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A bill repealing the ban on hunting and trapping on Sundays has been approved by both chambers of the state General Assembly and is awaiting action by Gov. Josh Shapiro.

House Bill 1431, which would allow the Pennsylvania Game Commission to open more Sundays to hunting and trapping, and increase penalties for trespassing while hunting, passed in the Senate on June 26 and passed in the House on Monday.

“We (are) very much in support of the bill and look forward to the governor signing it,” said Cabot dairy farmer William Thiele, a member of the Butler County Farm Bureau who also represents Butler, Beaver, Lawrence and Mercer counties on the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau board.

The farm bureau used to oppose Sunday hunting, but supports the current legislation after a requirement to obtain written permission to hunt on private property was added through negotiations with legislators, Thiele said.

Sunday hunting for foxes, coyotes and crows has been permitted for many years. Act 107 of 2019 allowed hunting on three designated Sundays.

“Sunday hunting otherwise is prohibited, one of the last remnants of the state’s ‘blue laws,”’ according to the game commission.

Support from the farm bureau helped push the bill through the Legislature. The potential for Sunday hunting to reduce crop damage caused by deer is another reason the bureau got behind the legislation.

“The farm bureau is one of the main drivers behind it,” Thiele said. “We’ve been trying to find ways to curb the deer population. Sunday hunting makes sense. It remains to be seen if it will reduce the deer population.”

He said crop damage from deer is a major issue for farmers.

Most legislators from the county did not support the bill, which passed the House in a 142-61 vote and the Senate in a 36-16 vote. Reps. Tim Bonner, R-17th, and Stephenie Scialabba, R-12th; and Sens. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, and Elder Vogel, R-47th, voted against the bill. Reps. Marci Mustello, R-11th, and Aaron Bernstine, R-8th, voted in favor. The bill would go into effect 60 days after Shapiro signs it.

“Due to the limited knowledge of how lifting the Sunday hunting ban will fully impact our commonwealth; the fact that fully allowing Sunday hunting will infringe on our residents and tourists’ ability to enjoy our recreational opportunities year-round; and expanding regulatory power to a state commission, I could not in good conscience support House Bill 1431,” Vogel said in an email.

The bill contains other provisions, including making the penalty for hunters who enter private property without permission and refuses the owner’s orders to leave a misdemeanor offense punishable by a three-year loss of hunting privileges.

Another provision increases the penalty for hunters trespassing on private property that is fenced or marked with purple paint on trees and posts from a third-degree summary offense to a second-degree summary with a one year loss of hunting privileges.

In addition, the bill allows the use of natural deer urine lure while hunting statewide, according to the game commission. Deer urine is currently prohibited in chronic wasting disease management areas.