Bill fully repealing Pennsylvania's Sunday hunting ban passes state house, heads to senate
A bill introduced by an Allegheny County state representative, Mandy Steele, passed the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, and it would fully repeal the commonwealth's Sunday hunting ban.
House Bill 1431 was approved by the House Game and Fisheries Committee on June 3 and then passed by the full House yesterday by a vote of 131-72. Now, the legislation heads to the Pennsylvania State Senate for consideration.
"Though hunters play an active role in helping to manage wildlife populations, through the purchase of their licenses and other revenue they generate, they also fund wildlife conservation at a larger scale, for all species," said Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Steve Smith. "For those reasons and others, it's important to keep hunters engaged and providing the valuable service they do. These bills would help accomplish that. One of the biggest reasons hunters stop hunting is a lack of time. While no one can add hours to the day or days to the week, removing the prohibition on Sunday hunting holds the potential to add significantly more time to the hunting calendar and keep hunters hunting."
Rep. Steele's bill is identical to a similar bill that was introduced in March in the State Senate, and it would end the prohibition on Sunday hunting as well as allow the Pennsylvania Game Commission to include Sundays when they establish yearly hunting seasons.
In 2019, Pennsylvania began allowing additional hunting on three designated Sundays, but not on every Sunday.
