Harrisburg, PA — The Pennsylvania
Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) announced today that Governor Edward G.
Rendell has signed House Bill 1109 into law (Act 2 of 2008) resulting
in a small license transaction fee for anglers effective immediately.
The PFBC and the Pennsylvania Game Commission are jointly
developing a new electronic license delivery system known as the
Pennsylvania Automated Licensing Service (PALS) system. The PALS
system eliminated the need for paper-based fishing licenses for the
2008 fishing year, which began December 1, 2007. PALS is managed by a
private firm and the PFBC is charged a $.70 electronic processing fee
for each transaction made through the system.
Act 2 of 2008 allows the PFBC to recover up to $1.00 in electronic
license fees for each transaction from the license buyer. This means
each license and permit currently purchased through PALS will cost
$.70 each. The electronic processing fee will cost the average license
buyer $1.40 to purchase a fishing license and permit, making it one of
the lowest transaction fees of its kind in the country.
This new legislation also addresses replacement licenses and
permits. Before the law passed, the PFBC’s fishing license and permits
were individually priced at an average replacement cost of $14.25.
PALS now allows the PFBC to combine the purchase of a license and all
previously purchased permits into one replacement license for the low
cost of $6.70.
The law also expands the blackout period for when One-Day Tourist
and One-Day Resident licenses are not valid. One-Day Tourist and
One-Day Resident Licenses are not valid for fishing during the period
from March 15th to April 30th of any year. One-Day Tourist or One-Day
Resident licenses issued to be used on March 14 will expire at 11:59
p.m. on March 14, regardless of what time the license begins.
