THE STEELE DEAL TESTIMONY - HB2106, HB2107, HB2108

 

April 9, 2024. 

Testimony to Pennsylvania House Game and Fisheries Committee for Informational Meeting on HB2106, HB2107, HB2108.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Members

My name is Kevin Askew, I am the executive director for Hunters United for Sunday Hunting, the lead organization working to end the archaic blue law prohibiting hunting on Sunday.  Our mission:  Remove the prohibition of Sunday Hunting in PA Title 34 Game Law through education, and influence legislatures to change the law accordingly.  This educational effort has brought us to this meeting today regarding Pennsylvania House Bills 2106, 2107, and 2108; the Steele Deal as it is now being called.

How did we get here?  Simple, by Representative Mandy Steele doing her due diligence for eight months listening, learning, and having conversations on how to help grow the booming outdoor industry in PA while also assisting agriculture in its goals.  Hunter-conservation identified their number one issue as removing the prohibitive blue law restricting hunting on Sunday.  Agriculture identified its number one issue as being economic locally and as a whole through losses associated with crop damage.

As you are aware there is much crossover between the hunter-conservation community and the agriculture community.  That is why the inclusiveness of the Steele Deal is a solid piece of legislation. 

HB2106 removes the blue law prohibiting hunting on Sunday and provides the Pennsylvania Game Commission with full regulatory authority to set seasons and bag limits seven days a week. HB 2106 also strengthens trespass laws by outlining the requirements and responsibilities for landowners and hunters alike.

HB2107 merely finishes what has been started.  It is known the PGC has been working towards a revision and updates to the hunter agriculture crop damage system.  Be it that all legalities and mechanics for implementation can be worked out.  HB2107 finishes the puzzle of connecting hunters, agriculturalists, and farmers by creating an online network to streamline the process for better interaction and results for those farmers seeking help with crop damage.

HB2108 is a hunter-conservation and agriculture mission multiplier when viewed and interpreted correctly.  There are currently two sitting agriculturalists on the PGC Board of Commissioners.  HB2108 updates and provides the needed defining criteria for the best selection possible for the most qualified candidate.  That applicant will now have to meet the criteria of being knowledgeable in the area of wildlife management as well as actively engaged in a normal agricultural operation as defined in the Right-to-Farm Law.

During my tenure, one of the common suggestions that myself and my team have received from legislators is ‘that the hunter community and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau need to work together. Bring us a deal that you all can agree to.’  We thank Representative Steele for getting us to this point.  Abraham Lincoln said; “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.”

Together the Steele Deal legislative sponsors, hunter-conservation, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau have risen to the occasion, thought anew, and acted anew.   The expectation is that you and your colleagues will do the same.  This is not a partisan political issue of Democrat versus Republican.  It’s a Commonwealth issue of doing the right thing and ending the 342-year-old blue law and the 50-year benign seven-day-a-week hunting issue. 

The Steele Deal is a good deal; it provides for everything needed, not everything wanted. The question is do you have the insight to see this bipartisan issue as it is and get it to the Governor's desk for signature into law?  History indicates that you do. 

Thank you for your time. 

///Kevin B. Askew///

Executive Director, Hunters United for Sunday Hunting

Reference:

The outdoor industry [including hunting/shooting/trapping] added more value to our commonwealth’s gross domestic product than all of Pennsylvania’s farms, all of Pennsylvania’s oil and gas wells, and even all of Pennsylvania’s lawyers.  2021 Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce.

PA House Bill 2106 

PA House Bill 2107

PA House Bill 2108

ARE THERE TWO BILLS DEALING WITH SUNDAY HUNTING? YES - HB2106 AND SB67.

As the executive director for Hunters United for Sunday Hunting, I wanted to take a few minutes and address some common questions that we have been receiving over the current legislative activity to remove the prohibitive Sunday hunting blue law and provide full regulatory authority to the Pennsylvania Game Commission to set seasons and bag limits seven days a week.

Question: I need clarification on what is going on.  Are there two bills dealing with Sunday hunting?

    Answer: Yes, two separate bills are now in the legislative process to repeal the blue law.  

• The most recently introduced in the PA House of Representatives is HB2106 from Rep. Mandy Steele (D) Allegheny County and is part of an agreed-upon package brought together from the bipartisan efforts of Ms. Steele. 

• The ‘Steele Deal’ includes three bills:

• HB 2106 repeals the blue law and strengthens trespass.  This is the bill of focus in the PA House of Representatives.  

• HB2107 connects hunters, agriculturalists, and farmers by creating an online network to help with crop damage. 

• HB2108 which would require that at least one member of the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners has experience in the agriculture industry as defined in the Right-to-Farm-Law  

The more known bill is SB67 introduced by Senator Dan Laughlin (R) Erie County which has been in the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee since February of 2023 and on March 20, 2024, was voted out of committee with a 7 YEA and 4 NAY vote.   This is the bill of focus in the PA Senate. 

Question: So if two bills repeal the Sunday hunting blue law what is the holdup?

    Answer:  The short answer is the legislative process.  

• HB2106 and the ‘Steele Deal’ are scheduled for a public hearing in the PA House Game and Fisheries Committee on April 9, 2024.   An official voting meeting will be held at a later date. 

• SB67 will now be sent to the full Senate for a vote. Once that vote happens it will be sent to the PA House to continue the legislative process of introduction and voting. 

Question: Are there concerns with either bill, HB2106 and SB67?

    Answer:  The PA politicians know that hunter-conservationists have been asking and lobbying for the Sunday hunting blue law to be removed for 50 years.  There is legislative support to update the law and pass this legislation.  Hunters, agriculturalists, legislators, and the PA Game Commission have all come together to help end the blue law and help one another in the process.  The legislative concern is what the final language in the bill that will become law is.   The agreed language and reviewed by legal counsel is that of HB2106.  The process of amending bills becomes a bit arduous when there are two similar bills in both House [HB2106] and Senate [SB67] chambers that intend to accomplish the same thing but have differing language. There are steps to work this out bipartisanly in the legislative process but that can take some time. 

Question: Is there anything that can be done to help?  What can I/we do?

    Answer:  Continue to show your support by contacting both your State Representative and Senator.  Tell them your story.  Ask them to work bipartisanly on HB2106 and SB67 to end the prohibitive Sunday hunting blue law.  Let them know why that is important to you.  

• Find/contact your legislator.

• Complete the PROTECTING PENNSYLVANIA'S WILDLIFE, FARMS, AND FORESTS action request from Rep. Mandy Steele.  

• Contact both HB2106 sponsors and SB67 sponsors thank them for their efforts and tell your story. Ask them to work bipartisan both the PA House and PA Senate to bring seven-day-a-week hunting to fruition and end the blue law. 

• Let the primary bill sponsors know you appreciate their efforts and ask them to work together on the legislative amendment process. 

• PA House of Representatives  HB2106

• Email Rep. Mandy Steele at repsteele@pahouse.net 

• PA Senate SB67

• Email Senator Dan Laughlin at dlaughlin@pasen.gov

Kevin B. Askew, Executive Director,  Hunters United for Sunday Hunting 

THE STEELE DEAL - REMOVES SUNDAY HUNTING BLUE LAW, STRENGTHENS TRESPASS, DEVELOPS ONLINE NETWORK

CONTACT: Hunters United for Sunday Hunting

TELEPHONE: 717-350-6741

EMAIL: huntersforsundayhunting@gmail.com

WEBSITE: facebook.com/HuntersUnitedForSundayHunting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE & DISTRIBUTION

Hunters United for Sunday Hunting, Hunter Nation - PA, and Keystone Conservation Action would like to issue the following statement to announce the introduction of HB2106, HB2107, HB2108 by PA Representative Mandy Steele, (D) Allegheny County.  This legislative package will: 

1. Remove the blue law prohibiting hunting on Sunday.

2. Strengthen trespass laws.

3. Connect hunters, agriculturalists, and farmers by creating an online network to streamline the process for better interaction and results for those farmers seeking help with crop damage.

4. To the extent possible in the PA Game Commissioner consideration, selection, and appointment process one of the nine commissioners be actively engaged in a normal agricultural operation as defined by the Right-to-Farm-Law and knowledgeable in the area of wildlife management. 

How we got here. 

Hunter-conservation identified their number one issue as removing the prohibitive blue law restricting hunting on Sunday.  Agriculture identified its number one issue as being economic both locally and as a whole through losses associated with crop damage. 

On January 30, 2024, PA Representative Mandy Steele (D) introduced and announced proposed legislation to remove the blue law prohibiting hunting on Sunday to provide the needed time for hunters to connect with those farmers and agriculturalists who were asking for help in controlling the wildlife from damaging their crops.  The announcement of this proposed legislation set the news cycle to abound.

A meeting was orchestrated for February 19, 2024, where all the active players had confirmed their participation; Rep. Steele, Hunters United for Sunday Hunting, Hunter Nation-PA, Keystone Conservation Action, Pennsylvania Game Commission, and PA Farm Bureau. Everyone was open, considerate, and frank and understood that any deal would have to be fair and not one-sided. That meeting set everyone on a very high-paced course to get something done. 

The days that followed allowed for everyone's concerns to be heard and addressed and produced equitable legislation for approval.  It is important to emphasize that neither group got everything they wanted they are getting what is needed as explained in the bill's memorandum and proposed legislation. 

On March 4, 2024, a final meeting was held with legal counsel to review language and make the proper corrections to meet and fit into established rules, laws, procedures, and legislative standards.  Lawyers took the rest of the week to finish the audit and finalize the documents for publication. 

The bill collection of HB2106, HB2107, HB2108 is formally announced and introduced into the legislative cycle ending 2024.

It is important to note that without the bipartisanship and willingness to work together of the above individuals and organizations, the legislative package would not exist.  This is a great example of what can happen when everyone is willing to come to the middle for a common goal.

There is much optimism and hope that this three-bill bundle will make it through the legislative process for both the PA House of Representatives as well as the PA Senate.  There is legislative support to get this done. At the root of it, this is a bipartisan political issue.  As Rep. Mandy Steele has said, “By supporting hunters, we are preserving forests, managing wildlife, and creating economic growth in Pennsylvania.”

The outdoor industry [including hunting/shooting/trapping] added more value to our commonwealth’s gross domestic product than all of Pennsylvania’s farms, all of Pennsylvania’s oil and gas wells, and even all of Pennsylvania’s lawyers.  2021 Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Department of Commerce.

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For more information about this topic, please contact Hunters United for Sunday Hunting at 717-350-6741 or email at huntersforsundayhunting@gmail.com. 

View our Blog - https://huntersforsundayhunting.blogspot.com/

Hunters United for Sunday Hunting Mission Statement - Remove the prohibition of Sunday hunting in PA Title 34 Game Law through education, and influence legislatures to change the law accordingly.