In fishing licenses, providing for law enforcement; and, in hunting and furtaking licenses, further providing for resident license and fee exemptions and for license costs and fees.
Summary
SB 469 would create a new $1 annual resident fishing license for qualifying law enforcement officers and add a parallel $1 law enforcement hunting license in Title 34. The bill defines “officer” broadly to include members of the Pennsylvania State Police, corrections officers, waterways patrolmen, county sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, and employees of several types of law enforcement agencies, including campus police, railroad police, airport authority police, and county park police. It also authorizes the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to adopt regulations to implement the new fishing-license provision and the hunting-license exemption.
In the hunting and furtaking code, the bill adds law enforcement hunting licenses to the list of resident license and fee exemptions and sets the cost of that hunting license at $1. It also amends the general license-fee schedule to reflect the new $1 law enforcement hunting license. The act would take effect 60 days after enactment.
Impact
The bill would amend Titles 30 and 34 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes by creating a new statutory license category for law enforcement personnel in both fishing and hunting. It would require the Fish and Boat Commission, county treasurers, and issuing agents to issue the discounted licenses to eligible officers who provide proof of employment, and it would likely reduce license revenue slightly for the affected agencies while expanding access to recreational licenses for public safety employees.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests the bill has been received favorably in committee, with strong support in the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee and unanimous approval in the Senate Appropriations Committee. No committee transcript is available, but the broad committee backing indicates the measure is generally viewed positively and as a limited, targeted benefit for law enforcement personnel.
Contention
The main policy issue is the scope of the benefit and who qualifies as a law enforcement “officer.” The bill uses broad definitions that extend beyond traditional police to include campus police, railroad police, airport authority police, county park police, corrections officers, waterways patrolmen, and sheriffs’ deputies. That breadth could raise questions about eligibility boundaries and administrative verification, but the bill does not show evidence of significant opposition in the available vote record.
In fishing licenses, providing for indigenous Americans fishing licenses; and, in hunting and furtaking licenses, further providing for resident license and fee exemptions.
In fishing licenses, providing for volunteer firefighters, volunteer special fire police officers and volunteer emergency medical service technicians; and, in hunting and furtaking licenses, further providing for resident license and fee exemptions and for license costs and fees.