Legislation to extend the farmland protection program to horse boarding farms was given final approval and sent to the Governor for his action this week and the House passed legislation eliminating the sales tax on purchases of EnergyStar appliances which now goes to the Senate. Here are the details on these and other bills moving--

Horse Boarding Farms: House Bill 619 (Hershey-R-Chester) which expands the state Farmland Preservation Program to land used for boarding, training or riding horses was passed by the House and the Senate and now goes to the Governor for his action.

EnergyStar Tax Relief: House Bill 1687 (Ellis-R-Bucks) eliminating the sales tax on certain appliances that meet EnergyStar requirements was passed by the House.

Animal Waste Recycling Facility Tax Credit: House Bill 1413 (Caltagirone-D-Berks) providing a tax credit for investments in animal waste recycling facilities was referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund: Senate Bill 149 (M.White-R-Venango) providing funding for the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund was referred to the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

Land Trust Reimbursements: Senate Bill 940 (Waugh-R-York) which would set aside up to $200,000 per year from the Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Fund to reimburse Land Trusts for expenses incurred in acquiring agricultural conservation easements was reported from the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

10/21/2005