The following bills of interest saw action last week in the House and Senate--

House

Natural Gas Line Extension: House Bill 107 (Godshall-R- Montgomery) providing a mechanism to cover costs of extending natural gas distribution systems was amended on the House Floor and referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Military Installation Cleanup:  House Bill 2638 (Stephens-R-Montgomery) establishes the Military Installation Remediation Authority to address cleanup costs at the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station funded by redirecting Sales Tax revenue from the redevelopment of the facility (sponsor summary) was amended and reported from the House Commerce Committee and is now on the House Calendar for action.

Keystone Tree Fund: House Bill 2486 (Everett-R-Lycoming) providing a voluntary check off on drivers licenses and vehicle registrations for contributions to the Keystone Tree Fund (sponsor summary) was amended and reported from the House Transportation Committee and Tabled.

Critical Infrastructure Security: Senate Bill 652 (Regan-R-Cumberland) which deals with the security of rights-of-way for pipelines, electric power lines, railroad tracks, refineries and the property on which of any of 21 other “critical infrastructure facilities” are located was amended  to remove the provisions in the bill related to setting criminal penalties for simple trespass and replacing it with felony penalties for the offense of critical infrastructure vandalism “if the person intentionally or recklessly damages, destroys, vandalizes, defaces or tampers with equipment in a critical infrastructure facility” and was reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and Tabled.

Notices Of Noncompliance: House Bill 2640 (Mako-R-Lehigh) requiring DEP to forward notices of noncompliance issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act or state Solid Waste Management Act to the municipality where the violation occurred (sponsor summary) was reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and Tabled.

Abolishing Boards, Commissions: House Bill 2105 (Fritz-R-Susquehanna) eliminating certain boards and commissions as obsolete was amended and reported from the House State Government Committee and Tabled.

Lyme Disease Vaccinations: House Resolution 943 (Tallman-R-Adams) urging the federal Food And Drug Administration to promptly consider candidates for Lyme disease vaccinations was reported from the House Health Committee and is now on the House Calendar for action.

Public Lands Day: House Resolution 860 (Daley-D-Montgomery) designating September 22 Public Lands Day in Pennsylvania (sponsor summary) was adopted by the House.

Drive Electric Week: House Resolution 1035 (Marshall-R-Beaver) designating the week of September 8-16 as National Drive Electric Week (sponsor summary) was adopted by the House.

World Habitat Day: House Resolution 1069 (Culver-R-Northumberland) recognizing October 2 as World Habitat Day in Pennsylvania (sponsor summary) was adopted by the House.

Energy Awareness Month: House Resolution 1071 (Mackenzie-R-Berks) recognizing the month of October as Energy Awareness Month in Pennsylvania (sponsor summary) was adopted by the House.

Senate

Lead Service Line: House Bill 2075 (Charlton-R-Delaware) authorizing rate recovery for customer-owned lead water service lines was amended and reported from the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Tailpipe Testing: House Bill 86 (Lawrence-R-Chester) eliminating tailpipe emissions testing for 1992-1995 vehicles in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas (House Fiscal Note and summary) was reported from the Senate Transportation Committee and was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Planting Native Species: House Bill 2131 (Quigley-R-Montgomery) requiring PennDOT to plant native species of vegetation along highways (House Fiscal Note and summary) was reported from the Senate Transportation Committee and was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Leaf Waste:  House Bill 927 (Rader-R-Monroe) amends Act 101 Municipal Waste Planning and Recycling Act to eliminate the mandate on smaller municipalities to have a leaf waste collection program (House Fiscal Note and summary) was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Conventional Drilling: House Bill 2154 (Causer-R-Cameron) which would weaken environmental standards for conventional (not Shale) oil and gas drilling was reported from the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is on the Senate Calendar for action.

Natural Gas Exports:  Senate Resolution 214 (Greenleaf-R-Montgomery) urging Pennsylvania natural gas producers to export gas to European countries in an effort to curtail the monopoly that Russia has on supply to that region (sponsor summary) was reported from the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is on the Senate Calendar for action.

End Drilling Moratorium: 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) was Tabled.

Clean Energy Week: Senate Resolution 420 (Browne-R-Lehigh) designating September 23-28 Clean Energy Week (sponsor summary) was adopted by the Senate.

10/1/2018