WHATS GOING ON WITH SENATE BILL 147? I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING.

“What’s going on with Senate Bill 147?” I have been asked this question quite frequently since the September 10, 2019, Sunday hunting public hearing held in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Game and Fisheries Committee.
  
Currently, our national partners from the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation have asked if they can handle the continued negotiations. This is an agreeable request since these organizations have the resources, knowledge, and experts that understand all the legislative work that takes place.
  
As of this writing, Senate Bill 147 sits in the Pa House Game and Fisheries Committee. The current negotiations regarding whether the request for written permission from the Pa Farm Bureau will be added or not. The PFB is requesting SB147 be amended to include written permission on the Sundays stipulated in the bill. No other days are being considered to include written permission.
  
So essentially the PFB wants lawmakers to write a law for what we already have. Under our current posting regulations, a landowner can require or not require written permission to hunt on their property. If the landowner is comfortable with verbal permission, that is completely up to the property owner.
   
So the question becomes why do we need a law to do what we already can do legally at landowner discretion.

The NRA and NSSF are working through this. Neither has agreed or disagreed with the proposal. The negotiating team is working with lawmakers to understand why they think writing a law to do what can already be done makes sense or not make sense.
  
Now to the big question. Are we going to have the opportunity to hunt this hunting season? I wish I had a solid and straight answer but I don’t. I can assure you that HUSH, NRA, NSSF, and all the of the conservations organizations involved in the Pa Sunday hunting fight are doing all we can to get hunting opportunity as quickly as possible. We know and understand what the extra time afield means to everyone.
  
We are up against politicians and their willingness to act quickly for all the right reasons. As it stands the Pa House Game and Fisheries Committee must vote, SB147 then goes to the entire Pa House for a vote, then back to the Senate for a concurrence vote, and then to the governor's desk for signature. All indications are Governor Wolf will sign the bill into law.
  
The overarching and more pressing issue is: the longer the legislators choose not to take action. The longer SB147 is held up in the process. The timeline gets extended. 

This is why it is extremely important to continue calling and emailing legislators on SB147.

I get it, everyone has been doing that for the past 18 months. Please hear and read my words.  It is because of you, supporters of Sunday hunting opportunity that SB147 is where it is and the ‘needle moved’ further than it has ever been in the past 20 years. I am asking that you continue that momentum, keep those phones ringing and the legislator's email boxes full with SB147 and Sunday hunting messages. Continue making the hunter-conservationists voice heard. 

We are close, please stay in the fight. 

Sincerely;

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

BACKCOUNTRY HUNTERS & ANGLERS TESTIMONY SUBMITTED TO PA GAME & FISHERIES COMMITTEE, SEPT. 10, 2019 HEARING

Pennsylvania Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
www.backcountryhunters.org

September 10, 2019
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Game and Fisheries Committee






Dear Representatives,

The Pennsylvania Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is a nonprofit group that seeks to ensure preservation of Pennsylvania’s outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting. One of our main tenets is to maintain and enhance public access and opportunity for hunters and anglers.

We understand that the Committee is discussing the issue of Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania. We urge you to support the hunters of our state and give the Pennsylvania Game Commission the authority to regulate hunting on Sundays as they do with the other days of the week.

Sunday hunting would provide increased opportunities for junior hunters and working age adult hunters to become engaged in hunting and conservation. Additional opportunities will lead to better recruitment and retention of hunters throughout the state. Children's schedules today are more rigid than in the past.  Sunday hunting would double the amount of time that junior hunters can spend in the field without interfering with school and team sports, many of which have Saturday activities. Likewise, the work and social demands of many adult hunters limit their time and Sunday may be the only time available to hunt.

Lack of time plays a major role in why many Pennsylvanians leave hunting. Over the past several years, the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) has identified a downward trend in hunting license sales over the last decade. In a survey of lapsed hunters conducted for the PGC, lack of time and work obligations were among the most frequently stated reasons for the decision to stop hunting. This was especially true in junior hunters and adult hunters under the age of 35. These are the groups that need to be recruited to maintain and grow Pennsylvania’s hunting population. Permitting Sunday hunting would work to alleviate the diminishing number of young hunters.

Increased hunting opportunities also would lead to increased profits for the rural communities and
businesses throughout the commonwealth. A National Shooting Sports Foundation study found that
Sunday hunting could create over 8,000 new jobs and pump $764 million into the state’s economy.
For these reasons the Pennsylvania Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers supports Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania and SB 147.

Sincerely,

Pennsylvania Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers

'IT'S ABOUT TIME' CONFERENCE PRE-REGISTRATION

Click Here to Pre-Register: 
'It's About Time' Conference Pre-Registration

‘It’s About Time’ conference: 1pm - 4pm Sunday, September 30, 2018; Pa. Game Commission Headquarters, 2001 Elmerton Ave, Harrisburg Pa. 17110

Door Prizes will be given away. All attendees have a chance to win.

Hunters United for Sunday Hunting is hosting an information conference focusing on the importance of removing the prohibition on Sunday hunting in Pa Title 34 Game Law and providing regulatory authority to the Pennsylvania Game Commission to decide what is best for Sunday hunting.

All hunters, sportsmen, sportswomen, outdoor enthusiasts, conservationist, media outlets and all other like-minded people are invited to attend this information session.

Keynote speakers include Pa. Game & Fisheries Committee Minority Chair Senator James Brewster and Senator Dan Laughlin authors of Senate Bill 1202 amending PA Title 34 Game Law by removing the barrier and prohibition of hunting on Sunday and strengthen trespass laws.