Santo Cerminaro, right, follows his son, Dominick Cerminaro, left, and grandson, Santo Cerminaro, 11, into the woods to go deer hunting on the first day of regular firearms deer hunting season, in most of Pennsylvania, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018 in Zelienople, Pa.
Keith Srakocic / AP Photo
Keith Srakocic / AP Photo
Santo Cerminaro, right, follows his son, Dominick Cerminaro, left, and grandson, Santo Cerminaro, 11, into the woods to go deer hunting on the first day of regular firearms deer hunting season, in most of Pennsylvania, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018 in Zelienople, Pa.
A bill that would remove Pennsylvania’s general prohibition on Sunday hunting is making its way through the state Senate.
Senate Bill 607, which would rewrite state law that currently dictates which Sundays are open to hunting and in some cases, for which species, passed the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee last week.
It is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee, where a fiscal impact note will be prepared, and another round of voting will be held.
The bill would allow decisions on Sunday hunting to be made by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which already make other wildlife management decisions for the state.
Kevin Askew, executive director of Hunters United for Sunday Hunting, said, “The current law is flawed and needs to be corrected. Revisiting this issue every year is not the proper way to advance this legislation. Changing and updating the law will save much-needed legislative time, effort and money.
“The Pennsylvania Game Commission needs the flexibility to manage accordingly, based on species, population, diseases, etc., and not be held to a standard set by non-professionals in wildlife management.”
SB 607 is the latest round in the battle over expansion of Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania. Hiking and farming groups, and many non-hunting outdoor enthusiasts, remain opposed to any lifting of the general prohibition.
Under the current law, the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners has approved an expansion of Sunday hunting opportunity by opening the Sundays during the archery deer and firearms bear seasons to other species (except migratory game birds and wild turkeys) that are in season on those dates.
After a long-running, recurring battle in the state legislature, the Game Commission in 2019 was given the authority to set 3 Sundays when hunting would be legal for the first since before Pennsylvania became a state: one within the archery deer season, one within the firearms deer season and one on another Sunday selected by the commission.
Commissioners did that for the 2020-21 season and have now expanded the species available for hunting on those same days for the 2021-22 season, which begins July 1.
This story originally appeared at pennlive.com.
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