The House passed House Bill 1099 (Maher-R-Allegheny) Wednesday establishing an independent counsel for the Environmental Quality Board.  The bill was sponsored by Rep. John Maher (R-Allegheny), Majority Chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

In Pennsylvania, all environmental regulations are issued by the Environmental Quality Board.  Despite the complicated legal issues often involved, the EQB has never had its own legal counsel, instead depending on legal judgments of lawyers who have no duty to the EQB or its members.

House Bill 1099 would require the Department of Environmental Protection to appoint an independent legal counsel who would have a clear duty to the EQB. The independent counsel would assist EQB members on issues and actions before the board, and would provide advice on procedural matters.

“Clean air, water and land are important to all Pennsylvanians,” Rep. Maher said. “The Environmental Quality Board is comprised of a variety of cabinet secretaries, heads of boards and commissions and members of the General Assembly. It makes decisions that affect the health and safety of our environment and Pennsylvania citizens, but despite its important role, the EQB has no attorney with a clear duty to call straight-forward balls and strikes on legal issues.”

In order to avoid a structural conflict of interest − real or perceived − Rep. Maher is proposing the appointment of an independent counsel to the board.  To ensure independence, Rep. Maher’s bill would also protect the confidentiality of communication between counsel and individual members.

The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. 

A similar bill-- Senate Bill 307-- sponsored by Sen. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne), Minority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee.  The Committee is due to consider the bill on June 15.

A House Fiscal Note and summary are available.

6/15/2015