Pennsylvania Act 1925-317 — FOREST FIRES, PREVENTION OF

Act text

AN ACT

Authorizing the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through proclamation, to close any county or counties or any section of any county of Pennsylvania to hunting or fishing, or to close any stream or parts of any stream to fishing, or to forbid the use of smoking material or other use of fire in or near woodlands, when such action is necessary to conserve either the health or welfare of our people or our natural resources; and repealing existing laws.

Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That from and after the passage of this act when the Governor of the Commonwealth, upon recommendation of the department or departments having jurisdiction over the interest or interests to be protected, shall consider such action necessary to conserve either the health or welfare of our people or our natural resources because of drought and consequent danger from forest fires or because of low water and the presence of contagious or infectious diseases, he shall have authority through proclamation

(a) To close for a period not to exceed one season at one time any county or counties or any section of any county of this Commonwealth to either hunting or fishing;

(b) To close for any period any stream or part of any stream to fishing;

(c) To forbid for any period the smoking of tobacco in any form and the building of camp fires within woodlands or the burning of brush and other rubbish within woodland or within two hundred feet of woodland in any county, counties, or parts thereof.

Such proclamation shall become effective twenty-four (24) hours after certified time of issuance.

If after the issuing of any proclamation, as herein provided, the Governor is satisfied that the occasion has passed for maintaining the provisions of the proclamation he may annul it by another proclamation.

Section 2. Each and every person violating any provision of such proclamation shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding before any magistrate, alderman, or justice of the peace, be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, and, in default of the payment of such fine and costs, be imprisoned in the county jail one day for each dollar of fine and costs unpaid; not, however, exceeding thirty days.

Compiler's Note: Section 28 of Act 207 of 2004 provided that any and all references in any other law to a "district justice" or "justice of the peace" shall be deemed to be references to a magisterial district judge.

Section 3. The act of May fourteenth, one thousand nine hundred and fifteen (Pamphlet Laws, five hundred thirty), entitled "An act authorizing the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through proclamation, to close any county or counties, or any section of any county of Pennsylvania, to hunting or fishing, or to close any stream or parts of streams to fishing, when such action is necessary to conserve either the health or welfare of our people or our natural resources," is hereby repealed.