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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 3, 2016 02:04 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Neal P. Goodman and Rep. Keith Gillespie |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Expansion of PA’s Mentored Youth Hunting Program |
| In the near future, we will be introducing legislation that amends Title 34 (Game) to expand Pennsylvania’s mentored youth hunting program by allowing older children to participate. Currently, the Pennsylvania Game Commission operates a mentored hunting program for youth, but only those under 12 years of age may participate. The popular program is designed to introduce young people to hunting under the one-on-one guidance of an experienced adult. There is a similar program for those who are age 18 and older. However, at this time, we don’t extend the benefits of mentored hunting to those individuals in the 12 to 17 year-old age bracket, meaning that in order to participate in hunting, they must successfully complete the mandatory hunter/trapper safety education course, which is a barrier for many. The mentored youth hunting program is successful, in part, because it allows young people to try hunting without committing to taking the safety course or purchasing a license. Expanding this program to include youth ages 12 to 17 will provide those in this age range with the same opportunity we currently provide to those under the age of 12 and those who are age 18 or older. In addition to extending the mentored program to children who are 12 to 17 years old, this bill repeals a section of the Game Code that is made obsolete by the expansion of the program. We hope you will join us in co-sponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as HB1840