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

House

General Fund Budget: House Bill 2328 (Adolph-R-Delaware) was reported from the House Rules Committee, referred into the House Appropriations Committee, amended with the first House GOP budget proposal and reported out of Committee and passed by the House.  A spreadsheet showing changes between the FY 2013-14 budget is available online. 

In the Senate, the bill is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Suspending Tax Credits: House Bill 2188 (Cutler-R-Lancaster) to suspend certain tax credit programs for two years was amended on the House Floor, referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the House.  The tax credit programs affected are the Resource Enhancement and Protection Tax Credit ($10 million per year), the Historic Preservation Incentive Tax Credit ($3 million per year), the Research and Development Tax Credit, the Community-based Services Tax Credit, the Tax Credit For New Jobs, the Mobile Telecommunications Broadband Investment Tax Credit, the Innovate in PA Tax Credit, the Keystone Special Development Zone Program, the Keystone Innovation Zone Tax Credits, the Promoting Employment Across Pennsylvania Program and certain sections of the Keystone Opportunity Zone Program.  A summary and House Fiscal Note are available.  The bill now goes to the Senate for action.

Oil & Gas Well Production: House Bill 2278 (Pickett-R-Bradford) providing for monthly reporting of oil and gas well production was amended and reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, referred into and out of the House Rules Committee, was then referred into and 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 action.

"As this industry continues to develop, we have seen the need for monthly reporting requirements so that production reports are more comparable to monthly royalty payments," said Rep. Tina Pickett, prime sponsor of the bill.  "This legislation would allow greater transparency for our landowners and provide a better understanding of production across the Commonwealth."

NewsClip: House Bill Would Require Monthly Gas Production Reports

Water Well Standards: House Bill 343 (Miller-R-York) setting construction standards for private water wells was removed from the Table, referred into and 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 action.

Recording Of Oil & Gas Well Leases: House Bill 402 (Pickett-R-Bradford) further providing for the recording of oil and gas well leases was amended and reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, referred into and out of the House Rules Committee and was then referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Eliminating Conventional Wells From Act 13: House Bill 2350 (Causer-R-Cameron) which would eliminate conventional wells from the Act 13 drilling law was amended and reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and was referred to the House Rules Committee as all bills are this time of year.

General Assembly Approval Of DEP Carbon Reduction Plan: House Bill 2354 (Snyder-D-Fayette) requiring the approval of the General Assembly of any plan submitted by DEP to comply with EPA greenhouse emission reduction requirements- sponsor summary-- was amended with a “deemed approved” provision where the General Assembly failed to approve DEP’s plan or where one chamber approves and the other does not and reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee,  referred into and out of the House Rules Committee and is now on the House Calendar for action.

Public-Private Partnerships: House Bill 2239 (Evankovich -R-Armstrong) which provides for public-private partnerships related to water and sewage treatment services and school construction was amended and reported from the House State Government Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee as all bills are this time of year.

Stormwater Management: Senate Bill 1255 (Erickson-R-Delaware) further providing for stormwater facility funding was amended and reported out of the House Local Government Committee and Tabled.

EPA Carbon Regulations: House Resolution 815 (Snyder-D-Fayette) urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to development guidelines regulating carbon emissions from existing power plants that respect the primacy of the Commonwealth and take into account unique policies, energy needs and resources mix and economic priorities of Pennsylvania- sponsor summary-- was adopted by the House 136 to 36.

ARIPPA Anniversary: House Resolution 884 (Oberlander-R-Armstrong) declaring the week of August 18-24 Anthracite Region Independent Power Producers Association Week was adopted by the House- sponsor summary.

Senate

Aggregate Advisory Board: Senate Bill 1155 (Scarnati-R- Jefferson) establishing an Aggregate Advisory Board in DEP was passed by the Senate.  A summary and Senate Fiscal Note are available.  The bill now goes to the House for action.

Recreation Fees: House Bill 1052 (Freeman-D-Lehigh) further authorizes uses for local recreation fees was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.  A summary and Senate Fiscal Note are available.

Eliminating Conventional Wells From Act 13: Senate Bill 1378 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson) which would eliminate conventional wells from the Act 13 drilling law was amended and reported out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Crude Advisory Council: Senate Bill 1310 (Hutchinson-R-Venango) creating the PA Grade Crude Development Advisory Council within DEP was amended and reported out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Drilling On Other State Lands: Senate Bill 1443 (White-R-Indiana) amending the Indigenous Mineral Resources Development Act to authorized state agencies (other than DCNR) to release mineral rights whether they owned the surface rights or not was amended and reported out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, amended on the Senate Floor and remains on the Senate Calendar for action.

6/30/2014