(a) “Citation” means any summons, complaint, summons and complaint, ticket, penalty assessment, or other official document issued to a person by a wildlife officer or other law enforcement officer for a wildlife violation that contains an order requiring the person to respond.

     (c) “Compliance”, with respect to a citation, means the act of answering a citation through an appearance in a court or tribunal or through the payment of fines, costs, and surcharges, if any.

     (d) “Conviction” means a conviction, including any court conviction, for any offense related to the preservation, protection, management, or restoration of wildlife that is prohibited by state statute, law, regulation, ordinance, or administrative rule. The term includes the forfeiture of any bail, bond, or other security deposited to secure appearance by a person charged with having committed any such offense, the payment of a penalty assessment, a plea of nolo contendere, and the imposition of a deferred or suspended sentence by the court.

     (e) “Court” means a court of law, including a magistrate’s court and a justice of the peace court.

     (f) “Home state” means the state of primary residence of a person.

     (g) “Issuing state” means the participating state that issues a wildlife citation to the violator.

     (h) “License” means any license, permit, or other public document that conveys to the person to whom it was issued the privilege of pursuing, possessing, or taking any wildlife regulated by statute, law, regulation, ordinance, or administrative rule of a participating state.

     (i) “Licensing authority” means the department or division within each participating state that is authorized by law to issue or approve licenses or permits to hunt, fish, trap, or possess wildlife.

     (j) “Participating state” means any state that enacts legislation to become a member of the wildlife violator compact.

     (k) “Personal recognizance” means an agreement made by a person at the time of issuance of the wildlife citation that the person will comply with the terms of the citation.

     (l) “State” means any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the provinces of Canada, and other countries.

     (m) “Suspension” means any revocation, denial, or withdrawal of any or all license privileges, including the privilege to apply for, purchase, or exercise the benefits conferred by any license.

     (n) “Terms of the citation” means those conditions and options expressly stated upon the citation.

     (o) “Wildlife” means all species of animals including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mollusks, and crustaceans that are defined as “wildlife” and are protected or otherwise regulated by statute, law, regulation, ordinance, or administrative rule in a participating state. Species included in the definition of wildlife vary from state to state and determination of whether a species is wildlife for the purposes of this compact is based on local law.

     (p) “Wildlife law” means any statute, law, regulation, ordinance, or administrative rule developed and enacted for the management and uses of wildlife resources.

     (q) “Wildlife officer” means any individual authorized by a participating state to issue a citation for a wildlife violation.

     (r) “Wildlife violation” means any cited violation of a statute, law, regulation, ordinance, or administrative rule developed and enacted for the management and uses of wildlife resources.

     (s) Unless the context requires otherwise, the definitions of this section apply throughout the chapter.

As added by P.L.23-1999, SEC.2.