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

House

Marcellus Works Natural Gas Conversions: House Bill 301 (Saylor-R-York) providing for $25 million in natural gas vehicle fleet tax credits, House Bill 305 (Denlinger-R-Lancaster) providing for $5 million in natural gas corridor tax credits, House Bill 309 (Grove-R-York) providing for $30 million in natural gas vehicle tax credits were all amended and reported from the House Finance Committee and are now on the House Calendar for action.

“Natural gas is a homegrown, clean-burning energy source that we are producing right here in Pennsylvania,” said Rep. Kerry Benninghoff (R-Mifflin), Majority Chair of the Finance Committee.  “If we are serious about energy independence, then we need to look for ways to better use our domestic energy sources.  Running vehicles on Pennsylvania natural gas makes a lot more sense to me than running them on oil from countries that don’t like us very much.”

“We need natural gas-powered vehicles and we need stations for them to refuel,” Rep. Benninghoff said.  “These bills address the situation from both angles.  The job creation potential through both building the vehicles and the fuel stations is tremendous.  Obviously, the fuel stations will require significant construction work.  The vehicles will require natural gas-powered engines and I’d love to see those built here in the Commonwealth.”

House Republicans have tentatively scheduled these bills for a final vote next week.

Marcellus Works II: House Bill 302 (Moul-R-Adams) transferring funds from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund to DEP for a competitive grant program to convert small mass transit bus fleets to natural gas (amended to change the source of funds to the Gross Receipts Tax), House Bill 303 (Moul-R-Adams) transferring funds from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund to DEP for a competitive grant program to convert large mass transit fleets to natural gas (amended to change the source of funds to the Gross Receipts Tax), House Bill 306 (Pickett-R- Bradford) redirecting the Alternative Fuels Incentive Fund to create the Keystone Fuel Incentive Program to fund conversions of vehicles to natural gas (amended to keep the Alternative Fuels Incentive Fund intact), House Bill 307 (Evankovich-R- Armstrong) amending the Air Pollution Control Act to eliminate duplication of certification for natural gas vehicles, House Bill 308 (Saylor-R-York) redirecting $6 million annually from the Clean Air Fund to finance vehicle conversions to natural gas (amended to change the source of funds to the Gross Receipts Tax) and reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and Tabled.

NewsClips:

House Committee OKs Natural Gas Conversion Tax Credits

Editorial: Say No To Gas Industry Subsidies

Permit Extensions: House Bill 784 (Evankovich-R-Armstrong) authorizing the extension of environmental permit and other approvals for construction projects approved between December 31, 2008 and ending July 2, 2016 was amended on the House Floor and was referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee and is now on the House Calendar for action.  A summary and House Fiscal Note are available.

Senate

Lyme Disease: Senate Bill 177 (Greenleaf-R-Montgomery) establishing a task force on Lyme Disease and related diseases was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

4/15/2013