Pennsylvania Senate Bill SB391

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/6/25
• Refer: 3/6/25

Caption

In game or wildlife protection, further providing for regulations.

Summary

SB391 would amend Pennsylvania’s Game Code to set the opening date of the regular antlered deer hunting season as the first Monday following Thanksgiving. The bill adds a new subsection to Title 34, section 2102, which governs regulations for game and wildlife protection. If enacted, the change would create a fixed statutory start date for this deer season rather than leaving the timing to regulation or administrative adjustment. The bill is narrowly focused and does not alter broader hunting rules, licensing, bag limits, or wildlife management provisions. Its practical effect would be to standardize the opening of antlered deer season across the Commonwealth and make the date more predictable for hunters, landowners, and wildlife officials. The act would take effect 60 days after enactment.

Impact

SB391 would directly amend Title 34 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes by adding a statutory rule for the opening date of the regular antlered deer hunting season. This would constrain regulatory discretion under section 2102 and require the season to begin on the first Monday after Thanksgiving. The bill primarily affects deer hunters, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and others who plan around the hunting calendar, while leaving the rest of the game and wildlife code unchanged.

Sentiment

Based on the available record, the bill appears to be a straightforward, administrative wildlife-season measure with no recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials. The sponsors suggest support for a clear, fixed hunting-season start date, and there is no evidence in the transcript or voting history of organized opposition. Overall sentiment cannot be measured from the record, but the bill appears noncontroversial on its face.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials because there are no committee transcripts or votes. In general, a bill like this could raise questions about hunter access, deer management, holiday timing, or consistency with existing wildlife regulations, but none of those issues are expressly raised here. The only identifiable policy choice is whether the opening date should be fixed in statute rather than set through regulation.