The Pennsylvania Game Commission's long-awaited electronic hunting-license sales system -- touted for its convenience for both hunters and issuing agents -- has missed its launch deadline for another hunting season.

State residents will thus have another year of the status quo when it comes to obtaining hunting licenses. The PGC will begin its regular sale of paper licenses this summer.

In a sharply worded news release issued Monday, PGC executive director Carl G. Roe blamed the failure to begin selling "point-of-sale" licenses electronically this summer on missed deadlines by Tennessee-based company Automated Licensing Systems.

Roe expressed "extreme disappointment" with the news.

Roe said ALS missed deadlines to have the system in place for the 2007-08 license year. Then, on Nov. 15, 2007, and March 1 of this year, ALS missed additional deadlines to deliver a fully-operational and fully-tested point-of-sale system for the 2008-09 license year.

"We will not inconvenience our license buyers or our license issuing agents by moving forward with a system that will not serve our customers and sportsmen and sportswomen," Roe stated in the release.

Roe said the PGC will ask the Board of Game Commissioners next month to table

regulation changes that were approved preliminarily for the point-of-sale system -- including changes in the antlerless deer license application process.

"What this delay means for license buyers and issuing agents is that the

license purchasing process, as well as the antlerless deer license application process, will remain relatively the same as 2007-08," Roe stated. "Despite this setback, we will continue to work with the contractor to resolve the project issues and shortcomings with an expectation to have a completed system by the end of 2008.

Roe said the point-of-sale electronic system, once completed, is expected to make license buying easier for customers, issuing agents and the Game Commission. The system, when functional, would provide the PGC with a database of its license buyers that would enable better communication, Roe said.

ALS also manages the electronic license sale system being used by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. It cannot work on changes to either licensing system between now and April 30, because the state has entered the peak fishing license sales window.

In late April, the PGC will finalize information for the Hunting and Trapping Digest, which is presented to each license buyer.

On Aug. 4, the PGC will accept one regular antlerless deer license application per resident hunter through first-class mail. On Aug. 18, the PGC will accept one regular antlerless deer license application per nonresident through first-class mail.

Then beginning on Aug. 25, the PGC will begin several rounds of accepting applications for remaining unsold antlerless deer licenses.

YOUR THOUGHTS?

What are your thoughts on Monday's announcement by Pennsylvania Game Commission? How much of an inconvenience, if any, is this news?

Contact Sports Editor Chris Otto by e-mail at cotto@ydr.com, or by mail at York Daily Record/Sunday News, 1891 Loucks Road, York, PA 17408. Please include your full name and municipality.