(1) Any active or retired member of the United States armed forces while stationed as a resident patient at any United States armed forces hospital or convalescent station located within Colorado, any resident patient at a veterans administration hospital and resident patients of any state institution for the treatment of persons with behavioral or mental health disorders or other mental health institution in Colorado while under supervision of a proper staff member, and any resident who is totally and permanently disabled as determined by the social security administration or the division of labor standards and statistics or pursuant to rule of the commission may obtain a fishing license free of charge, valid for taking fish during the period of residency only, under rules of the commission.

(2) Any Colorado resident on active duty outside this state with any branch of the armed forces of the United States may obtain, from the division of parks and wildlife, a fishing license free of charge, valid for taking fish while such person is in this state on temporary leave from such duty, but not to exceed a total of thirty days during any year.

(3) (a) Any resident of this state who has received a purple heart for service in the United States armed forces or who is a disabled veteran may obtain from the division of parks and wildlife, free of charge, a lifetime resident combination small game hunting and fishing license.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection (3), "disabled veteran" means an individual who is a resident as defined in section 33-1-102 (38), has served on active duty in the armed forces, has been separated therefrom under honorable conditions, and has established to the division of parks and wildlife the presence of a service-connected disability which has been rated by the veterans administration at sixty percent or more through disability retirement benefits or a pension because of a public statute administered by the veterans administration or the department of the Army, Navy, or Air Force.

(4) The commission may adopt appropriate rules to establish a preference for active duty members of the United States armed forces who are stationed at any military facility located in Colorado or are Colorado residents upon their return from service outside of the United States for licenses left over after completion of the division's annual limited license draw. The preference may allow for such a member of the United States armed forces to apply for preference points for any limited license draw that occurred during the member's absence.

(5) A person assigned to the warrior transition battalion may obtain from the division a fishing license free of charge.