House Bill 4046, the bill to toughen poaching penalties, has been passed by the state House of Representatives. The vote was 53-5, with two absent. Unfortunately, the bill lost its mandatory minimum sentence (180 days in jail) for three-time offenders, but it's still a good bill because it substantially increases financial penalties for poaching of most animals and specifically makes it illegal to kill bears and cougars just for certain body parts. The bill is now in the Senate Rules Committee, where it's biggest enemy is probably time because the Legislature is rushing to adjourn for the year. For more information, see our prior blog post or go here to see the text of the bill, and to see who voted for and against the bill in the House (look under "Measure History"). If your Representative voted "yes," say "thanks" (so they know you are watching and that you care). If you want to help on the Senate side, you can ask Senator Rosenbaum (chair of the Committee that has the bill now) to "move" the bill to the Senate floor; and you can ask your senator to vote "yes" for the bill on the floor.