Senate/House Agenda/Session Schedule/Gov's Schedule/Bills Introduced

Here are the Senate and House Calendars for the next voting session day and Committees scheduling action on bills of interest as well as a list of new environmental bills introduced--

Bill Calendars

House (June 11): House Bill 1401 (DiGirolamo-R-Bucks) which amends Title 58 to impose a sliding scale natural gas severance tax, in addition to the Act 13 drilling impact fee, on natural gas production (NO money for environmental programs) and includes provisions related to minimum landowner oil and gas royalties; House Bill 1446 (Quinn-R- Bucks) encouraging infrastructure for electric and natural gas fueled vehicles;  House Bill 1284 (Peifer-R-Pike) directs DCED to develop a one-stop-shop online permitting portal for business (sponsor summary); House Resolution 284 (Moul-R-Adams) urging Congress to repeal the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s MS4 Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (sponsor summary).  <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Senate (June 11): Senate Bill 819 (Aument-R-Lancaster) amending the Agricultural Security Law to provide for agritourism uses on protected land; Senate Bill 835 (Dinniman-D-Chester) requiring the registration of land agents working for pipeline companies (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 930 (Dinniman-D- Chester) sets notification requirements related to pipeline emergencies (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 931 (Dinniman-D-Chester) requires the installation of automatic or remote controlled safety values in natural gas pipelines in densely populated areas; Senate Resolution 104 (Bartolotta-R- Washington) resolution urging the Governor to end the moratorium on new non-surface disturbance natural gas drilling on state forest land (sponsor summary); House Bill 544 (Moul-R-Adams) further providing for liability protection for landowners opening their land for public recreation; House Bill 1782 (Delozier-R-Cumberland) authorizing alternative ratemaking such as decoupling, performance-based, multiyear and other mechanisms for utilities regulated by the PUC, including electric, natural gas, water and wastewater services. (House Fiscal Note and summary). <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meeting Agendas This Week

House: the State Government Committee holds a hearing on the Delaware River Basin Commission to hear from entities regulated and to investigate concerns about the impact of DRBC policies and actions on economic vitality and property rights; the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee meets to consider House Resolution 948 (Causer-R-Cameron) requesting the Auditor General to do a financial audit of the PA Infrastructure Investment Authority nonpoint source water pollution control program (sponsor summary); POSTPONED: the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meets to consider House Bill 2304 (Fritz-R-Susquehanna) which would enact the oil and gas well permitting reforms proposed by Gov. Wolf in January; the Local Government Committee meets to consider House Bill 2468 (Kampf-R-Chester) limiting use of eminent domain on land with conservation easements for parks and open space purposes (sponsor summary); the Game and Fisheries Committee holds a hearing on Chronic Wasting Disease. <>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate: the Appropriations Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 1171 (Brooks-R- Crawford) replacing the Nutrient Management Advisory Board with the Farm Animal Advisory Board (sponsor summary); the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meets to consider House Bill 2154 (Causer-R- Cameron), the Conventional Oil and Gas Act, which weakens environmental protection standards for conventional oil and gas drilling and turns back the clock 34 years to the original 1984 Oil and Gas Act. Click Here for more; Senate Bill 1189 (Baker-R-Luzerne) that would declare, as a matter of law, an oil and gas fracking moratorium enacted by the Delaware River Basin Commission would constitute an act of eminent domain and a taking of property for which compensated would be required from DRBC. Click Here for more; Senate Resolution 373 (Rafferty-R-Montgomery) would establish a 23-member Senate-House legislative Commission to Study Pipeline Construction and Operations and to recommend improvements for the safe transport of oil, natural gas and other hazardous liquids through pipelines. Click Here for more; Senate Bill 1027 (Rafferty-R-Montgomery) setting additional notification requirements for residents impacted by pipeline construction (sponsor summary); Senate Resolution 375 (Bartolotta-R-Washington) urging Congress to support the development of an ethane storage hub in Pennsylvania (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 917 (Dinniman-R-Chester) amends Act 101 Municipal Waste Planning and Recycling Act to include spent mushroom compost under the definition of “compost materials to encourage its reuse (sponsor summary); House Bill 927 (Rader-R-Monroe) amends Act 101 Municipal Waste Planning and Recycling Act to eliminate the mandate on municipalities to have a leaf waste collection program (House Fiscal Note and summary); Senate Resolution 326 (Vogel-R-Beaver) encourage Congress to recognize the Eastern Legacy of the Lewis and Clark National Trail for its historic national significance (sponsor summary).  <>  Click Here for full Senate Committee Schedule.

Bills Pending In Key Committees

Check the PA Environmental Council Bill Tracker for the status and updates on pending state legislation and regulations that affect environmental and conservation efforts in Pennsylvania.

Bills Introduced

The following bills of interest were introduced last week--

Oversight Of 10 DEP Funds: House Bill 2454 (Fritz-R-Susquehanna) require General Assembly to specifically appropriate funds out of 10 DEP special accounts and resetting the uses of those accounts rather than have the Governor’s allocate monies by executive authorization: Abandoned Well Plugging Fund, Clean Water Fund, Electronic Materials Recycling Account, Industrial Land Recycling Fund, Radiation Protection Fund, Oil and Gas Regulation Restrict Account, Orphan Well Plugging Fund, Safe Drinking Water Fund, Solid Waste Abatement Fund and Waste Transportation Safety Fund (sponsor summary).

Loyalsock Creek: House Resolution 964 (Everett-R-Lycoming) recognizing the Loyalsock Creek as the 2018 River of the Year (sponsor summary).

Session Schedule

Here is the latest voting session schedule for the Senate and House--

Senate

June 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29

House

June 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

Governor’s Schedule

Gov. Tom Wolf's work calendar will be posted each Friday and his public schedule for the day will be posted each morning.   Click Here to view Gov. Wolf’s Weekly Calendar and Public Appearances.


6/11/2018

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