Here are the Senate and House Calendars for the next voting session day and Committees scheduling action on bills of interest as well as a list of new environmental bills introduced--

Bill Calendars

House (June 4): House Bill 1401 (DiGirolamo-R-Bucks) which amends Title 58 to impose a sliding scale natural gas severance tax, in addition to the Act 13 drilling impact fee, on natural gas production (NO money for environmental programs) and includes provisions related to minimum landowner oil and gas royalties; House Bill 1446 (Quinn-R- Bucks) encouraging infrastructure for electric and natural gas fueled vehicles;  House Bill 1284 (Peifer-R-Pike) directs DCED to develop a one-stop-shop online permitting portal for business (sponsor summary); House Bill 2154 (Causer-R-Forest), the Conventional Oil and Gas Act to regulate conventional drilling operations and weaken environmental protection standards on fracking based on the original 1984 Oil and Gas Act; House Bill 2131 (Quigley-R-Montgomery) encouraging PennDOT to plant native vegetation along highways; House Resolution 284 (Moul-R-Adams) urging Congress to repeal the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s MS4 Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (sponsor summary).  <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Senate (June 4): Senate Bill 819 (Aument-R-Lancaster) amending the Agricultural Security Law to provide for agritourism uses on protected land; Senate Bill 835 (Dinniman-D-Chester) requiring the registration of land agents working for pipeline companies (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 930 (Dinniman-D- Chester) sets notification requirements related to pipeline emergencies (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 931 (Dinniman-D-Chester) requires the installation of automatic or remote controlled safety values in natural gas pipelines in densely populated areas; Senate Resolution 104 (Bartolotta-R- Washington) resolution urging the Governor to end the moratorium on new non-surface disturbance natural gas drilling on state forest land (sponsor summary); House Bill 544 (Moul-R-Adams) further providing for liability protection for landowners opening their land for public recreation; House Bill 913 providing for the adoption of stormwater fees by incorporated towns; House Bill 914 providing for the adoption of stormwater fees by boroughs; House Bill 915 providing for the adoption of stormwater fees by first class townships; and  House Bill 916 providing for the adoption of stormwater fees by Cities of the Third Class. <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meeting Agendas This Week

House: the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee holds a hearing on Senate Bill 792 (Alloway-R-Adams) regulating the application of lawn fertilizer.  <>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

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

Other: Joint Legislative Budget & Finance Committee meets to release reports on Feasibility of Establishing a Water Use Fee In PA [similar to House Resolution 908 (Everett-R-Lycoming], Game Commission Compliance With Strategic Plan (annual report).

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.

Bills Introduced

The following bills of interest were introduced last week--

DRBC Eminent Domain Act: Senate Bill 1189 (Baker-R-Luzerne) would declare as a matter of law that an oil and gas fracking moratorium enacted by the Delaware River Basin Commission would constitute an act of eminent domain and a taking property for which property owners would have to be compensated by the DRBC (sponsor summary).

Commission To Study Pipeline Operations: Senate Resolution 373 (Rafferty-R-Montgomery) concurrent resolution establishing a bipartisan, bicameral legislative Commission to Study Pipeline Construction and Operations to recommend improvements for the transport of oil, natural gas and other hazardous liquids through pipelines (sponsor summary).

PennVEST Lyme Timber Audit: House Resolution 948 (Causer-R-Cameron) Requesting the Auditor General to do a financial audit of the PennVEST nonpoint source program projects [prompted by Lyme Timber $50 million loan] (sponsor summary).

Session Schedule

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

Senate

June 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29

House

June 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 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.

6/4/2018