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

House

Aggregate Advisory Board: Senate Bill 1155 (Scarnati-R- Jefferson) creating a Aggregate Advisory Board within DEP was reported from the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the House without changes.  The bill now goes to the Governor for his action.  A summary and House Fiscal Note are available.

Local Recreation Fees: House Bill 1052 (Freeman-D-Lehigh) further authorizes uses for local recreation fees was concurred in by the House and is now on the Governor’s desk for his action.  A summary and House Fiscal Note are available.

Eliminating Stream Buffer Requirement: House Bill 1565 (Hahn-R-Northampton) eliminating the nearly 4 year old requirement for stream buffers in High Quality and Exceptional Value streams 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.  NewsClip: Letter: Stripping Protections From Streams Is A Bad Idea

Capital Budget Limitations: House Bill 2420 (Benninghoff -R-Mifflin) reducing the spending cap on the Redevelopment Assistance Project Funding were reported from 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.

Capital Budget Projects: House Bill 2419 (Turzai-R-Allegheny), reducing the spending cap for Capital Budget Projects by $4 billion (a summary and House Fiscal Note are available) and House Bill 2478 (Adolph-R-Delaware) itemized list of Capital Budget Projects for 2014-15 (a summary and House Fiscal Note are available) were referred into the House Appropriations Committee, amended and reported from Committee and are now on the House Calendar for action.

Nuclear Fee Increases: Senate Bill 1355 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) increasing nuclear reactor and nuclear fuel transportation fees was amended and reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is on the House Calendar for action.

Oil and Gas Testing Technology: House Resolution 913 (Mustio-R-Allegheny) urging DEP to use the latest technology to test for radioactivity related to oil and gas production activities- sponsor summary-- was reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is now on the House Calendar for action.

Natural Gas Availability To Consumers: House Bill 2393 (Kampf-R-Chester)  providing a program to extend natural gas delivery to unserved or underserved areas- sponsor summary-- was amended and reported out of the House Consumer Affairs Committee and is on the House Calendar for action.

Senate

Disaster Assistance Program: Senate Bill 720 (Baker-R-Luzerne) creating an Individual and Public Disaster Assistance Grant Program was passed by the Senate and goes to the House for action.  A summary and Senate Fiscal Note are available.

Testing Energy Efficiency Technology: House Bill 1672 (Miller-R-York) providing for testing of energy efficiency technologies was reported from the Senate Appropriations Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

9/29/2014