Some Good Legislative News, Maybe

[Outdoor Talk Network by Jim Slinsky]
Broadcasted Nationwide on the OTN Radio Network

Notice: All content on this website is copyrighted. Do not copy, reproduce or distribute without permission.
© Copyright 1999-2008 Outdoor Talk Network

Some Good Legislative News, Maybe ©

By Jim Slinsky
03/01/08

There is no shortage of bad news these days. Whether it is the local, state or federal arena, we are bombarded with bad news on a daily basis. If you are all wrapped-up in the political issues of our day, you also get hit with the press alerts of bad, pending legislation. Most of it is downright depressing.

Occasionally, there is some good news. Actually, I prefer reporting on good news, but it is just too infrequent to keep me smiling. It is fun to plug a legislator or individual who rises to the challenge of speaking out and taking the high road. I can’t tell you for certain if our legislators truly understand that we, the people, look to them to correct the great injustices in our society. It is the benchmark by which we judge the character of our individual legislator and the effectiveness of government.

Senator Robert Robbins has been pretty busy these past few months. He was the prime mover and shaker of Senate Bill 1172, the Emergency Powers Bill. We all remember the debacle that occurred in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Law enforcement went almost door to door disarming law-abiding citizens. That is fact; taking citizens’ firearms and ammunition at a time when they needed them most. This was in direct violation of the US Constitution, I believe. It is still difficult to accept the arrogance of government at that moment in history. Senator Robbins’ bill prevents this from ever happening in PA. It passed the Senate 50 to 0. It has been sent to the House for their approval. This one is a no-brainer and I hope our House members display their integrity, their commitment to our citizens and their understanding of both Constitutions by passing this bill without debate.

Senate Bill 497 is another piece of Senator Robbins’ efforts called the Landowner Protection Bill. This one protects landowners from frivolous lawsuits if they open their land to our citizens for recreation. This encompassed all kinds of recreation, not just hunting. Unfortunately, this bill was amended by Senator Edwin Erickson and lost much of its impact. Senator Erickson doesn’t believe if a landowner is sued frivolously, he should be entitled to recover his legal defense costs. Look for this amendment to be challenged in the House with some serious resulting debate.

Over on the House side, a bill has been written by State Rep Mike Hanna that is long overdue. It doesn’t have a number yet, but SR Hanna is looking for cosponsors. This bill requires the PGC to manage wildlife scientifically with verifiable data, recreationally, socially and economically. What a novel idea. It will actually force our PGC Commissioners to act responsibly and consider all factors in wildlife management instead of being a mouthpiece for the forestry industry. SR Hanna will certainly appreciate your input with your local representative on this one.

Another piece of legislation in the pipeline deals with habitat remediation. This one mandates that after a timber cut the agencies would be required to lime and fertilize the soil and replace the nutrients removed or depleted by acid rain. Once again, this is common sense legislation that is actually another no-brainer. Every farmer in this country realizes that he must replace the nutrients and recover the soil after harvesting a crop. Since our forests have been changed into tree farms this one should not require a great deal of debate.

The SR Hanna legislation and the remediation legislation were conceptually put forth by the Unified Sportsmen of PA acting on the demand of the majority of our sportsmen in this state.

One piece of legislation not doing well is SR Steven Cappelli’s HB 641 commonly referred to as the “Castle Doctrine”. The legislation eliminates the obligation for our citizens to retreat in home invasive situations and prevents frivolous lawsuits if the citizen uses deadly force to protect his person and family. As of January 2007, fifteen states had passed similar legislation.

You may have heard HB 1214 limiting a PGC Commissioner term to four years also passed the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee and is headed for a full Senate vote.

With the exception of HB 641 all of the above is good news going in the right direction. No curative legislation has actually passed, yet. While the above is encouraging, the speed in which our critical issues are addressed seems to need a great deal of improvement.

Jim Slinsky is the host and producer of the “Outdoor Talk Network”, a nationally syndicated, outdoor-talk radio program. For a station near you or to contact Jim, visit his website at www.outdoortalknetwork.com.

Return To:Newspapers Columns

OUTDOOR TALK NETWORK
11 Dogwood Drive
Jim Thorpe, PA 18229
Tel. 570-325-5560