Pennsylvania Senate Bill SB67

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/3/25
• Refer: 3/3/25
• Refer: 6/25/25

Caption

In Pennsylvania Game Commission, further providing for organization of commission; in game or wildlife protection, further providing for regulations, for report to commission officer, for surrender of carcass to commission officer and for unlawful activities; and, in hunting and furtaking, repealing provisions relating to hunting on Sunday prohibited, further providing for unlawful devices and methods and for the offense of trespass on private property while hunting and repealing provisions relating to hunting on Sunday without written permission.

Summary

SB67 makes several changes to Pennsylvania’s Game Code affecting the Pennsylvania Game Commission, hunting rules, wildlife reporting, and trespass enforcement. It would require the Governor to ensure that at least one Game Commission member represents agricultural commodity interests tied to normal agricultural operations and wildlife. The bill also updates rules for seasons and bag limits if the commission fails to act, adds reporting and carcass-handling requirements for certain game kills, and creates a self-reporting system for deer removed for crop-damage purposes. The bill repeals the existing statutory ban on Sunday hunting and the separate offense for hunting on Sunday without written permission, while replacing them with a new written-permission violation tied to Sunday hunting. It also adds an exception allowing natural deer urine products if they are tested and labeled as free of chronic wasting disease prions, and it strengthens penalties for hunting trespass, including higher-grade offenses and longer license forfeitures for repeat violations. The act would take effect 60 days after enactment.

Impact

SB67 would amend multiple sections of Title 34 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, changing the structure of the Game Commission, wildlife reporting obligations, Sunday hunting rules, lawful hunting methods, and trespass penalties. It would remove the prior statewide prohibition on Sunday hunting and the separate Sunday-hunting-without-written-permission provision, while creating new enforcement provisions for Sunday hunting on private land and expanding penalties for trespass while hunting. It would also require the Department of Agriculture to test certain deer urine products for chronic wasting disease prions and pay for that testing, and it would direct the Game Commission to establish a crop-damage deer self-reporting system.

Sentiment

The committee record suggests the bill was controversial but had enough support to advance out of the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee. The reported vote on the amended bill was 6-5, indicating a narrow, divided committee outcome. The defeat of one amendment and adoption of another also suggests active negotiation over the bill’s details, especially on hunting access, enforcement, and wildlife-management provisions.

Contention

The main points of contention appear to be Sunday hunting, private-property protections, and the scope of penalties for hunters. Repealing the Sunday hunting ban is likely to have drawn support from hunting advocates and opposition from those concerned about landowner rights or traditional restrictions. The new written-permission requirement for Sunday hunting on private land, along with stronger trespass penalties and longer forfeitures, reflects concern from landowners and agricultural interests. The agricultural commission-seat requirement and the deer-urine chronic wasting disease testing provisions also suggest debate over balancing hunting access, farm interests, and wildlife disease prevention.