(a) Pursuant to this section, the department shall issue to a disabled veteran or recovering service member who has not been convicted of a violation of this code a reduced fee hunting license that authorizes the licensee to take a bird or mammal as authorized by this code and regulations adopted pursuant to this code.

(b) The base license fee for a reduced fee hunting license shall be four dollars ($4) for the hunting license year beginning on July 1, 1995, and, for the following years, this license fee may be annually reviewed and adjusted in accordance with Section 713.

(c) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Disabled veteran” means a person having a 50 percent or greater service-connected disability and an honorable discharge from military service.

(2) “Recovering service member” means a member of the military who meets the definition of “recovering service member” in Section 1602(7) of the federal National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-181).

(d) A person applying for a reduced fee hunting license shall submit to the department adequate documentation for the department to determine whether the person is, in fact, eligible for a reduced fee hunting license. The department shall not issue a reduced fee hunting license to a person unless it is satisfied that the person has provided adequate documentation of eligibility for that license.

(e) A disabled veteran shall submit the following documentation:

(1) Proof of an honorable discharge from military service.

(2) Proof of the disability described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), either by certification from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or by presentation of a license issued pursuant to this section in the preceding license year.

(f) A recovering service member shall submit a letter to the department stating that the person is a recovering service member as defined in subdivision (d), from either that person’s commanding officer or a military medical doctor. The letter may be submitted either in hard copy form or online.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 154, Sec. 63. (AB 1527) Effective January 1, 2016.)