PRINTER'S NO. 2131
No. 1707 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY LEVDANSKY, JUNE 25, 1997
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON GAME AND FISHERIES, JUNE 25, 1997
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 34 (Game) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, establishing the Sportsmen Accountability Coalition
3 and providing for its powers and duties; further providing
4 for the use of the Game Fund; and providing for budget
5 submissions.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Title 34 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
9 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
10 § 305. Sportsmen Accountability Coalition.
11 (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established an
12 accountability coalition to the commission to be known as the
13 Sportsmen Accountability Coalition.
14 (b) Membership.--The coalition shall consist of 11 members,
15 one representative appointed by the Governor from a list of not
16 fewer than three members submitted by each of the following
17 groups:
18 (1) The Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania.
19 (2) The Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs,
1 Inc.
2 (3) The Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wild Turkey
3 Federation.
4 (4) The Pennsylvania Trappers Association.
5 (5) The Pennsylvania Federation of Black Powder
6 Shooters.
7 (6) The Isaac-Walton League.
8 (7) The United Bow Hunters of Pennsylvania.
9 (8) The Pennsylvania Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse.
10 (9) The Pennsylvania Deer Association, Inc.
11 (10) Pheasants Forever.
12 (11) The Pennsylvania Rifle and Pistol Association.
13 (c) Terms.--The term of office of each appointed member
14 shall be two years, measured from the third Tuesday of January
15 of the year in which the member takes office, or until a
16 successor has been appointed, except that in the initial
17 appointments of the members of the coalition, the appointing
18 authority shall appoint seven members for terms of one year each
19 and seven members for a term of two years. No member appointed
20 by the Governor shall serve more than three two-year terms.
21 (d) Qualifications.--The coalition shall include persons
22 knowledgeable in fields related to the work of the Pennsylvania
23 Game Commission, such as, but not limited to, ecology, land
24 management, game management, landowner relations, endangered and
25 threatened species, critical habitat and such other matters as
26 may relate to the operations of the Pennsylvania Game
27 Commission.
28 (e) Officers.--The coalition shall annually elect one of its
29 appointed members as chairman and shall elect a secretary who
30 need not be a member of the coalition. Meetings of the coalition
19970H1707B2131 - 2 -
1 shall be held at least quarterly or at the call of the chairman.
2 (f) Powers and duties.--The coalition shall:
3 (1) Employ and fix the compensation of one executive
4 director, one research analyst and one secretary to carry out
5 the work of the coalition.
6 (2) Review all hunting and trapping laws of this
7 Commonwealth and make appropriate suggestions for the
8 revision, modification and codification thereof.
9 (3) Consider, study and review the work of the
10 Pennsylvania Game Commission and for this purpose, the
11 coalition shall have access to all books, papers, documents
12 and records pertaining or belonging to the Pennsylvania Game
13 Commission.
14 (4) Advise the Pennsylvania Game Commission, on request,
15 and make recommendations upon its initiative for the
16 improvement of the work of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
17 Advice and recommendations made by the coalition shall not be
18 binding upon the commission.
19 (5) Receive from the commission prior to transmission to
20 the Governor, the proposed annual budget of the commission
21 for review, comment, modification, rejection or approval, as
22 provided in subsection (g). Approval must be by a majority of
23 the members appointed to the coalition.
24 (6) Report annually to the Governor and to the General
25 Assembly and may make such interim reports as are deemed
26 advisable.
27 (g) Review of commission budget.--The provisions of
28 subsection (f)(5) shall be implemented under the schedule
29 established in this subsection. The schedule is as follows:
30 (1) No later than October 1 of each calendar year, the
19970H1707B2131 - 3 -
1 commission shall submit the proposed budget for the next
2 fiscal year to the coalition for review.
3 (2) The coalition shall conduct a detailed review and
4 analysis of the proposed budget submitted by the commission.
5 The coalition may:
6 (i) accept the proposed budget submitted by the
7 commission and transmit that proposal and any
8 supplementary recommendations to the Governor, but no
9 later than December 31 of each calendar year; or
10 (ii) reject or modify the proposed budget and return
11 it to the commission for further review and modification
12 consistent with the recommendations of the coalition.
13 Resubmission to the coalition shall occur at least 15
14 days prior to December 31.
15 (3) No later than January 15 of each calendar year, the
16 commission and the coalition shall transmit to the Governor
17 the proposed commission budget as approved by the coalition
18 for review by the Governor. The Governor may:
19 (i) accept and adopt the budget proposal submitted
20 by the commission and coalition; or
21 (ii) reject or modify the submitted budget proposal
22 with retransmission to the coalition. The coalition shall
23 conduct a further review and submit its work to the
24 Governor no later than June 1 of each calendar year.
25 (4) By June 30 of each calendar year, the commission's
26 budget must be approved by the Governor.
27 (h) Expenses.--The expenses of the coalition shall not
28 exceed $200,000 per year and shall be paid from the Game Fund.
29 (i) Definition.--As used in this section, the term
30 "coalition" means the Sportsmen Accountability Coalition.
19970H1707B2131 - 4 -
1 Section 2. Sections 521(a) and 522 of Title 34 are amended
2 to read:
3 § 521. Establishment and use of Game Fund.
4 (a) General rule.--Except as otherwise provided in this
5 title, all fees, royalties, fines, penalties and other moneys
6 paid, received, recovered and collected under the provisions of
7 this title shall be placed in a separate fund by the State
8 Treasurer to be known as the Game Fund and shall be used solely
9 for any contingent, incidental or other expenses of any kind or
10 description reasonably necessary in carrying on the work of the
11 commission, including, but not limited to, the purchase of land,
12 the costs of activities for the promotion of public interest in
13 recreational hunting and furtaking, nongame species, endangered
14 or threatened species and all other game or wildlife in this
15 Commonwealth and administration of this title including support
16 of the Sportsmen Accountability Coalition.
17 * * *
18 § 522. Appropriation and audit of moneys.
19 (a) Appropriation.--All moneys in the Game Fund are hereby
20 appropriated to the commission and may be expended only for the
21 purposes authorized under this title.
22 (b) Audit and report.--
23 (1) The commission shall submit an annual written and
24 oral report to the Game and Fisheries Committees of the
25 Senate and the House of Representatives no later than March
26 31 of each year. The written report shall include complete
27 budgets for the current fiscal year and for the fiscal year
28 about to commence.
29 (2) An audit of the budget for the concluding fiscal
30 year shall be conducted by the Legislative Budget and Finance
19970H1707B2131 - 5 -
1 Committee and shall be submitted to the Game and Fisheries
2 Committees no later than February 28 of each year.
3 (3) After July 1, 1998, the Legislative Budget and
4 Finance Committee shall conduct a performance audit every
5 three years. The performance audit shall be reported as
6 provided in paragraph (2).
7 (c) Expenditures from Game Fund.--The commission shall
8 submit the proposed budget to the Sportsmen Accountability
9 Coalition for review, comment, modification, rejection or
10 approval. The Sportsmen Accountability Coalition shall submit
11 the proposed budget as approved by it to the Governor, for
12 approval or disapproval, estimates of the amount of moneys to be
13 expended from the Game Fund. The State Treasurer shall not honor
14 any requisition for expenditure of any moneys in excess of the
15 amount approved by the Governor. Moneys in the Game Fund shall
16 be paid out upon warrant of the State Treasurer drawn after
17 requisition by the director of the commission.
18 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
F20L34JAM/19970H1707B2131 - 6 -