https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-house-passes-bill-to-end-sunday-hunting-ban/
Pennsylvania House passes bill to end Sunday hunting ban
Opening up more Sundays to hunting in Pennsylvania is one step closer to reality.
The state House of Representatives on Wednesday passed House Bill 1431 that would completely lift the prohibition on Sunday hunting.
The 131-72 vote sends the proposal to the state Senate for consideration on the way toward potentially becoming law during the 2025-26 legislative session.
Democratic state Rep. Mandy Steele proposed the bill, which is identical to Senate Bill 67 from state Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie.
“Much gratitude and respect to the incredible advocates who have fought for years to see this archaic ban lifted: Hunters United for Sunday Hunting, Hunter Nation Pennsylvania, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen & Conservationists Inc.,” Allegheny County’s Steele wrote in an update to constituents.
The House Game & Fisheries Committee on June 3 reported House Bill 1431 for a floor vote in the House. Committee members during that meeting rejected amending the bill to return the start of the regular firearms season for white-tailed deer to the Monday rather than the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Laughlin’s bill remains before the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee.
If either legislative proposal is approved, it would empower the Pennsylvania Game Commission to decide which Sundays are open to hunting. The state Board of Game Commissioners typically votes in January on preliminary approval of the following seasons’ dates and bag limits, followed by final approval in April.
“The Game Commission supports both bills, either of which would end the state’s prohibition on Sunday hunting and allow the Game Commission to include Sundays when establishing hunting seasons annually,” officials with the state agency said Thursday via social media.
The Game Commission in 2020 began allowing hunting on three Sundays under legislation signed into law as Act 107 of 2019.
For 2025-26, Pennsylvania’s Sunday hunting days are set as:
Sunday, Nov. 16: Hunting for small game; and archery for deer statewide and black bear in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D. Sunday, Nov. 23: Hunting for small game; archery for deer in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D; archery for bear in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D; and regular firearms for bear statewide. Sunday, Nov. 30: Regular firearms for deer statewide and extended firearms for bear in WMUs 2B, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4E, 5A 5B, 5C and 5D.Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)