Bill to expand hunting advances within Pa. House, nears floor vote

PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A state Senate proposal that could expand Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania is moving closer to a floor vote.

Democrats on the Game & Fisheries Committee kept Senate Bill 67 clean, voting to reject nine proposed amendments, with all but one introduced by the committee’s minority chair, state Rep. David Maloney (R-Berks), according to WTAJ media partners at the Tribune-Democrat.

The Senate bill and the House bill package have substantial differences in details but are aligned in intent. They propose to allow the Pennsylvania Game Commission to include any Sundays within its discretion when setting the annual hunting calendar. That would be an expansion from the three Sundays designated within hunting seasons that began in 2020-21, as well as the year-round hunting of certain predators seven days a week.

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Introduced by state Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie), the bill cleared the Senate in July with mixed support from nine Democrats and eight Republicans who opposed the measure. It now needs a majority vote in the House, where Democrats have a one-seat voting advantage.

Should it pass the lower chamber, it would move to the desk of Gov. Josh Shapiro to be signed into law. A spokesperson for Shapiro said the governor’s office is monitoring action on the bill but didn’t say whether it has Shapiro’s support.

The measures also look to connect farmers and hunters to enhance coordinated kills to protect cash crops and vegetation, as well as to mandate that at least one member on the Game Commission board have a background in agriculture.

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