In fishing licenses, further providing for disabled veterans and former prisoners of war and for deployed Pennsylvania National Guard members and repealing provisions relating to reserve component of armed forces members.
Summary
SB 232 amends Pennsylvania’s fish and boating laws to revise several discounted and free fishing license categories for veterans and military service members. For disabled veterans, the bill narrows and clarifies eligibility by replacing older language tied to specific wartime injuries with a service-connected disability rating framework from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Under the bill, a veteran with a 60% to 99% service-connected disability rating may receive a resident fishing license for $1, and a veteran with a 100% service-connected disability rating may receive a free disabled veteran lifetime fishing license if the required VA documentation is provided.
The bill also updates the special license available to deployed Pennsylvania National Guard members and reserve component members. It broadens the language so the $1 annual resident fishing license applies to qualifying deployments by Pennsylvania National Guard members or reserve component members, rather than the narrower prior wording focused on overseas deployment and specific Guard categories. At the same time, it repeals a separate section that had covered reserve component members, consolidating and updating the treatment of these military categories within the fishing license statute.
Impact
SB 232 changes Title 30 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes by amending the fishing license provisions for disabled veterans, former prisoners of war, and deployed military personnel. It replaces older eligibility standards and documentation rules with VA disability-rating documentation requirements, creates a clearer path to a free lifetime license for 100% disabled veterans, and preserves a $1 lifetime senior resident fishing license option for qualifying disabled veterans and former prisoners of war. It also repeals the standalone reserve-component provision and folds reserve members into the updated deployed-service license section, affecting the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, county treasurers, and eligible veterans and service members.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the legislature. It passed the Senate unanimously and later passed the House overwhelmingly, with committee votes also largely or entirely in favor after an initial House Game and Fisheries vote to bring the bill up for consideration. The voting history suggests general agreement with the bill’s purpose of modernizing and simplifying fishing-license benefits for veterans and military personnel.
Contention
There is little evidence of major policy contention in the available record. The only notable procedural friction was in the House Game and Fisheries Committee, where the motion to bring the bill up for consideration initially failed 12-14 before the bill was later reported as committed unanimously. Substantively, the main issue appears to be the shift from older, more categorical disability criteria to VA percentage-based ratings and the consolidation of military eligibility categories, but the final votes indicate these changes were ultimately accepted with little opposition.
Establishes task force to study issues facing returning members of US Armed Forces, NJ National Guard, and reserve component of US Armed Forces; creates permanent commission to study various definitions related to veteran status.
Relating to service requirements of certain current or former members of the Texas National Guard, the Texas Air National Guard, or a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States for tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of higher education.
In fishing licenses, providing for active duty military fishing reciprocity and for disabled veteran annual fishing license reciprocity; and, in hunting and furtaking licenses, providing for active duty military hunting reciprocity and for disabled veteran annual hunting license reciprocity.
Includes the Space Force as being members of the armed forces or veterans eligible for certain credits and benefits that are available to other active and veteran members of the armed forces.