SB2293 amends Illinois law governing certain Department of Natural Resources licenses, specifically licenses required under the Wildlife Code and the Fish and Aquatic Life Code. The bill allows a nonresident applicant who lives outside the United States and is not a U.S. citizen to use a passport number instead of a Social Security number when applying for one of these licenses. It also states that a license issued under this new allowance may not be used to hunt on public land.
The bill makes a conforming change to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and updates the Department of Natural Resources Act’s privacy/licensing provisions to expressly include passport numbers alongside Social Security numbers. Existing rules about customer identification numbers, recordkeeping, and the nondisclosure of Social Security or passport numbers on the face of the license remain in place. The measure is narrow in scope and applies only to specified wildlife and fishing-related licenses.
Impact
SB2293 would change the application process for certain Illinois hunting, fishing, and aquatic life licenses by creating an alternative identifier for a limited class of nonresident applicants. It would amend the Department of Natural Resources Act and the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, while preserving the Department’s authority to collect and retain identifying information and to assign customer identification numbers. The bill would also impose a use restriction by prohibiting licenses issued under the passport-number provision from being used to hunt on public land, thereby limiting the practical effect of the new eligibility pathway.
Sentiment
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of support or opposition from legislative debate. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears administrative and targeted rather than controversial, with an apparent policy goal of accommodating certain foreign nonresident applicants while maintaining restrictions on public-land hunting. The absence of voting history or discussion prevents a stronger assessment of legislative sentiment.
Contention
The main policy issue is whether Illinois should allow nonresident, non-U.S. citizen applicants who live abroad to use a passport number instead of a Social Security number for wildlife and fishing licenses. Supporters would likely view this as a practical privacy and access accommodation for international applicants who may not have Social Security numbers. Potential concerns could come from those worried about enforcement, verification, or the public-land hunting restriction, since the bill creates a special licensing pathway for a limited category of nonresidents. No specific objections or proponents are documented in the available materials.