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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Jay Purdy |
State Rep. Harry
Readshaw |
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Readshaw gets landowners liability protection for hunters into Pa. law
HARRISBURG, June 30 – Gov. Ed Rendell today signed into law a bill sponsored by state Rep. Harry Readshaw, D-Allegheny, that safeguards landowners from liability for the actions of hunters on their property.
Readshaw introduced the measure after a Lehigh County couple reached a settlement with a woman wounded by a stray bullet fired from a hunter on their property, a half mile away. A court had ruled the property owners were partially liable for the incident.
In response to the legal action, a number of Pennsylvania landowners began posting their property from public use in order to protect them from similar liability litigation.
The likelihood of a building wave of postings across the state threatened to greatly reduce the accessibility to private property on which hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians rely on for small- and big-game hunting.
“The fear of landowners about liability was grounded in reality. What we had to do was change that reality by providing them liability protection,” Readshaw said. “Without our action, this situation would have amounted to a train wreck for hunters and financial ruin for the many businesses that rely on Pennsylvania hunters and visitors from out of state for much of their income.”
The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau was among the organizations that supported Readshaw’s effort.
“The support of the General Assembly and Governor Rendell for the goal of my bill was immediate and bipartisan from the moment it was introduced,” Readshaw added.
The legislation (H.B. 13) passed unanimously in both the House and Senate.
The landowner liability protection law went into effect immediately on the signature of the governor.
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