Senate/House Agenda/Session Schedule/Bills Introduced

Here are the Senate and House Calendars and Committee meetings showing bills of interest as well as a list of new environmental bills introduced--

Session Schedule

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

Senate
October 24, 25, 26, 31
November 1, 14, 15, 16
December 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14

House
October 24, 25, 26, 31
November 1, 2, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23
December 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14

Bill Calendars

House (October 24):  Senate Bill 303 (MJ White-R-Venango) providing for the disposition of fines under the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act; Senate Bill 304 (MJ White-R-Venango) requiring the posting of the state air quality implementation plan on the Internet; House Resolution 70 (Harhart-R-Lehigh) requesting the Department of Transportation to study the potential use of quarry and other mining waste in highway and civil engineering projects.  <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Senate (October 24): Senate Bill 367 (D.White-R-Indiana) providing for the leasing of mineral rights on other state lands and those owned by the State System of Higher Education;  House Bill 1054 (Mustio-R-Allegheny) further providing for the licensing of engineers, land surveyors and geologists. <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committees

House: the Tourism and Recreational Development Committee holds an informational meeting on PA's Heritage Areas; the Consumer Affairs Committee holds two meetings, a hearing on House Bill 60 (Harper-R-Montgomery) prohibiting standby rates for volunteer fire companies, rescue squads and ambulance services and an informational meeting on natural gas recovery of purchased gas costs; the  Game and Fisheries Committee holds a hearing on House Bill 1760 (J Evans-R-Crawford) authorizing Sunday Hunting; the House Democratic Policy Committee holds a hearing on Marcellus Shale issues in  Williamsport.  <>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate: the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 152 (D.White-R-Indiana) amending the PennVEST Act to clarify the eligibility of stormwater and other nonpoint source projects for funding, Senate Bill 532 (Rafferty-R-Montgomery) further providing for penalties and waste permit renewals under the Solid Waste Management Act, Senate Resolution 143 (Pippy-R-Allegheny) directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct an economic impact study of water trails in the Commonwealth, Senate Resolution 202 (Kasunic-D-Somerset) urging the oil and gas industry to use acide mine water for fracking, House Bill 608 (Brooks-R-Crawford) providing for the use of bioenergy crops in mine reclamation; the Local Government Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 477 (Browne-R-Lehigh) compelling the removal of outdoor advertising under the Municipalities Planning Code; the Judiciary Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 433 (Leach-D-Montgomery) providing for the incorporation of benefit corporations; the State Government Committee meets to consider House Bill 1349 (Pickett-R-Bradford) requiring the review of regulations for their impact on small businesses and granting pre-enforcement review of regulations by small businesses aggrieved parties;  <>  Click Here for full Senate Committee Schedule.

Bills Introduced

The following bills of interest were introduced this week--

Leasing State Land For Alternative Energy: House Bill 180 (Sonney-R-Erie) authorizing the Department of General Services to lease 25 acres within Lake Erie for wind, solar or kinetic energy generation facilities.

AEPS Solar Standard: House Bill 1580 (Ross-R-Chester) increasing the solar share in the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards.

Oil & Gas Lease Royalties: House Bill 1897 (Petri-R-Bucks) requiring 75 percent of oil and gas royalties from the Oil and Gas Fund-- up to $100 million annually-- to be used by DCNR for ongoing operations of the State Forest system with $50 million transferred to the PA Historical and Museum Commission for historic preservation.  The bill prohibits further leasing for five years.

Federal Land Purchases: House Bill 1904 (Rapp-R-Forest) restricting the ability of the Commonwealth to give its consent to additional purchases of National Forest Reserves.

Composting On Preserved Land: Senate Bill 1298 (Smucker-R-Lancaster) authorizing composting and nutrient management facilities on lands preserved under Act 319.

Marcellus Pipeline Protection: Senate Bill 1903 (Baker-R-Luzerne) adding Marcellus Shale natural gas lines to the Underground Utility Line Protection Law.

Mine Water For Fracking: Senate Resolution 202 (Kasunic-D-Somerset) urging the oil and gas industry to use acid mine water for fracking.  The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee is scheduled to consider this resolution on October 25.


10/24/2011

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