AP Photo, file

LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has vetoed a House bill that removed the authority of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission to require online reporting of deer harvests within 72 hours of bagging a deer.

Whitmer and her administration originally supported House Bill 6354, but legislators added language to block the NRC from issuing “an order or interim order requiring a hunter to report the harvest of deer or retain a harvest confirmation for that deer.”

“HB 6354 would have decriminalized failure to report a deer harvest by reducing penalties from a misdemeanor and possible jail time to a civil infraction. My administration supported this bill and called for its passage,” Whitmer said in her veto letter to the House on Friday.

Whitmer said, “The bill does not mirror its original intent. The bill was amended to limit the ability of the Department of Natural Resources and the Natural Resources Commission ability to collect timely, high-quality information on deer harvests, hindering the state’s ability to scientifically manage our deer population and reducing opportunities for the public and Michigan’s hunters to participate in decisions around wildlife management.”

The veto was encouraged by Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

Whitmer said in the letter that she is still looking forward to figuring out how the Legislature can decriminalize deer hunter’s failure to report deer harvests.