Here are the Senate and House Calendars and Committee meetings showing bills of interest as well as a list of new environmental bills introduced--

Bill Calendars 

House (April 18): House Resolution 84 (Ryan-R-Lebanon) congratulating the PA National Guard’s environmental office on winning first place in the Sustainability Team in the 2016 Army National Guard Environmental Awards Contest (sponsor summary).  <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Senate (April 18): Senate Bill 50 (Greenleaf-R-Montgomery) further providing for notice of flood history in home sales disclosures (sponsor summary). <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar. 

Committee Meeting Agendas This Week

House:   <>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate:   <>  Click Here for full Senate Committee Schedule.

Bills Pending In Key Committees

Check the PA Environmental Council Bill Tracker for the status and updates on pending state legislation and regulations that affect environmental and conservation efforts in Pennsylvania.

Here are links to key Standing Committees in the House and Senate and the bills pending in each--

House

Appropriations

Education

Environmental Resources and Energy

Consumer Affairs

Gaming Oversight

Human Services

Judiciary

Liquor Control

Transportation

Links for all other Standing House Committees

Senate

Appropriations

Environmental Resources and Energy

Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure

Community, Economic and Recreational Development

Education

Judiciary

Law and Justice

Public Health and Welfare

Transportation

Links for all other Standing Senate Committees

Bills Introduced

The following bills of interest were introduced this week--

50th Anniversary Of Chesapeake Bay Foundation: House Resolution 231 (Everett-R- Lycoming) recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (sponsor summary).

Sets DEP Permit Review Times: House Bill 1090 (Benninghoff-R-Mifflin) sets specific timeframes and procedures for the initial review, approval and rejection of permit applications (sponsor summary) and House Bill 1091 (Benninghoff-R-Mifflin) authorizes permit applicants to appeal DEP’s failure to make a permit decision on the timeframes established in House Bill 1090 (sponsor summary).  [Note: DEP already sets deadlines under its Permit Decision Guarantee Program and getting a hearing on the merits of a case scheduled before the Environmental Hearing Board often takes months. This is another attempted cure for a problem created by the General Assembly itself when they cut DEP’s General Fund budget by 40 percent and its staff by 25 percent.]

Require 3rd Party Review Of DEP Permits: House Bill 1101 (Mentzer-R-Bedford) the Environmental Permitting Reform Act would DEP to issue permits within a specified time frame. Permits that are not issued within the specified time frame will be transferred to a permit program. This program will be administered by third-party licensed professionals (sponsor summary).  [Note: Third party permit reviews cost money too and this legislation includes no funding for DEP to carry it out.  DEP discussed the many legal issues of third party permit reviews at a recent Senate hearing that actually make it a more costly option.  This is another attempted cure for a problem created by the General Assembly itself when they cut DEP’s General Fund budget by 40 percent and its staff by 25 percent.]

Exemption From Oil & Gas Well Reporting: House Bill 1103 (Sonney-R-Erie) exempting certain “home use” oil and gas wells from electronic reporting requirements (sponsor summary).

Natural Gas Severance Tax: Senate Bill 566 (Tomlinson-R-Bucks) establishing a natural gas production severance tax in addition to Act 13 drilling impact fee to fund state and school employees pensions (sponsor summary).  There’s nothing for the environment.

Controlled Plant And Noxious Weed Act: Senate Bill 567 (Argall-R-Schuylkill) repeal and replace the Noxious Weed Control Law (Act 74 of 1982) to better control existing and potentially noxious weeds (sponsor summary).

Session Schedule

Here is the latest voting session schedule for the Senate and House--

Senate

April 18, 19, 24, 25, 26

May 8, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24

June 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

House

April 18, 19, 24, 25, & 26

May 8, 9, 10, 22, 23, & 24

June 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, & 30

Governor’s Schedule

Gov. Tom Wolf's work calendar will be posted each Friday and his public schedule for the day will be posted each morning.   Click Here to view Gov. Wolf’s Weekly Calendar and Public Appearances.

4/10/2017