryear
Unverified
33:36
thank you representative Perry you're recognized for question thank you chair what efforts are we taking to make the public aware of these these changes I mean is it in
the game and fish book they pass out at the tackle stores I mean is it online what are we doing so these people know that we are actively working on an issue that was obviously an
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
33:56
issue years ago? For me, I think it's this. I think it's been word of mouth from us. We've not come
Joe Williams
Unverified
34:01
out and published anything or put anything out in the book, per se. This is one, you know, is this working for us? We're only a year into this, and so is this what we need, the parameters that we need, and is this what the public feels like is a good balance of us protecting wildlife and
enforcing regulations and so i come back to the statement of we have game wardens in nearly every county in the state of arkansas and they have great relationships in almost all of those and so it's us trying to do presentations to our civics clubs to our rotary clubs to our alliance clubs and and putting this out by word of mouth but again you know has have we done anything to publicize this no sir thank you and and i feel like this is a great effort of publication of us trying to come in front of this body and be very transparent.
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
34:50
Senator Rice, you're recognized. Mr. Chairman, mine's going to be on a different subject that has to do with enforcement,
and I'm happy to wait, but if there's not anybody else in the queue, I'll go
Speaker 93
35:08
ahead. I don't see... Do you have a question? thank
Senator Missy Irvin
Unverified
35:14
you good and you may have covered this i apologize i had to step out for a second but the data and the video footage okay um just describe that it captures anything and everything
correct that's that's correct okay and so and is there um is there a time frame on how long you keep that footage right now we have
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
35:36
been keeping that in relation to our policy so if it's an investigation which
Joe Williams
Unverified
35:41
again four landowners have contacted us so it's been an investigation but we're just retaining that for the purposes of an investigation or investigation purposes okay yes but there's not a
Senator Missy Irvin
Unverified
35:51
set date of like 90 days or there would be after the completion of a
Joe Williams
Unverified
35:58
case or an adjudication by a court of law there's a retention period there but for me to speak on what that is right at the moment I couldn't
Senator Missy Irvin
Unverified
36:07
tell you off the top of my head yeah that's okay but But that does exist, but it's
in rule. It's not in law. It's in your rule. That's correct. Okay. But any other data that's collected that's not part of an investigation, is there anything in your rules that says that footage is going to be retained? I think it
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
36:27
would come back to whether or not it's an active investigation.
Senator Missy Irvin
Unverified
36:30
Okay. You don't have cameras everywhere, right? No. You have limited usage. Yes. Right. Okay. Because, I mean, I know that, you know, there's some very specific ways that things have to be stored and all that kind of stuff. Okay. Well, I just wanted to follow up with that information and then see where that is in relation to your rule or law. Thank you.
Okay, committee, seeing no further questions on today's agenda,
Senator Rice, you say you have a
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
37:06
question regarding another topic. yes sir thank you you recognize as would have to do with eventual enforcement and just
for clarification my district is all or parts of 10 counties that encompasses all the washington national forest or most all of it uh and running dogs has been a subject for a long time that uh there's two sides to it but it is a tradition in my area and we have we have uh land
that it works on and and we also have uh private landowners that that don't like it if it comes across them correct me if i'm wrong the new restrictions are the new rules so you have to have shocking collars on
Speaker 44
38:02
some type of uh behavioral control i don't think it specifically
Speaker 30
38:06
says shocking but it could be something that buzzes or an alert
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
38:11
train train collars but uh and one of the commission meetings that i attended a number people attended on that subject was uh up at mount magazine and uh it was delayed at that time because it's fixing to go through uh something i noticed is we've had at least two new commissioners come on since then i haven't seen or i don't believe i missed it where there was a public
meeting where that was discussed do you happen to know i do
Speaker 44
38:49
know that there was a meeting where it was discussed and so i think that particular regulation that you're talking
Joe Williams
Unverified
38:55
about was tabled at the time because there was a lot of outpour right different different motions and at that time the regulation was going to affect both public and private property so there was a lot of concern with that but the commission has come back since then and they specifically because this was occurring an issue occurring within public and private ownership and a very large land mass of public property have tailored a regulation requiring people that are deer hunting on public
property to have such a collar on their their property so it does not affect someone running on their own private property but someone that would be using it for for public property
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
39:30
okay since the new commissioners come on was there a public hearing that those new commissioners were in on i
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
39:38
would be speculating on that and deputy director batten may
Speaker 11
39:42
have i think those regs went through in our most recent reg cycle which happened uh from february to april and uh there
were several commission meetings where those were discussed and we had some constituents that were concerned with dogs that did come up and speak um and so yes there okay those those happened there was no if you're asking if there was a standalone meeting where we
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
40:04
just talked about dogs that did not exist yeah no i'm just i'm just trying to make sure the new commissioners heard from both sides
was my uh reasoning for asking that and one of the things and you know things that sometimes get off in the weeds but i can see where it may be one you don't want to run a dog
by by shocking them you hit the tone if they're going to go over the mountain you hit the tone hopefully they're trained to come back home if you shock them some you you may end up running there is discussion about the technology that allows the perimeter fencing now where somebody besides the dog owner gaming fish could actually control stopping that dog if you can you address that i'm
Speaker 115
41:03
No other states that you know of doing that? I
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
41:06
know that when they were looking at this regulation, there were some other states, but as far as putting up a perimeter fence or something along those lines, no,
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
41:15
sir. I'm not aware of any conversation on that.
That's some of the talk going on out there. Okay. Again, it's a two-sided deal. I just hope we can continue to work in areas where it works and hopefully get by. I know there's a lot of people who had a lot of money invested that is worthless now.
Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you.
Representative Wayne Long
Unverified
41:39
Deputy Director, Colonel, thank you all for being here. No further questions from committee members. You
can be excused. I appreciate you. I think it was very informative, and I think it really helps to get this word out. So thanks for being here, and thanks for sharing that information with us. uh committee members no uh let me my co-chair
Senator Missy Irvin
Unverified
42:00
you have any comments there's a few ladies in here so um i just wanted to announce the upcoming becoming an outdoor woman weekend is october
2nd through 4th if anybody's watching the meeting online um becoming an outdoor woman is through the arkansas game and fish and october 2nd through 4th is their fall bow weekend uh it's archery and shooting and kayaking and a dove hunt and all kinds of really fun fun stuff so it is camping event and it's going to be held at lake conway wma and conway from october 2nd through 4th so um there's a facebook page that you can follow uh becoming an outdoors woman arkansas b-o-w
arkansas so anyway if you're interested holler at me and if you want to go camp with me i actually may be joining maybe going this week to
this weekend to this event so let me know thanks all right
committee members see no further business before this committee this uh this meeting is adjourned
Agenda
A. Call to Order
B. Comments by Co-Chairs
C. Discussion on Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Enforcement Protocols [Exhibit C]
D. Other Business
E. Adjournment
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — ALC - GAME & FISH/STATE POLICE, Sep 14, 2026 | Agenda | 1 | Official source ↗ |
| Exhibit C - AGFC Enforcement PL and Camera SOP 7-1-2025 | Exhibit | 3 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Representative Dwight Tosh Chair
Unverified
Speaker 11
Joe Williams
Unverified
Chair
Unverified
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
Speaker 30
Speaker 32
Representative Marcus E. Richmond
Unverified
Speaker 44
Representative Justin Gonzales
Unverified
Speaker 57
Representative Wayne Long
Unverified
Speaker 17
Speaker 13
Senator Ricky Hill
Unverified
Speaker 78
Speaker 52
Speaker 59
Representative Chad Puryear
Unverified
Speaker 93
Senator Missy Irvin
Unverified
Speaker 108
Speaker 55
Speaker 115