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

House

Stormwater/Non-Point Funding: Senate Bill 196 (White-R-Indiana) further providing for funding stormwater management and non-point source control projects was removed from the Table and referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee and was passed by the House without amendment.  The bill now goes to the Governor for his action.  A summary and House Fiscal Note are available.

Natural Gas Competition: House Bill 1188 (Payne-R-Dauphin) providing for a schedule of truing up natural gas prices to increase competition was reported out of the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the House.  A summary and House Fiscal Note are available.  The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Municipal Fees: House Bill 1052 (Freeman-D-Lehigh) further providing for the use of local recreation and land development fees was reported out of the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the House.  A summary and House Fiscal Note are available.  The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

House Republican Budget: House Bill 1437 (Adolph-R-Delaware) the House Republican FY 2013-14 General Fund budget was reported out of the House Appropriations Committee and is on the House Calendar for action.

Royalty Deductions: House Bill 1414 (Everett-R-Lycoming) providing for more transparency in deductions from oil and gas well royalty checks-- summary-- was amended and reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee as all bills are during the June budget season.

Wind Power Easements: House Bill 920 (Sonney-R-Erie) would authorizing the granting of easements in Agricultural Security Areas for wind power projects was reported out of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee as all bills are at this time of year.

Keystone XL Pipeline: House Resolution 249 (Swanger-R-Lebanon) urging the federal government to develop oil and gas resources in North America and approve the Keystone XL pipeline was reported from the House State Government Committee and is now on the House Calendar for action.

Onlot Anti-Degradation: House Bill 1325 (Maloney-R-Berks) changing onlot septic system anti-degradation requirements was removed from the Table and referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Forest Products: House Resolution 223 (Tallman-R-Adams) urging Congress to pass the Forest Products Fairness Act was adopted by the House.

Senate

Transportation Funding: Senate Bill 1 (Rafferty-R- Montgomery) providing additional funding for transportation infrastructure was amended and reported from the Senate Appropriations Committee and passed by the Senate.  The bill now goes to the House for consideration. (The House Transportation Committee has scheduled a hearing on the bill for June 12.)

Natural Gas Distribution Expansion: Senate Bill 738 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) providing for the expansion of natural gas distribution systems (a summary and Senate Fiscal Note are available) and Senate Bill 739 (Yaw-R- Lycoming) providing funding through the Commonwealth Financing Authority for natural gas infrastructure expansion (a summary and Senate Fiscal Note are available) were both amended and reported from the Senate Appropriations Committee and are now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Appalachian Trail License: House Bill 770 (Adolph-R- Delaware) authorizing an Appalachian Trail vehicle license plate was reported from the Senate Transportation Committee and was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Permit Extensions: House Bill 784 (Evankovich-R-Armstrong)  extend permits pending and approved in the Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies through July 2, 2016 was reported from the Senate Local Government Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Capital Budget Reform: House Bill 493 (Gabler-R-Clearfield) reforming the Capital Budget process was received in the Senate and referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.  A summary and House Fiscal Note are available.

6/10/2013