Subd. 1. Commissioner.

The commissioner shall issue and sell licenses. The commissioner shall furnish licenses and applications to agents authorized to issue licenses.

Subd. 1a.

Repealed, 1992 c 513 art 3 s 79

Subd. 2. County auditors to sell licenses.

County auditors are agents of the commissioner for the issuance and sale of licenses. The commissioner may require a county auditor to provide a corporate surety bond in addition to the auditor's official bond.

Subd. 2a. Licenses to take additional deer.

The commissioner may appoint federal, state, or local government employees to be agents of the commissioner for the sale of licenses or permits to take additional deer under section 97B.301, subdivision 4. A bond is not required of a government employee appointed under this subdivision.

Subd. 3. Appointment of subagents.

A county auditor may appoint residents to be subagents of the auditor within the county or adjacent counties to issue and sell licenses. The auditor shall notify the commissioner of the name and address of a subagent when appointed. The appointment may be revoked by the auditor at any time, and when directed by the commissioner, the auditor must revoke the appointment.

Subd. 4. Application to sell licenses by subagent.

To be a subagent, a person must apply in writing to an appropriate county auditor in a manner approved by the commissioner. The auditor must provide a subagent the choice either to provide a bond for licenses on consignment, or pay for licenses before furnishing the licenses. License application forms may only be furnished to subagents in groups of ten or more for resident licenses and five or more for nonresident licenses.

Subd. 5. County auditors responsible for licenses and fees.

1. (a) The county auditor is responsible for licenses and fees received by the subagents, except in a county that has a population over 150,000 and an area greater than 5,000 square miles and in a county where the county auditor does not retain fees paid for licenses. In these counties the responsibility imposed on the county auditor is imposed on the county.
2. (b) The county auditor must promptly deposit all money received from the sale of licenses with the county treasurer. The auditor must promptly submit payments and required reports as required by the commissioner.

Subd. 6. Licenses to be sold and issuing fees.

1. (a) Persons authorized to sell licenses under this section must sell the following licenses for the license fee and the following issuing fees:

   1. (1) to take deer or bear with firearms and by archery, the issuing fee is $1;
   2. (2) Minnesota sporting, the issuing fee is $1; and
   3. (3) to take small game, for a person under age 65 to take fish by angling or for a person of any age to take fish by spearing, and to trap fur-bearing animals, the issuing fee is $1;
   4. (4) for a trout and salmon stamp that is not issued simultaneously with an angling or sporting license, an issuing fee of 50 cents may be charged at the discretion of the authorized seller; and
   5. (5) for stamps other than a trout and salmon stamp, and for a special season Canada goose license, there is no fee.
2. (b) An issuing fee may not be collected for issuance of a trout and salmon stamp if a stamp validation is issued simultaneously with the related angling or sporting license. Only one issuing fee may be collected when selling more than one trout and salmon stamp in the same transaction after the end of the season for which the stamp was issued.
3. (c) The auditor or subagent shall keep the issuing fee as a commission for selling the licenses.
4. (d) The commissioner shall collect the issuing fee on licenses sold by the commissioner.
5. (e) A license, except stamps, must state the amount of the issuing fee and that the issuing fee is kept by the seller as a commission for selling the licenses.

6. (f) For duplicate licenses, the issuing fees are:

   1. (1) for licenses to take big game, 75 cents; and
   2. (2) for other licenses, 50 cents.

Subd. 7. County auditor's commission.

The county auditor shall retain for the county treasury a commission of four percent of all license fees collected by the auditor and the auditor's subagents, excluding:

1. (1) the small game surcharge;
2. (2) all issuing fees;
3. (3) $2.50 of the license fee for the licenses in section 97A.475, subdivisions 6, clauses (1), (3), and (5), 7, 8, 12, and 13; and
4. (4) the license to take fish by angling for persons age 65 and over. In addition, the auditor shall collect the issuing fees on licenses sold by the auditor to a licensee.

Subd. 8. Redemption of unsold licenses.

The commissioner must redeem unsold licenses submitted within the redemption time prescribed by the commissioner. Licenses that are not submitted for redemption within the prescribed time are considered to have been sold and the auditor or county to whom the licenses were furnished are accountable for them. A county auditor must refund the license fees prepaid by the auditor's subagent for unsold licenses submitted within a time period established by the commissioner. Unsold resident and nonresident 24-hour angling licenses held by a subagent may not be returned prior to the end of the license year unless the appointment of the subagent is revoked under subdivision 3, or voluntarily terminated by the subagent.

Subd. 9. Certain licenses not to be issued after season opens.

The following licenses may not be issued after the day before the opening of the related firearms season:

1. (1) to guide bear hunters; and
2. (2) to guide turkey hunters.

Subd. 10. Return of unsold deer and bear licenses.

Subagents must return stubs and unsold licenses for the taking of deer to the county auditor on the first business day after the first day of the firearms deer season. Subagents must return stubs and unsold licenses for guiding bear hunters to the county auditor as prescribed by the commissioner.

Subd. 11. Rules for accounting and procedures.

The commissioner shall prescribe rules for the accounting and procedural requirements necessary to assure the efficient handling of licenses and license fees. The commissioner may, by rule, establish standards for the appointment and revocation of subagents to assure the efficient distribution of licenses throughout the state.

Subd. 12. Youth deer license.

The commissioner may, for a fee of $5.50, issue to a resident under the age of 16 a license, without a tag, to take deer with firearms. A youth holding a license issued under this subdivision may hunt under the license only if accompanied by a licensed hunter who is at least 18 years of age and possesses a valid tag. A deer taken by a youth holding a license issued under this subdivision must be promptly tagged by the licensed hunter accompanying the youth. Section 97B.301, subdivision 6, does not apply to a youth holding a license issued under this subdivision.

Subd. 13. One-day paper fishing licenses.

The commissioner must allow one-day paper fishing licenses to be sold by fishing guides operating charter boats.