THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY GERGELY, BEYER, EVERETT, GIBBONS, GODSHALL, HALUSKA, HORNAMAN, KORTZ, KULA, MAHONEY, MURPHY, SIPTROTH AND SONNEY, OCTOBER 2, 2009

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON GAME AND FISHERIES, OCTOBER 2, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending Title 34 (Game) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes, further providing for elk hunting licenses.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 2706.2 of Title 34 of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:

§ 2706.2.  Elk hunting licenses.

(a)  Application limitation.--Whenever the commission makes a

determination to authorize a hunting season for the taking of

elk, no person may submit more than one application for an elk

hunting license in any license year.

(b)  License auction.--The commission shall transfer one bull

elk tag by April 30, 2010, and by April 30 of each year

thereafter, to the Elk Tag Conservation Advisory Committee. The

Elk Tag Conservation Advisory Committee is authorized to select

a wildlife conservation organization, through an objective and

established process, to auction off a special license, which

shall be known as the "Elk Conservation Tag," to hunters

interested in the opportunity to hunt one bull elk in the next

license year immediately following the transfer subject to the

following:

(1)  One license shall be auctioned annually. Nothing in

this subsection shall be construed to prevent a one-time

transfer of the Elk Conservation Tag by the purchaser at

auction if the tag is transferred without consideration to

another properly licensed hunter for his use under the same

terms and conditions as the original purchaser.

(2)  The auction shall be open to residents and

nonresidents of this Commonwealth.

(3)  The [commission may, under 62 Pa.C.S. Pt. I 

(relating to Commonwealth Procurement Code), contract with]

Elk Tag Conservation Advisory Committee shall, under

provisions set forth in this act, select a wildlife

conservation organization to implement and conduct the

auction. The commission shall promulgate regulations for the

use of the bull elk license, remitting funds to the

commission and conduct of the auction.

(4)  The contracted organization shall retain no more

than 20% of the proceeds from the auction. The contracted

organization shall report annually to the commission on the

use of the proceeds from the auction. The remaining proceeds

from the auction shall be used by the commission for the elk

program in this Commonwealth in addition to any other funds

available to the commission for that purpose. The commission

shall include in its annual report to the General Assembly

the use of all proceeds from the auction.

(5)  All license fees shall be paid to the commission.

[(6)  This subsection shall expire July 1, 2013.]

(c)  Establishment of advisory committee.--There is

established an advisory committee to be known as the Elk Tag

Conservation Advisory Committee.

(d)  Members of advisory committee.--The advisory committee

shall consist of five members, one of whom is to be appointed by

each of the following: the Governor, the chairman and minority

chairman of the Game and Fisheries Committee of the Senate and

the chairman and minority chairman of the Game and Fisheries

Committee of the House of Representatives. The Governor's

appointee shall serve as chairman of the advisory committee.

Appointment of the initial members of the advisory committee

shall occur no later than April 1, 2010, or 15 days after the

enactment of this act, whichever is later. Appointments of

members of subsequent advisory committees shall occur no later

than April 1 of each even-numbered year subsequent to 2010.

(e)  Term of advisory committee members.--The term of members

of the advisory committee shall expire upon the expiration of

the final scheduled day of elk season of every second year

following their appointment.

(f)  Vacancy in advisory committee.--Whenever a vacancy shall

occur in the advisory committee, the appointing authority who

appointed the member whose absence created the vacancy shall

appoint another member to the committee to fill such vacancy for

the remainder of the term.

(g)  Reimbursement.--The advisory committee members shall

serve without compensation.

(h)  Request for proposals from wildlife conservation

organizations.--The advisory committee shall request proposals

from wildlife conservation organizations in the manner as

provided by law.

(i)  Selection.--Based on submitted proposals, by majority

vote, the advisory committee shall select the wildlife

conservation organization to conduct the auction. No wildlife

conservation organization shall be chosen to conduct the auction

in any two consecutive years.

(j)  Responsibility to publicize.--The selected wildlife

conservation organization shall be responsible for publicizing

or causing to be publicized the time, date and procedure for the

auction. These details shall be included in the bid submitted to

the advisory committee and shall be considered by the advisory

committee in the selection of the wildlife conservation

organization. The auction shall occur on a date that will

provide reasonable time before the commencement of the elk

season for which the tag is to be used for the winner to make

payment and take custody of the tag.

(k)  Request for proposals.--Proposals shall be solicited

through a request for proposals. Adequate public notice of the

request for proposals shall be given a reasonable time prior to

the date set for the opening of proposals. The advisory

committee shall establish written policies regarding methods of

public notice. The method of public notice may include any of

the following:

(1)  Electronic publication which is accessible to the

general public.

(2)  Issuance of invitations for bids to bidders on the

solicitation mailing list of the commission.

(3)  Publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

Copies of requests for proposals shall be made available to

any interested person upon request to the advisory committee.

The commission may establish procedures for the distribution of

requests for proposals, including the imposition of a fee to

reimburse the commission for the costs of photocopying and

mailing.

(4)  Issuance of invitations for bids to anyone who

submitted a bid in the previous five years and was

unsuccessful.

(5)  Placement on the commission's Internet website.

(l)  Receipt of proposals.--Wildlife conservation

organizations shall submit their proposals to ensure that their

proposals are received prior to the time and date established

for receipt of the proposals. Proposals shall be submitted in

the format required by the request for proposals. Proposals

shall be opened so as to avoid disclosure of their contents to

competing wildlife conservation organizations.

(m)  Evaluation.--The relative importance of the evaluation

factors shall be fixed prior to opening the proposals.

(n)  Selection of organization to conduct auction.--The

responsible wildlife conservation organization whose proposal is

determined in writing to be the most advantageous to the

advisory committee, taking into consideration all evaluation

factors, shall be selected to conduct the auction.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect immediately.