DocketNumber: No. 25006
Citation Numbers: 336 S.C. 599, 521 S.E.2d 743
Filed Date: 10/11/1999
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 10/17/2022
We granted certiorari to consider the decision of the Court of Appeals reported at 327 S.C. 627, 490 S.E.2d 626 (Ct.App. 1997). We now reverse.
The dispositive issue in this appeal is whether the Catawba combination license issued to Catawba Indians pursuant to the terms of the Catawba Indian Claims Settlement Act
There is no statute authorizing the Catawba combination license, or defining its limits. It is the creation of the Department of Natural Resources in response to the Claims Act’s mandate that:
Hunting and fishing, on or off the Reservation, must be conducted in compliance with the laws and regulations of South Carolina. Members of the Tribe are subject to all state and local regulations governing hunting and fishing on and off the Reservation. However, for ninety-nine years following the effective date of this Chapter, members of the Tribe are entitled to personal hunting and fishing licenses without payment of fees.
S.C.Code Ann. § 27-16-120(E) (emphasis added).
REVERSED.
. S.C.Code Ann. §§ 27-16-10 et seq. (Supp.1998).
. At the time this case arose, the combination hunting and fishing license was codified at S.C.Code Ann. § 50-9-10 and the sportsman license was found at S.C.Code Ann. § 50-9-15. In 1996, the licensing statutes were substantially revised and the relevant language is now found at S.C.Code Ann. § 50-9-510 (Supp.1998).