Harrisburg – Even though the Pennsylvania Game Commission recently outlined a new concept for issuing antlerless deer licenses, a state legislator who spearheaded the move to change the process four years ago doubted it would be enough to make the idea a reality.
During their September board meeting, commissioners received a report from agency staff outlining two options to issue doe licenses through the existing automated system instead of relying solely on county treasurers.
One possibility is the use of a lottery system to issue doe licenses, but the one that PGC staff preferred was a first-come, first-serve process that would allow hunters to by their antlerless tag when they purchase a hunting license.
However, the current process can only be changed by legislation from the General Assembly to amend the law defining the current issuance process that utilizes county treasurers.
State Rep. Gerald Mullery, D-Luzerne County, first introduced legislation to give hunters the option to buy antlerless licenses through the Pennsylvania Automated Licensing System (PALS) in 2015. And every year since, Mullery has attempted to get the legislation to the House floor for a vote, but to no avail.
So when he heard the PGC has come up with an alternative to the current system, Mullery said it certainly wouldn’t hurt his cause, but it wouldn’t put it over the top, either.
“The Game Commission has been fully supportive of my legislation since day one,” he said. “Given the makeup of the General Assembly, the best chance is to pass the Senate bill, which is ready to be referred to the Senate floor while ours in the House is languishing in committee.”
State Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, introduced Senate Bill 485 last year, which authorizes the sale of antlerless deer licenses through PALS. It passed the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee unanimously and is currently in the Appropriations Committee.
Mullery’s latest bill was referred to the House Game and Fisheries Committee, where he serves as Democratic Vice Chair, on Feb. 11, 2019, and has yet to make it out. Since the House is a Republican majority and is chaired by state Rep. Keith Gillespie – a Republican from York County, Mullery feels is for Laughlin’s bill to reach the House.
Politics aside, Mullery said the COVID-19 outbreak makes moving the license issuing process to an online format makes even more sense.
“Back in March when COVID-19 arose, we reached out to the Republican chair of the Game and Fisheries Committee and said this is the time to move the bill. We got nothing but crickets,” he said. “Chairman Gillespie has not shown a willingness to bring it up for a vote.”
Mullery added that under his legislation, county treasurers would still be able to process antlerless applications, but he prefers the PGC’s recommendation of the first-come, first-serve option.
The approach would streamline the process, Mullery said, and also eliminate the “pitfalls” that have occurred with antlerless licenses in several counties over the last few years. Most recently, antlerless licenses being mailed by the York County treasurer’s office were being mistakenly returned by the Post Office instead of being delivered to hunters.
Still, Mullery said opposition to the change by county treasurers is the only reason why the legislation has yet to pass in the House.
“A group of less than 50 county treasurers are being heard more than hundreds of thousands of sportsmen. There isn’t a sportsmen’s group that doesn’t support my legislation,” he said. “We owe it to Pennsylvania hunters to modernize this system.”
- This story originally appeared in PA Outdoor News.
