On Monday June 8,2015 the House will be holding a hearing to consider House Bill 231 as introduced by Representative Gerald Mullery that would put antlerless deer license sales in the PALS system and out of the hands of the County Treasurers.
The UBP has sent Rep. Mullery an official position statement supporting this bill.
Now would be a good time to call you local Representatives and ask them to support this bill!
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If anyone can tell me whats wrong with the way it's done now please tell me.. Ed
Brad Gehman and others pointed this out years ago- how some counties are much better than others at getting the antlerless Applications processed. I think he said some counties actually work overtime to get them all processed til they are done. Where others take days or weeks to get them done.
Each county gets $1 per license to issue antlerless tags. I believe with the PALS system, they get $.70 per license to issue it. But I think that is just for the basic license, not all the separate stamps and tags.
Like others have stated, it's about time we do everything automated and get rid of those dang pink envelopes!!!!!!!!!!!!! NY (and other states) have been doing this for years.
Smarty...
Anyone who purchases a license would be considered a consumer.Every transaction on PALS has a fee of .70.Every time you buy a License,tag,permit or report a harvest,there's an additional .70 fee attached to it.That was approved by the legislature a long time ago.
Doug, even if they charge .70 for every tag and stamp, it is worth every penny to get the County Treasurers OUT of the process! ;-)
I have no issues getting the treasures out of it.I just couldn't imagine the nighmare accociated with long lines at license agents and issues with the PALS system.Last year I bought my lisence on line along with several DMAP tags.Something happened with the PALS system at that time and it took weeks before I got anything in the mail.
I'm also fine with eliminating the treasurers.
5/20/2015 By State Rep. Keith Gillespie 47th Legislative District
Hunters tend to be fond of tradition. Some things are done a certain way and will be for years to come because they’ve been handed down from a previous generation. It is said that “old habits are hard to break,” and I myself have a few “rituals” that follow that adage.
The House Game and Fisheries Committee, which I chair, recently conducted a public hearing to examine House Bill 231, authored by state Rep. Gerald Mullery (D-Luzerne). This legislation would allow hunters to purchase their antlerless deer licenses through the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s (PGCs) Pennsylvania Automated Licensing System (PALS). Those licenses are currently sold through county treasurers’ offices. Most of them are purchased by mail.
Before going any further, it’s important to note this bill would not prevent anyone from stopping by the county office and buying a doe license. For some, that process may be a yearly practice they may not want to do away with. House Bill 231 still allows you to make that choice and permits county treasurers to serve as licensing agents. If anything, House Bill 231 will augment that experience.
For years, doe hunting in Pennsylvania was essentially divided up by counties, of which there are 67. There were a limited number of licenses allotted to each county, and hunters had to purchase a license to doe hunt in a specific county. If they weren’t applying in person, they had to do so by mail. Days and possibly weeks could go by after mailing in an application, having it returned and finding out whether or not licenses were available. This system of using the pink envelops worked, albeit with some issues, for many years. It is now time to look at bringing this process in to the 21st century.
In 2003, the process was changed as the state was split up into 22 wildlife management units (WMUs). The units are based on land use/habitat, human density, public/private land ownership, recognizable physical features, such as major roads and rivers, and land use practices, such as agriculture, timber and development. Traditionally, the WMUs in the northcentral part of Pennsylvania sell out of their allotment of doe licenses in a matter of days.
What PALS would do is allow a hunter to visit his or her licensing agent and immediately see whether or not licenses remain in the WMU where they wish to hunt. They would also know immediately whether or not they have been successful in obtaining a license in a specific zone. Hunters would even be able to view availability online themselves at home and place their own order using PALS.
Those of you who fish are already aware of the ease of using PALS in the licensing process. For that matter, most hunters are already aware of it, as the PGC began using PALS about six years ago for issuing other hunting licenses and add-on privileges. Ironically, you can check the status of your doe license application using PALS, even though you can’t use it to actually apply.
Change is oftentimes a difficult thing. In many cases, it is a good thing. The responsibility of processing antlerless deer licenses belongs with the PGC, which issues other licenses. Adding PALS to the process would speed things up and prevent delays, pink envelop issues, and possible disappointment.
As majority chairman of the House Game and Fisheries Committee, I plan to call a voting meeting in the very near future to consider House Bill 231. My hope is to move this bill to the floor for consideration and hopefully Senate passage. It would take effect 60 days after being signed into law.
When she sits on that committee, she represents hunters and fisherman, not her district.
When she votes on the House floor, she can vote for her local constituents, but not before. '
They use that as a cop out.
However I just print out my own tags, been working for years now. I go to the PGC webpage and click on a doe tag picture, edit it with my info, then print it out:)
I have never had a problem with the PALS system. Had problems with clerks at WalyWorld that didn't know how to operate it! ;-) That's why I go to my local shop now. Never a line there and he gets my business.
Also, Rep. Mullery stated he has heard from 3 fellow lawmakers that they cannot support this bill because of political pressure they are getting from treasurers in their home districts.(surprise surprise! ;-)
What was most interesting was Rep. Doyle Hefley's response. He claims that he "gets no complaints from hunters in his area about how doe licenses are sold." He then went on to suggest that treasurers are representatives and a voice for sportsmen, saying the fact that they need to get re-elected makes them more responsive to the people, with their involvement in selling doe tags making sure the process is "fair and equitable".
Really? No complaints about this antiquated system????!!! I find that hard to believe! ANd to say that this system is FAIR AND EQUITABLE? He must not be aware of the past abuses and in-action by county treasurers!(or he's looking the other way ;-)
Well, just keep spending $109,000 dollars printing those pink envelopes...............and wait months to get our doe tags! ;-)
They send them back right away, like they should.
I'm tired of counties sending tags back when THEY feel like it.
If Amazon took your money, then decided to hold your product for a couple months, they'd be out of business and probably the state would charge them with a crime.
Others counties are now doing the same, getting them back as son as processed, as it should be.
Rut Nut's Link
I talked to one of my friends from church. Apparently he was not aware that we can send to ANY county treasurer to apply for ANY wmu. He will be sending to Montgomery Co. for the next round! ;-)
Tag issued at 12:13 today.
Sent to Montgomery Co. again and probably should have got it in the mail Friday. I checked daily(both doe tags left, and to see if a tag was awarded).
As of 1pm yesterday there were still 2000 tags left for my first choice. I was awarded my 3rd choice at 3:06 pm :(
I'm thinking I might have had a better chance "mailing" it to Pike instead of Montgomery. In Pike it only had to make it across town.
Well, lesson learned! ;-)
Still not a lock that they would have processed it by Wed. morning, but maybe................
Pathetic.
Just crazy in this day and age we are still MAILING our applications to County Treasurers to process BY HAND when the whole thing could take MERE SECONDS by computer!!!!!!!!!
You know damn well that makes too much sense:)
"Just crazy in this day and age we are still MAILING our applications to County Treasurers to process BY HAND when the whole thing could take MERE SECONDS by computer!!!!!!!!!"
Was talking to a friend at work this morning, chatting about the archaic process of getting tags, even if you by on-line, it takes 7-10 days to get it in the mail.
I mentioned that in 2002 I hunted West Virgina for the first time. You know West Virgina...not a state that would be on the cutting edge of technology. Anyhow, I bought my license on line, printed out my tags, all in about 10 minutes. That's thirteen years ago, and here we are still filling out applications by hand and mailing them in.
PA could be SO much better if they would get out of the way.
Because it's an archaic method that was obsolete 15 years ago. Filling out little forms by hand, mailing them back, self addressed, self stamped envelope.....it's so 1975.
You already have a modern system in place that will work PERFECTLY. New York has had a "PALS" type system for years. Their doe tags are sold over the counter just like the licenses. You want to hunt zone A? Let's see there's 100 doe tags left YES you can have one!!! They charge you for it and there's 99 left WOW!!! What a great idea!!!
The current system is just plain STUPID. It costs everyone of us 2 stamps and at least a month wait, they cash your check and it's still a month to get the tag??? If they want to charge a little more just add the cost of 2 stamps and call it done!!!
I do...Just that I don't suffer inefficiencies and archaic methods very well. It's the engineer in me. :)
That was my point also, Jeff. However I do agree that the system is way out of date and should be changed to a computer drawing system for doe tags. Maybe someday that will happen:)
Yeah, it's senseless and more difficult than it is in some states, but why the fuss over whether we get them back 8 weeks before the earliest season begins? I thought bowhunters had more patience than that :^)
Because it is actually 4 weeks Jeff! And some of us have actually gotten them a day or 2 AFTER the season already started in past years! ;-)
Point is, there is absolutely NO GOOD REASON for county treasurers to sit on doe tags before mailing them out!
Like I said before.....................get the weak links out of the equation!
If you don't get them in time, do like I do and just print out the confirmation page on the PGC site and take it hunting. It's as good as the actual license.... I figure :^)
Ben
