Subchapter A. PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
Sec.
51.1. Statutory authority.
51.2. Commission offices.
51.3. [Reserved].
51.4. Definitions.
51.5. Correction of regulations.
51.6. Petitions or requests for regulations.
51.7. Public comments at Commission meetings.
51.8. Counties where the use of the field acknowledgement of guilt is authorized.
51.9. Release of documents and records.
51.10. Representation as issuing agent.§ 51.1. Statutory authority.
This chapter is promulgated under the code.
Source The provisions of this § 51.1 amended January 6, 1984, effective January 7, 1984, 14 Pa.B. 46. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (82211).
§ 51.2. Commission offices.
(a) The address of the principal office of the Commission is:
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Post Office Box 67000 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17106-7000
(b) The address of the Centre Region Office of the Commission is as follows:
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission 595 East Rolling Ridge Drive Bellefonte, Pennsylvania 16823
Authority The provisions of this § 51.2 amended under the Fish and Boat Code, 30 Pa.C.S.; and section 506 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. § 186).
Source The provisions of this § 51.2 amended January 6, 1984, effective January 7, 1984, 14 Pa.B. 46; amended December 14, 1990, effective December 15, 1990, 20 Pa.B. 6179; amended February 12, 1993, effective February 13, 1993, 23 Pa.B. 739; amended July 26, 2013, effective July 27, 2013, 43 Pa.B. 4214; amended March 23, 2018, effective March 24, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 1672. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (390496) to (390497).
§ 51.3. [Reserved].
§ 51.4. Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this part, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Code—30 Pa.C.S. (relating to the Fish and Boat Code).
Commission—The Fish and Boat Commission.
Executive Director—The Executive Director of the Commission.
Source The provisions of this § 51.4 adopted October 16, 1981, effective October 17, 1981, 11 Pa.B. 46; amended January 6, 1984, effective January 7, 1984, 14 Pa.B. 46; amended December 14, 1990, effective December 15, 1990, 20 Pa.B. 6179; amended February 12, 1993, effective February 13, 1993, 23 Pa.B. 739. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (161205).
§ 51.5. Correction of regulations.
If the Executive Director or the staff of the Commission discovers an error or omission in the text of Commission regulations as published in the Pennsylvania Code or Pennsylvania Bulletin, the Executive Director is authorized to take immediate corrective action on behalf of the Commission, including, if necessary, the issuance of orders or notices required to make the necessary corrections.
Authority The provisions of this § 51.5 issued under the Fish and Boat Code, 30 Pa.C.S. § § 2102 and 5122—5124.
Source The provisions of this § 51.5 adopted March 13, 1987, effective March 14, 1987, 17 Pa.B. 1084.
§ 51.6. Petitions or requests for regulations.
(a) Form. Petitions or requests for regulations addressed to the Commission shall be submitted in the format set forth in 1 Pa. Code § 35.18 (relating to petitions for issuance, amendment, waiver or deletion of regulations).
(b) Initial staff review.
(1) The staff will review every petition for regulations to ensure that:
(i) It is complete as required by 1 Pa. Code § 35.18.
(ii) The petition requests an action within the authority or jurisdiction of the Commission.
(iii) The petition does not conflict with applicable Commonwealth or Federal law.
(2) If the staff determines the petition is not acceptable for one of the reasons set forth in paragraph (1), it will return the petition to the petitioner together with a statement of the reason why it is not acceptable.
(c) Oral presentation. A petitioner will be given the opportunity to make a 5-minute oral presentation on a petition that the staff determines is appropriate for further consideration. The oral presentation will be scheduled for the next meeting of the Commission occurring more than 30 days after completion of the initial staff review.
(d) Commission determination. After the oral presentation, the Commission will determine whether or not to accept the petition for further review. The Commission may refuse to accept the petition when one or more of the following conditions exist:
(1) The Commission has within the previous 3 years considered the issue addressed by the petition or request.
(2) The action requested by the petitioner concerns a matter in litigation.
(3) The action is not appropriate for rulemaking by the Commission.
(4) The petition involves an issue previously considered by the Commission and it does not contain information which is new or sufficiently different to warrant reconsideration. If a petition does present new or sufficiently different information, this information must have been unavailable at the time of the Commission’s previous decision.
(e) Staff report. If the Commission accepts the petition, the staff has 180 days to prepare a report evaluating the petition and containing the staff’s recommendations for disposition. The staff may request additional time to evaluate a petition. Upon completion of the staff report, it will be sent to the petitioner who may, within 30 days, submit written comments, objections or suggestions concerning the staff report. The staff may append their response to the petitioner’s comments when forwarding the report and the comments to the Boating Advisory Board, in cases of petitions for boating regulations, or the Commission, in cases of other regulations.
(f) Boating regulations. For boating regulations, the staff will submit the petition, the staff report, the petitioner’s response, if any, and the staff response, if any, to the Boating Advisory Board for review and consideration at its next regular meeting occurring more than 30 days after the file is deemed complete. The Boating Advisory Board shall review the materials and provide advice and recommendations to the Commission as provided in section 5121(c) of the code (relating to promulgation).
(g) Commission action. The staff shall submit the petition, the staff report, the petitioner’s response, if any, the staff response, if any and, in the case of boating regulations, the advice and opinions of the Boating Advisory Board to the Commission for consideration as part of the agenda of the next regular meeting occurring more than 30 days after the file is deemed complete. The Commission will determine what action to undertake with respect to the petition at a public meeting.
Authority The provisions of this § 51.6 issued under section 10 of the Sunshine Act (65 P. S. § 280); and section 506 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 186).
Source The provisions of this § 51.6 adopted October 14, 1994, effective October 15, 1994, 24 Pa.B. 5231; amended March 27, 1998, effective March 28, 1998, 28 Pa.B. 1521. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (216383) to (216385).
§ 51.7. Public comments at Commission meetings.
(a) Public comments at meetings of the full Board.
(1) General rules. The Commission will provide a brief public comment period at the beginning of each public meeting. The Commission ordinarily will accept public comments following its committee reports and prior to its consideration of the formal agenda. The Commission may limit comments to matters that are within the Commission’s jurisdiction that are not repetitive or duplicative of other comments. The Commission president or presiding officer will request members of the public wishing to comment to indicate prior to the start of the meeting that they wish to provide public comment. The Commission president or presiding officer will determine the appropriate time limit for individual comments and announce that limit prior to receiving any comments. If members of the public prepare a written statement, they will be asked to provide a copy to the designated staff person. Members of the public representing a specific organization will be requested to designate one spokesperson to present their collective comments.
(2) Consideration of agenda items. The Commission ordinarily will not permit public comments during the course of its meetings when it considers agenda items or other matters before the Commission. The Commission president or other presiding officer may invite brief public comments on items other than regulatory actions when he determines that allowing the comments will be useful in the best interests of the Commission.
(b) Public comments at committee meetings. The committee chair will provide a brief public comment period at the beginning of each committee meeting. The committee chair will determine an appropriate format for this period, including its length. The Committee chair may limit comments to matters that are related to the charge of the committee that are not repetitive or duplicative of other comments.
Authority The provisions of this § 51.7 issued under section 10 of the Sunshine Act (65 P. S. § 280); and section 506 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 186); amended under section 710 of the Sunshine Act (65 P. S. § 710); and section 506 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 186).
Source The provisions of this § 51.7 adopted October 14, 1994, effective October 15, 1994, 24 Pa.B. 5231; amended December 30, 2011, effective December 31, 2011, 41 Pa.B. 6968. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (340213).
§ 51.8. Counties where the use of the field acknowledgment of guilt is authorized.
Under section 925(d) of the code (relating to acknowledgment of guilt and receipts for payment), the field acknowledgment of guilt may be used in Philadelphia County.
Authority The provisions of this § 51.8 issued under the Fish and Boat Code, 30 Pa.C.S. § 925.
Source The provisions of this § 51.8 adopted February 4, 2000, effective February 5, 2000, 30 Pa.B. 634.
§ 51.9. Release of documents and records.
(a) Consistent with the Right-to Know Law (65 P. S. § § 67.101—67.3104), and sections 324 and 5503 of the code (relating to Commission records; and accident reports), the Commission will make public records contained in its files available to requesters for inspection and duplication during the Commission’s regular business hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday (excluding Commonwealth holidays).
(b) Requests for release of public records contained in Commission files must be made in writing and submitted to: Director, Bureau of Administration, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Post Office Box 67000, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17106-7000. Written requests for release of public records may be sent by mail or by means of facsimile or by e-mail, or they may be delivered in person during the Commission’s regular business hours. The Commission will not accept anonymous or oral requests.
(c) The requester will be charged the fee prescribed by the Office of Open Records for the reproduction and release of documents on paper or in electronic media. The Commission will charge $1 per page up to $5 per document for certified copies. If the Commission mails copies of documents duplicated under this section to the requester, the requester will be charged the actual cost of postage or shipping. All charges shall be payable by check or money order made payable to ‘‘Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.’’ The Commission may require a requester to prepay fees if the fees are expected to exceed $100. The Commission may waive copy charges and mailing charges for good cause or in the public interest.
(d) Requests for records made by subpoena, in addition to collection of subpoena fees, are subject to a reproduction charge of $0.50 per page for black and white copies and $1 per page for color copies. Copies provided on electronic media will be charge at $1 per document, plus $2 per diskette or compact disc. The Commission will charge $1 per page up to $5 per document for certified copies requested under a subpoena.
Authority The provisions of this § 51.9 issued under sections 3 and 8(a) of the Right to Know Law (65 P. S. § § 66.3 and 66.8(a)); and section 506 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 186); amended under section 504 of the Right-to-Know Law (65 P. S. § 67.504) and section 506 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 186).
Source The provisions of this § 51.9 adopted September 29, 2000, effective September 30, 2000, 30 Pa.B. 5013; amended November 21, 2003, effective November 22, 2003, 33 Pa.B. 5704; amended December 5, 2008, effective January 1, 2009, 38 Pa.B. 6614. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (301458) to (301459).
§ 51.10. Representation as issuing agent.
It is unlawful for persons to perform the functions of or to represent themselves as fishing license issuing agents or issuing agents for temporary boat registrations without being appointed or designated as such by the Commission.
Authority The provisions of this § 51.10 issued under the Fish and Boat Code, 30 Pa.C.S. § § 2711(c) and 5304(d.1).
Source The provisions of this § 51.10 adopted March 14, 2003, effecitve March 15, 2003, 33 Pa.B. 1348.
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