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 

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH SEVEN-DAY-A WEEK HUNTING? WHAT IS THE HOLD UP?

As the official start of Pennsylvania hunting season quickly approaches and as we prepare to go afield to enjoy our sport the question that is on many of our minds is; what is going on with seven-day-a-week hunting?  What is the holdup?  The answer is simple.  The politicians in Pennsylvania are sitting on the legislation for no specific or real reason.  PA Senate Bill 67 has been in the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee since February 23, 2023, without any action.  Senator Greg Rothman controls that committee.  He along with all committee members is well aware that hunter-conservationists want this bill passed. There are 30 conservation organizations that support SB67 and the Pennsylvania Game Commission having full regulatory authority to set seasons and bag limits all days of the week. 

Mr. Rothman and his staff have asked, requested, and have been provided with specific information for the distribution and education of colleagues.  The cohort working on this legislation has provided all the necessary resources, guidance, knowledge, and details as possible.  Barring any bizarre request there is nothing else to provide or do.  Mr. Rothman and his colleagues must do their part.  Without that time will only pass and hunters and conservation will lose out.  
 
It has been said that Senator Rothman as a Republican representing Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry counties is an outdoorsman for the outdoorsman, is a hunter-conservationist, and has the future of our sport in mind.   Based on his leadership one might question this. 

So when you are asked; What is going on with seven-day-a-week hunting?  What is the holdup?   The only response that can be given is that the politicians of PA are once again wasting our time afield.  

Here's how to help.  Make the politicians understand this:

Changing and updating the law will save much-needed legislative time, effort, and money.  The legislative standard is to be Sunday-inclusive.  There is no bill that makes it through the legislative process of drafting, proposing, voting, and signing into law that excludes Sundays.  Hunting on Sunday deserves to have the same principle and standard applied.

Click here to find your legislator

SB67 LETTER TO SENATORS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA GAME AND FISHERIES COMMITTEE

 

Hunters United For Sunday Hunting  

huntersforsundayhunting@gmail.com

717-350-6741

Senators of the Pennsylvania Game and Fisheries Committee as the lead organization along with the 26-group cohort advocating for Repealing Sunday Hunting Prohibition in Pennsylvania, Senate Bill 67 please take a moment to read this correspondence.  As you discuss, consider, and vote take a moment to understand the coherence of this bill.  SB67 simply removes the 341-year-old blue law that prohibits hunting on Sunday.  SB67 plainly provides full regulatory authority to the Pennsylvania Game Commission to set seasons and bag limits seven days a week.

The legislative standard is to be Sunday-inclusive.  There is no bill that makes it through the legislative process of drafting, proposing, voting, and signing into law that excludes Sundays.  Hunting on Sunday deserves to have the same principle and standard applied.

Hunter-citizens of Pennsylvania have been asking for an update to the blue law for over 50 years.  They want the ability, opportunity, and choice to be able to hunt on Sunday.  The past stumbling block of religion is merely a moot point.  All forms of recreation are allowed on Sunday; fishing, ATV, horseback riding, canoeing, hiking, baseball, football, basketball, and all other organized sports without concern of creed.  Businesses are no longer closed on Sunday as they once were under the blue law.  So why shouldn’t the law be changed accordingly to authorize hunting on Sunday? 

The fact is hunting is occurring on Sundays.  Hunting occurs on the three designated Sundays by exemption to the law along with foxes, coyotes, crows, and non-regulated hunting grounds.  The Pennsylvania Game Commission manages and sets the criteria for this.  There is no reason they shouldn’t be provided with full regulatory authority to set seasons and bag limits for all huntable species regardless of the day of the week to coincide with the Agriculture Code set in 2007 which allows for agriculturists and farmers to hunt and harvest animals all days of the week including Sunday.

The time has come to trust the Pennsylvania Game Commission to do as they are charged and manage the wildlife resources for generations now and future.  You as legislators are in a position to provide that path of additional options and opportunities for current and future hunters.  In order to do this it takes the courage to change and remove the archaic blue law that prohibits hunting on Sunday.

There will be nothing lost but much gained with a YEA vote on SB67.  Landowners will still have liability protection under 2007 Act 11.  Sunday only written permission requirement remains.  The purple paint law is unchanged.  The only change is the ability, choice, and opportunity to hunt on Sunday as a person so chooses as set by the limits of the PGC. 

It is truly time to end this 50-year quest and listen to the words of Senator James Brewster from the previous SB147 vote on this very subject; “When we passed the bill and ran the bill my comment was this will be a complete non-event to folks.”  Those words held true then and they will hold true now.  You have an opportunity to effect much-needed, much-asked, and well-deserved change.  It’s time to look to the future and let go of the biases of the past, “If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future,” Winton Churchill.

Thank you for your time and hope you vote favorably on SB67.  

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

Senate Bill 67  Repealing Sunday Hunting Prohibition in Pennsylvania 

Supported and endorsed by: Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners, Hunters United for Sunday Hunting, Hunter Nation, Pennsylvania Governor's Youth Council for Hunting Fishing and Conservation, United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hunters Sharing the Harvest, Hunting Works for PA, Delta Waterfowl, Safari Club International, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, National Deer Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Cervicide, Meat Eater, HOWL for Wildlife, Sportsmen’s Alliance, Hunt Quietly, Camps4Vets, Hunt Of A Lifetime Foundation, Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society, Steel City Bowhunters, Wild Sheep Foundation, Hunters of Color, Harvesting Nature

HUSH STATEMENT TO PA GAME COMMISSION APRIL 2023

Hunters United For Sunday Hunting    

huntersforsundayhunting@gmail.com

717-350-6741

            

Statement to Pennsylvania Game Commissioners, April 15, 2023, Public Meeting

Executive Director Burhans, Commission President Mitrick, Vice President Schnepp-Giger, District Commissioners, and Staff:

As the executive director of Hunters United for Sunday Hunting thanks for the opportunity to submit this letter as part of the Pennsylvania Game Commission April 2023 public meeting.  

As Pa. Game Commissioners you and your agency have a very tough job.  The mission of managing and protecting wildlife and their habitats while promoting hunting and trapping for current and future generations. You have to balance as much opportunity as the wildlife resource can support while also looking to the future of the species and the sport of hunting. 

Hunters United for Sunday Hunting would like to recognize the nine of you for what you and the agency have and are doing for the future of hunters and the Commonwealth as a whole.   It is because of the decisions, dedication, commitment, and fortitude you have as commissioners that the outdoor industry including hunting, shooting, and 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 as recently reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, United States Department of Commerce. 

As commissioners, your support and efforts to bring more hunting opportunities not only on Sunday but all days of the week are positively affecting the state economically and with hunter participation.   The 21st-century lifestyle is very busy.  Businesses are no longer closed on Sunday as they once were under the blue law.  All forms of recreation are allowed on Sunday; camping, fishing, all-terrain vehicle riding, horseback riding, canoeing, hiking, etc. There has been nothing lost by having Saturdays and Sundays available for hunting.  Just as with any other activity or daily function in people's lives, if they don't like it, they don't have to participate regardless of the day of the week.

As 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.”

Please stand firm to the agency's mission as the work continues to get Senate Bill 67 through the legislative process and into law for the full regulatory authority to set seasons and bag limits that include Sunday.

Sincerely;

 

Kevin B. Askew

Executive Director, Hunters United for Sunday Hunting

HUSH STATEMENT TO PA GAME COMMISSION JAN 2023

    

    Hunters United For Sunday Hunting

    huntersforsundayhunting@gmail.com

    717-350-6741

      

    

    

Statement to PA Game Commissioners, January 28, 2023, Public Meeting

Executive Director Burhans, Commission President Mitrick, Vice President Schnepp-Giger, District Commissioners, and Staff:

As the executive director of Hunters United for Sunday Hunting thanks for the opportunity to submit this letter as part of the PA Game Commission January 2023 public meeting.  

As you well know the mission to bring full regulatory authority to the Pennsylvania Game Commission to decide seasons and bag limits all days of the week including Sunday is alive and well.  Senate Bill 67 has been drafted, prepared, and placed in the legislative process for the 2023-2024 session.  With your continued support of having full regulatory authority to set seasons and bag limits that include Sunday, there is no doubt that Senate Bill 67 will make progress during this legislative session. 

Though mentioned often it deserves repeating.  The fight to bring hunting on Sunday has never been about a particular species or season. It is not about deer, it is not about specific seasons, it is not about this firearm or the other. It is about the increased opportunity based on your agency's resource first model and the North American Model of Wildlife Management.

As commissioners, your support and efforts to bring more hunting opportunities not only on Sunday but all days of the week are not going unnoticed.  It is having a positive effect across the state.  Just take a look on any forum for the 2021-22 hunting season it doesn’t take long to find, see or hear about someone being able to mentor, or a new hunter being afield,  re-engaged hunters able to participate once again, along with the majority of hunters thankful for more species being available to hunt on the three given Sundays.  Please continue doing what you're doing.  Your work is helping. 

Take comfort knowing Hunters United for Sunday Hunting will remain steadfast in our mission now and in the future.  As a grassroots organization representing hunter-conservationists throughout the state that advocates for less political interference in wildlife management and more opportunities and choice allowing for more participation of all hunters.  Hunters United for Sunday Hunting will oppose any legislation that is drafted that removes wildlife management decisions or the ability to set seasons, dates, and bag limits from your control.   

In closing please continue to support and educate people, legislators, and organizations on Senate Bill 67 and what it specifically means and does for the Pennsylvania Game Commission and for conservation in the Commonwealth.  Carry on with being as inclusive as possible for all huntable-game on the three Sundays. Most importantly have faith that hunter-conservationists and conservation organizations understand that as commissioners when faced with a decision, be it an easy right one, or a hard-correct one.  That decision will always be based on the PGC mission and what is best for the wildlife resources of PA.

Sincerely;

Executive Director, Hunters United for Sunday Hunting

"IT'S ENCOURAGING AS WE LOOK ACROSS THE HUNTING COMMUNITY." A NEW YEAR NOTE FROM HUSH EXEC. DIRECTOR

Kevin B. Askew

Executive Director

Hunters United for Sunday Hunting

As we end one year and begin a new one.  It is very encouraging to look across the hunting community and see all the new hunters, boys, girls, men, and women.  All the mentoring that is occurring, the re-engaged hunters that have returned, and the retired but interested who still remain. Here at Hunters United for Sunday Hunting we find this promising as we look to the future and what can and might be.  Looking at why this interest has come about the answer is simple; opportunity and time.   People are taking advantage of what is being provided to them by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and choosing what works best for them just as they do with all other things that pertain to their daily lives.

If you are paying attention to the hunting community you will find three things being talked about.  Senate Bill 67 providing the ability to hunt on Sunday. The new capability to purchase antlerless tags electronically with the signing of Senate Bill 431 into law 2022 Act 148.  Whether to choose or not choose to hunt on Saturday of the deer rifle season opener.

Winston Churchill once said, “If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future."   It is no secret that getting people interested in hunting is a challenge.  But look at it as that kid, young adult, or adult that finds themselves interested or just starting out hunting.  The minute they start looking, observing, or asking questions, what do they find?  We hunters fighting amongst ourselves over benign and simple issues.  Could or would that be a turn-off to you?

How does this situation get fixed?  First, we as hunter-conservationists stop fighting amongst ourselves over such benign issues as the personal choice to hunt on Sunday, Saturday, or any other day of the week.  We stop arguing over the use of crossbows, compounds, and longbows.  We recognize no one has lost anything with rifle deer season opening on Saturday.  We quit fighting the change of purchasing a doe license electronically.  We cease pitting ourselves against the other on what weapon we choose or what season or species we decide to hunt.  At the end of the day, we are hunter-conservationists participating in the world’s best wildlife system, The North American Model of Wildlife Management.

Our country was founded on the bases of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and freedom of choice.  That is what the hunting culture is all about.  This may very well be what is attracting all the newcomers.  As a hunter-conservation community we have a choice; embrace what makes us great and showcase that or struggle against it risking turning people off or away.

The path is plain with Hunters United for Sunday Hunting.  We will remain steadfast in our mission to help bring seven days a week hunting opportunities for everyone's personal choice of enjoyment.  This is the way to advance and keep our sport alive, interesting, and growing so future generations can enjoy what we provided to them.

From the Hunters United for Sunday Hunting team.  Hope your hunting season is going well.   Have a safe, happy, and enjoyable new year. 

Sincerely; Kevin B. Askew

Executive Director, Hunters United for Sunday Hunting

New Sunday Hunting Bill Announced - Senate Bill 67

 

   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 proudly announces the mission to bring full regulatory authority to the Pennsylvania Game Commission to decide seasons and bag limits all days of the week including Sunday is alive and well.  Senate Bill 67 has been drafted, prepared, and placed in the legislative process to be introduced in the upcoming 2023-2024 session.   

Senate Bill 67 corrects and removes the prohibition of hunting on Sundays.  It will bring the law in line with that of agriculture.  Act 26 2007 along with various other laws such as Title 34 and Title 58 authorizes agriculturalists to harvest animals on all days of the week including Sunday.   Hunter-conservationists should not be discriminated against and be afforded the same opportunity by law to harvest animals on Sunday. The legislative standard is to be Sunday-inclusive.  Hunting on Sunday deserves to have the same principle and standard applied.

Senator Dan Laughlin, Pa. 49th District, Senate Majority Policy Committee has introduced Senate Bill 67.  This bill mirrors the language of the previous bill that reads:    

• This legislation would completely remove the prohibition on Sundays available for hunting and trapping.  Currently, the law dictates which Sundays are open to hunting, and in certain cases, which species. This legislation would change that and would leave all wildlife management decisions to the Game Commission.  By completely removing the prohibition on Sunday hunting, it will give the needed latitude to the Game Commission to increase hunting and trapping opportunities. 

When asked why he was re-introducing the Sunday hunting bill Senator Laughlin replied, “We have six days that we can hunt, there is no reason that it shouldn't and can’t be seven days.”  He also added that “2023 is the year of 53 Sundays, let’s mark that by getting the Sunday hunting prohibition lifted.”

Hunters United for Sunday Hunting along with the conservation cohort looks forward to working with the Pa. Legislature in getting Senate Bill 67 through the legislative process and into law in a timely manner.  We would like nothing more than for everyone to come to the table in good faith; politicians, Pa. Game Commission, conservation organizations, and the Pa. Farm Bureau, to negotiate a reasonable end to this archaic blue law that discriminates only against those who hunt. 

Senate Bill 67 will be available electronically once it becomes active in the database of the state.  The anticipated timeframe is by end of January 2023.  It will not show up in any google or other search engines until that time. 

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For more information about this topic, please contact Hunters United for Sunday Hunting 

Executive Director Kevin Askew at 717-350-6741 or email at huntersforsundayhunting@gmail.com 

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