1. (a) It is an offense for a person without a valid access permit to enter public hunting lands, except:

   1. (1) on areas or for activities where no permit is required;
   2. (2) persons who are authorized by, and acting in an official capacity for the department or the landowners of public hunting lands;
   3. (3) persons participating in educational programs, management demonstrations, or other scheduled activities sponsored or sanctioned by the department with written approval;
   4. (4) persons owning or leasing land within the boundaries of public hunting lands, while traveling directly to or from their property;
   5. (5) for a non-hunting or non-fishing adult who is assisting a permitted disabled person;
   6. (6) for a non-hunting adult who is supervising a permitted minor in a youth-only hunt; or
   7. (7) for minors under the supervision of an authorized supervising adult possessing an APH permit or a LPU permit.
2. (b) A Texas Conservation Passport (Gold or Silver) provides group access to designated public hunting lands at times when non-consumptive use is authorized under the Texas Conservation Passport Program. The Texas Conservation Passport is not required to hunt or fish, nor does it authorize the taking of wildlife resources or provide access to public hunting lands at times when an APH permit, LPU permit, regular permit, or special permit is required.

3. (c) Annual Public Hunting (APH) Permit and Limited Public Use (LPU) Permit.

   1. (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2)-(4) of this subsection, it is an offense for a person 17 years of age or older to enter public hunting lands or take or attempt to take wildlife resources on public hunting lands at times when an APH permit is required without possessing an APH permit or to fail to display the APH permit, upon request, to a department employee or other official authorized to enforce regulations on public hunting lands. The fee for the APH permit is $40.
   2. (2) A person possessing a LPU permit may enter public hunting lands at times that access is allowed under the APH permit, but is not authorized to hunt or fish, except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection. The fee for the LPU permit is $10.
   3. (3) Persons possessing an APH permit, a LPU permit, or Texas Conservation Passport (Gold or Silver) may use public hunting lands to access adjacent public waters, and may fish in adjacent public waters from riverbanks on public hunting lands. The APH permit is required of each person 17 years of age or older who enters the Alabama Creek, Bannister, Caddo, Moore Plantation, or Sam Houston National Forest WMAs and possesses a centerfire or muzzleloading rifle or handgun, a shotgun with shot larger than #4 lead, or lawful archery equipment or crossbow with broadhead hunting point; however, a person 17 years of age or older may enter these units with other legal devices for hunting as defined in this subchapter and take specified legal wildlife resources provided the person possesses a LPU permit.

   4. (4) The permits required under paragraphs (1) - (3) of this subsection are not required for:

      1. (A) persons who enter on United States Forest Service lands designated as a public hunting area (Alabama Creek, Bannister, Caddo, Moore Plantation, and Sam Houston National Forest WMAs) or any portion of Units 902 and 903 for any purpose other than hunting;
      2. (B) persons who enter on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lands (Aquilla, Cooper, Dam B, Granger, Pat Mayse, Ray Roberts, Somerville, and White Oak Creek WMAs) designated as public hunting lands for purposes other than hunting or equestrian use;
      3. (C) persons who enter Caddo Lake State Park and Wildlife Management Area and do not hunt or enter upon the land;
      4. (D) persons who enter and hunt waterfowl within the Bayside Marsh Unit of Matagorda Island State Park and Wildlife Management Area;
      5. (E) persons who enter the Bryan Beach Unit of Peach Point Wildlife Management Area and do not hunt; or
      6. (F) persons who enter Zone C of the Guadalupe River Unit of the Guadalupe Delta Wildlife Management Area and do not hunt or fish..
   5. (5) The permit required by paragraphs (1)-(3) of this subsection is not valid unless the signature of the holder appears on the permit.
   6. (6) A person, by signature of the permit and by payment of a permit fee required by paragraphs (1)-(3) of this subsection waives all liability towards the landowner (licensor) and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (licensee).
4. (d) Regular Permit--A regular permit is issued on a first come-first served basis at the hunt area on the day of the scheduled hunt with the department reserving the right to limit the number of regular permits to be issued.
5. (e) Special Permit--A special permit is issued to an applicant selected in a drawing.
6. (f) Permits for hunting wildlife resources on public hunting lands shall be issued by the department to applicants by means of a fair method of distribution subject to limitations on the maximum number of permits to be issued.
7. (g) The department may implement a system of issuing special permits that gives preference to those applicants who have applied previously but were not selected to receive a permit.

8. (h) Application fees.

   1. (1) The department may charge a non-refundable fee which may be required to accompany and validate an individual's application in a drawing for a special hunting permit.

   2. (2) The application fee for each person 17 years of age or older listed on an application for a special hunting permit may not exceed $25 per legal species and, unless otherwise established by the commission, shall be in the amount of:

      1. (A) $2.00 in the general drawings; and
      2. (B) $10 for special package hunts.
   3. (3) The application fee for a special hunting permit is waived for a person under 17 years of age; however, the minor must apply in conjunction with an authorized supervising adult to whom an application fee is assessed, except as provided in paragraphs (4) and (5) of this subsection.
   4. (4) The application fee for a special permit is waived for an adult who is making application to serve as a non-hunting authorized supervising adult for a minor in a youth-only drawn hunt category.
   5. (5) Persons under 17 years of age may be disqualified from applying for special package hunts or may be assessed the application fee.
   6. (6) The application fee for a special permit is waived for on-site applications made under standby procedures at the time of a hunt.

   7. (7) In the event an application for a special permit is determined to be invalid, then:

      1. (A) the application card and related application fees will be returned to the applicant for correction and resubmission, provided the error is detected prior to the time that the application information is processed; or
      2. (B) the error will result in disqualification of the applicant(s), and the application fees will be retained by the department.
9. (i) Legal animals to be taken by special or regular permit shall be stipulated on the permit.

10. (j) The fees for special and regular permits for hunting deer, exotic mammal, pronghorn antelope, javelina, turkey, coyote, and alligator are:

    1. (1) standard period--$50;
    2. (2) extended period--$100;
    3. (3) squirrel, game birds (other than turkey), rabbits and hares--$10;
    4. (4) special package hunts, desert bighorn sheep--no charge.
11. (k) Only one special or regular permit fee will be assessed in the event of concurrent hunts for multiple species, and the fee for the legal species having the most expensive permit will prevail.
12. (l) Any applicable special or regular permit fees will be waived for minors under the supervision of a duly permitted authorized supervising adult.
13. (m) Any applicable regular permit fees for hunting or fishing activities will be waived for persons possessing an APH permit.
14. (n) Any applicable regular permit fees for authorized activities other than hunting or fishing will be waived for persons possessing an APH permit, a LPU permit, or Texas Conservation Passport (Gold or Silver).
15. (o) Except for the Texas Conservation Passport, all access permits apply only to the individual to whom the permit is issued, and neither the permit nor the rights granted thereunder are transferrable to another person.
16. (p) It is an offense if a person fails to obey the conditions of a permit issued under this subchapter.

Source Note:The provisions of this §65.193 adopted to be effective September 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 5316; amended to be effective August 20, 1998, 23 TexReg 8460; amended to be effective July 13, 2000, 25 TexReg 6545.