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 (Sept. 24): House Bill 107 (Godshall-R- Montgomery) providing a mechanism to cover costs of extending natural gas distribution systems; 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 Resolution 284 (Moul-R-Adams) urging Congress to repeal the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s MS4 Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 1172 (Vulakovich-R-Allegheny) further providing for enforcement of price gouging provisions during an emergency declaration (Senate Fiscal Note and summary).  <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Senate (Sept. 24): Senate Bill 820 (Aument-R- Lancaster) providing liability protection for owners and operators of on-farm agritourism activities (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 917 (Dinniman-R-Chester) amends Act 101 Municipal Waste Planning and Recycling Act to include spent mushroom compost under the definition of “compost materials to encourage its reuse (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 Bill 1199 (Rafferty-R- Montgomery) providing for a landowners’ bill of rights in cases of eminent domain, including by private entities like pipeline companies (sponsor summary);  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); Senate Resolution 373 (Rafferty-R-Montgomery) is a concurrent Senate-House resolution to establish a Senate-House legislative Commission to Study Pipeline Construction and Operations and to recommend improvements for the safe transport of oil, natural gas and other hazardous liquids through pipelines; House Bill 544 (Moul-R-Adams) further providing for liability protection for landowners opening their land for public recreation; House Bill 927 (Rader-R-Monroe) amends Act 101 Municipal Waste Planning and Recycling Act to eliminate the mandate on smaller municipalities to have a leaf waste collection program (House Fiscal Note and summary); House Bill 1550 (Klunk-R-York) amending the Agricultural Area Security Law to allow for a residence for the principal landowner (House Fiscal Note and summary). <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meeting Agendas This Week

House: the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meets to consider House Bill 2640 (Mako-R-Lehigh) requiring DEP to forward notices of noncompliance issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act or state Solid Waste Management Act to the municipality where the violation occurred (sponsor summary), Senate Bill 652 (Regan-R-Cumberland), which would make it a felony to simply trespass on the right-of-way of pipelines, electric power lines, railroad tracks, refineries or on the property of any of 21 other “critical infrastructure facilities” outlined in the bill. (Click Here for more background); the Commerce Committee meets to consider House Bill 2638 (Stephens-R-Montgomery) establishes the Military Installation Remediation Authority to address cleanup costs at the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station funded by redirecting Sales Tax revenue from the redevelopment of the facility (sponsor summary); the Transportation Committee meets to consider House Bill 2486 (Everett-R-Lycoming) providing a voluntary check off on drivers licenses and vehicle registrations for contributions to the Keystone Tree Fund (sponsor summary); the   <>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate: the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee holds a hearing on foreign influence on natural gas development in PA and meets to consider House Bill 2154 (Causer-R-Cameron), which would weaken environmental standards for conventional oil and gas drilling, Senate Resolution 214 (Greenleaf-R-Montgomery) urging Pennsylvania natural gas producers to export gas to European countries in an effort to curtail the monopoly that Russia has on supply to that region (sponsor summary);  the Transportation Committee meets to consider House Bill 86 (Lawrence-R-Chester) eliminating tailpipe emissions testing for 1992-1995 vehicles in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas (House Fiscal Note and summary), House Bill 2131 (Quigley-R-Montgomery) requiring PennDOT to plant native species of vegetation along highways (House Fiscal Note and summary); the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee meets to consider House Bill 2075 (Charlton-R-Delaware) authorizing rate recovery for customer-owned lead water service lines (House Fiscal Note and summary).  <>  Click Here for full Senate Committee Schedule.

Other: Senate-House Nuclear Energy Caucus hearing on Impacts of Nuclear Power Plant Deactivations On Energy & National Security

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--

Safety Info For Schools Near Pipelines: Senate Bill 1257 (Dinniman-D-Chester) requiring owners of hazardous liquid and natural gas pipelines to provide schools within 1,000 feet of the pipelines with information on how to respond to a leak or product release (sponsor summary).

Landslide Insurance & Assistance Program: Senate Bill 1131 (Costa-D-Allegheny) establishing the Landslide Insurance and Assistance Program within the PA Emergency Management Agency (sponsor summary).

Session Schedule

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

Senate

September 24, 25, 26

October 1, 2, 3, 15, 16, 17

November 14

House

September 24, 25, & 26.

October 1 (Non-Voting), 2 (Non-Voting), 9, 10, 15, 16, & 17.

November 13

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.

9/24/2018