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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY GERGELY, BEYER, EVERETT, GIBBONS, GODSHALL, HALUSKA, HORNAMAN, KORTZ, KULA, MAHONEY, MURPHY, SIPTROTH AND SONNEY, OCTOBER 2, 2009 |
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| REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON GAME AND FISHERIES, OCTOBER 2, 2009 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending Title 34 (Game) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated |
2 | Statutes, further providing for elk hunting licenses. |
3 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
4 | hereby enacts as follows: |
5 | Section 1. Section 2706.2 of Title 34 of the Pennsylvania |
6 | Consolidated Statutes is amended to read: |
7 | § 2706.2. Elk hunting licenses. |
8 | (a) Application limitation.--Whenever the commission makes a |
9 | determination to authorize a hunting season for the taking of |
10 | elk, no person may submit more than one application for an elk |
11 | hunting license in any license year. |
12 | (b) License auction.--The commission shall transfer one bull |
13 | elk tag by April 30, 2010, and by April 30 of each year |
14 | thereafter, to the Elk Tag Conservation Advisory Committee. The |
15 | Elk Tag Conservation Advisory Committee is authorized to select |
16 | a wildlife conservation organization, through an objective and |
17 | established process, to auction off a special license, which |
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1 | shall be known as the "Elk Conservation Tag," to hunters |
2 | interested in the opportunity to hunt one bull elk in the next |
3 | license year immediately following the transfer subject to the |
4 | following: |
5 | (1) One license shall be auctioned annually. Nothing in |
6 | this subsection shall be construed to prevent a one-time |
7 | transfer of the Elk Conservation Tag by the purchaser at |
8 | auction if the tag is transferred without consideration to |
9 | another properly licensed hunter for his use under the same |
10 | terms and conditions as the original purchaser. |
11 | (2) The auction shall be open to residents and |
12 | nonresidents of this Commonwealth. |
13 | (3) The [commission may, under 62 Pa.C.S. Pt. I |
14 | (relating to Commonwealth Procurement Code), contract with] |
15 | Elk Tag Conservation Advisory Committee shall, under |
16 | provisions set forth in this act, select a wildlife |
17 | conservation organization to implement and conduct the |
18 | auction. The commission shall promulgate regulations for the |
19 | use of the bull elk license, remitting funds to the |
20 | commission and conduct of the auction. |
21 | (4) The contracted organization shall retain no more |
22 | than 20% of the proceeds from the auction. The contracted |
23 | organization shall report annually to the commission on the |
24 | use of the proceeds from the auction. The remaining proceeds |
25 | from the auction shall be used by the commission for the elk |
26 | program in this Commonwealth in addition to any other funds |
27 | available to the commission for that purpose. The commission |
28 | shall include in its annual report to the General Assembly |
29 | the use of all proceeds from the auction. |
30 | (5) All license fees shall be paid to the commission. |
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1 | [(6) This subsection shall expire July 1, 2013.] |
2 | (c) Establishment of advisory committee.--There is |
3 | established an advisory committee to be known as the Elk Tag |
4 | Conservation Advisory Committee. |
5 | (d) Members of advisory committee.--The advisory committee |
6 | shall consist of five members, one of whom is to be appointed by |
7 | each of the following: the Governor, the chairman and minority |
8 | chairman of the Game and Fisheries Committee of the Senate and |
9 | the chairman and minority chairman of the Game and Fisheries |
10 | Committee of the House of Representatives. The Governor's |
11 | appointee shall serve as chairman of the advisory committee. |
12 | Appointment of the initial members of the advisory committee |
13 | shall occur no later than April 1, 2010, or 15 days after the |
14 | enactment of this act, whichever is later. Appointments of |
15 | members of subsequent advisory committees shall occur no later |
16 | than April 1 of each even-numbered year subsequent to 2010. |
17 | (e) Term of advisory committee members.--The term of members |
18 | of the advisory committee shall expire upon the expiration of |
19 | the final scheduled day of elk season of every second year |
20 | following their appointment. |
21 | (f) Vacancy in advisory committee.--Whenever a vacancy shall |
22 | occur in the advisory committee, the appointing authority who |
23 | appointed the member whose absence created the vacancy shall |
24 | appoint another member to the committee to fill such vacancy for |
25 | the remainder of the term. |
26 | (g) Reimbursement.--The advisory committee members shall |
27 | serve without compensation. |
28 | (h) Request for proposals from wildlife conservation |
29 | organizations.--The advisory committee shall request proposals |
30 | from wildlife conservation organizations in the manner as |
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1 | provided by law. |
2 | (i) Selection.--Based on submitted proposals, by majority |
3 | vote, the advisory committee shall select the wildlife |
4 | conservation organization to conduct the auction. No wildlife |
5 | conservation organization shall be chosen to conduct the auction |
6 | in any two consecutive years. |
7 | (j) Responsibility to publicize.--The selected wildlife |
8 | conservation organization shall be responsible for publicizing |
9 | or causing to be publicized the time, date and procedure for the |
10 | auction. These details shall be included in the bid submitted to |
11 | the advisory committee and shall be considered by the advisory |
12 | committee in the selection of the wildlife conservation |
13 | organization. The auction shall occur on a date that will |
14 | provide reasonable time before the commencement of the elk |
15 | season for which the tag is to be used for the winner to make |
16 | payment and take custody of the tag. |
17 | (k) Request for proposals.--Proposals shall be solicited |
18 | through a request for proposals. Adequate public notice of the |
19 | request for proposals shall be given a reasonable time prior to |
20 | the date set for the opening of proposals. The advisory |
21 | committee shall establish written policies regarding methods of |
22 | public notice. The method of public notice may include any of |
23 | the following: |
24 | (1) Electronic publication which is accessible to the |
25 | general public. |
26 | (2) Issuance of invitations for bids to bidders on the |
27 | solicitation mailing list of the commission. |
28 | (3) Publication in a newspaper of general circulation. |
29 | Copies of requests for proposals shall be made available to |
30 | any interested person upon request to the advisory committee. |
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1 | The commission may establish procedures for the distribution of |
2 | requests for proposals, including the imposition of a fee to |
3 | reimburse the commission for the costs of photocopying and |
4 | mailing. |
5 | (4) Issuance of invitations for bids to anyone who |
6 | submitted a bid in the previous five years and was |
7 | unsuccessful. |
8 | (5) Placement on the commission's Internet website. |
9 | (l) Receipt of proposals.--Wildlife conservation |
10 | organizations shall submit their proposals to ensure that their |
11 | proposals are received prior to the time and date established |
12 | for receipt of the proposals. Proposals shall be submitted in |
13 | the format required by the request for proposals. Proposals |
14 | shall be opened so as to avoid disclosure of their contents to |
15 | competing wildlife conservation organizations. |
16 | (m) Evaluation.--The relative importance of the evaluation |
17 | factors shall be fixed prior to opening the proposals. |
18 | (n) Selection of organization to conduct auction.--The |
19 | responsible wildlife conservation organization whose proposal is |
20 | determined in writing to be the most advantageous to the |
21 | advisory committee, taking into consideration all evaluation |
22 | factors, shall be selected to conduct the auction. |
23 | Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. |
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