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

House

[ From House Friday/Saturday/Sunday session ]

Natural Gas Vehicles: Senate Bill 589 (Langerholc-R- Bedford) increasing maximum allowable weight for natural gas vehicles was reported from the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the House without amendment. The bill now goes to the Governor for his action.  A House Fiscal Note and summary is available.

Alternative Septic Systems: Senate Bill 144 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) amending Act 537 on include alternative on-lot sewage systems in sewage plans was referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the House with amendments and returns to the Senate for a concurrence vote.  A House Fiscal Note and summary is available.  (The Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to consider this bill Monday.)

Smart Electric Meters:  House Bill 1563 (Reese-R-Somerset) requiring consent for sharing information from electricity smart meters was reported out of the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the House.  A House Fiscal Note and summary is available. The bill now goes to the Senate for action.

Recycling Fee: Senate Bill 646 (Killion-R-Delaware) extending the sunset of the $2/ton Recycling Fee for one year until January 1, 2021 was referred to the House Appropriations Committee after an amendment to extend the fee by three years by Rep. Michael Carroll (D-Luzerne), Minority Chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, failed by a vote of 89-99.  (The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the bill at a Sunday evening meeting.)

Senate

[ From Saturday Senate session. ]

Nominations: The Senate confirmed the re-nomination of John Coleman to the Public Utility Commission.

Federal Timber Sales: House Bill 1494 (Rapp-R-Forest) authorizing the state to enter into a cooperative agreement with federal agencies for the purpose of selling timber on federal land was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and was passed by the Senate without amendment and now goes to the Governor for his action. A Senate Fiscal Note and summary is available.

Littering Penalties: Senate Bill 431 (Scavello-R-Monroe) increasing penalties for littering and illegal dumping was passed by the Senate and will now go to the House for action.  A Senate Fiscal Note and summary is available.

Storage Tanks: House Bill 290 (Metzgar-R-Bedford) providing for legislative appointments to the Underground Storage Tank Indemnification Board, fills a gap in funding for DEP’s Storage Tank Program and extends the sunset date for the environmental cleanup programs for storage tanks was amended on the Senate Floor and passed by the Senate with amendments.  The bill returns to the House for a concurrence vote.

Noxious Weeds: House Bill 790 (Pashinski-D-Luzerne) establishing the Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee (House Fiscal Note and summary) was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Construction Code: House Bill 409 (Evankovich-R-Allegheny) making changes to the process for adopting amendments to the Uniform Construction Code was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Construction Code: House Bill 176 (Pickett-R-Susquehanna) exempting roadside stands from Uniform Construction Code (House Fiscal Note and summary) was reported out of the Senate Labor and Industry Committee, was amended on the Senate Floor and remains on the Senate Calendar for action.

7/10/2017