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Day 10 – Fighting for Hunters Rights

Last night, Senator Bailey attended an organizational meeting for the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus.  Senator Bailey serves as the Senate Chair of the Caucus.  This meeting began the discussion on what bills the Caucus would support.  Caucus leadership decided to support to its first bill of the session. Senate Bill 86 would add a provision to Maryland law that the State should forever preserve residents’ right to fish and hunt.

Supporting Maryland’s sportsmen is one of Senator Bailey’s priorities in the Senate of Maryland.  So far in this legislative session, Senator Bailey has introduced two bills related to hunting regulations in Maryland.  The first bill, Senate Bill 242, would repeal outdated provisions of State law requiring a license to feed wild waterfowl near a shoreline.  The Department of Natural Resources has not issued a permit to feed wild waterfowl under the current law, so this law has only caused confusion for many Marylanders. 

The second bill, Senate Bill 243, would remove restrictions on hunting migratory game birds on Sundays.  Under current law, the Department of Natural Resources may allow hunting of game birds or game mammals on Sunday, except migratory game birds.  This arbitrary exception restricts the ability of hunters to exercise the same rights that they have every other day of the week.  Senator Bailey sponsored similar legislation in the 2019 Session.  Repealing these provisions in these two bills will help advance the rights of sportsmen and allow Marylanders to enjoy the great opportunities to hunt in our State more often.

Senator Bailey and his staff are hard at work to prepare for the District 29 Luncheon in Annapolis this Thursday, January 23.  This will be a great opportunity to bring people and organizations from throughout St. Mary’s and Calvert County to put the needs of our District in front of legislators from throughout Maryland.  If you are available on Thursday between 11 am and 1 pm, you are invited to join us as well!