Legislature and AZGFD
Title 17 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) is the portion of Arizona state law that establishes the powers and responsibilities of the Game and Fish Department and Commission. The Arizona Revised Statutes can only be changed by the Arizona Legislature or through a ballot initiative.
The Commission has the authority to specify how it meets its obligations under A.R.S. Title 17 through the passage of rules that are recorded in Title 12, Chapter 4 of the Arizona Administrative Code.
The Commission sets the political direction of the Agency and determines the shape of wildlife conservation in Arizona. Under authority granted in A.R.S. 17-231, the Commission adopts and establishes rules (The Arizona Administrative Code). Rules are evaluated on a five-year cycle to ensure their relevancy and efficacy and changes are made by the Commission following the AZGFD Rulemaking Process.
Under this same authority, the Commission annually determines hunt orders that are then published in the Arizona Hunting Regulations brochures and booklets.
Hunting Seasons and Dates
For Rules and Regulations for Hunting in Arizona, visit https://www.azgfd.com/Hunting/Regulations/.
The statute is the direction to the Commission, and the rule is the Commission saying how it will do it. For example, A.R.S. 17-333 allows the Commission to establish fees for the taking or handling of wildlife, fees for licenses, permits, tags and stamps and application fees in rule. These fees are then outlined in R12-4-102.