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 (April 15):  House Bill 247 (Oberlander-R-Clarion) to allow cross unit unconventional drilling and authorizes voluntary pooling; House Bill 328 (Warren-D- Bucks) establishing a Flood Insurance Premium Assistance Task Force (sponsor summary); House Bill 374 (Everett-R- Lycoming) establishing the Keystone Tree Fund to support tree planting programs by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 9 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) designating the Eastern Hellbender as the state amphibian and clean water ambassador (sponsor summary).  <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.     

> > Click Here for the bills expected to be voted in the House this week.

Senate (April 29): Senate Bill 145 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) amending the Agricultural Area Security Law to voluntarily relinquish the right to construct an additional residence (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 453 (Ward-R-Westmoreland) exempting agricultural buildings from statewide Construction Code (sponsor summary).  Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meetings This Week

House:  the Consumer Affairs Committee hearing (2 of 4) on House Bill 11 (Mehaffie-R- Lancaster) adding nuclear power plants to the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards to provide financial support to the industry; Electric power generators and resources; the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee meets to consider  House Bill 881 (Fee-R-Lancaster) providing for farmer succession planning grants (sponsor summary); the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee holds 2 meetings-- one to consider House Bill 806 (Keefer-R-York) would authorize the General Assembly to kill an economically significant final regulation by doing nothing, House Bill 430 (Benninghoff-R-Mifflin) authorizes the General Assembly to repeal any regulation at any time by concurrent resolution, with review by the Governor (sponsor summary), House Bill 509 (Rothman-R-Cumberland) requires all state agencies to establish a new bureaucracy in the form of third party permit review programs that delegate decision-making authority to persons other than the public agency with the legal authority to make those decisions with no conflict of interest or other protections for the public or applicants, House Bill 762 (O’Neal-R- Washington) requires all state agencies to establish a new bureaucracy in the form of a Regulatory Compliance Officer with no oversight of any kind giving him the ability to issue an opinion on what any person’s obligations are under the laws administered by that state agencies which can be used as a “complete defense” against any enforcement proceeding.  The Officer can also review any fine or penalty issued by the agency before it is imposed and waive that penalty if the person being penalized “has taken or will take [steps] to remedy the violation,” House Bill 414 (Zimmerman-R-Lancaster) requiring an erosion and sedimentation permit application submitted to DEP or conservation districts  “shall be approved within 20 days of receipt”  if it was submitted by a state licensed engineer.  If an application is denied, the agency shall notify the applicant why it was denied (sponsor summary), House Bill 476 (Mako-R-Northampton) amends the Solid Waste Management Act to require DEP to forward notices of noncompliance issued by the Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) for violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and a notice of noncompliance for violation of the SWMA to the municipality where the violation occurred (sponsor summary) and an informational meeting hear about the recycling industry and how it has been impacted by changes in China’s recycling policy and free-market solutions to problems with recycling in Pennsylvania; the Urban Affairs Committee meets to consider House Bill 342 (Cruz-D- Philadelphia) increasing the penalty for illegal waste tire dumping to $5,000 per tire (sponsor summary); Joint Information Meeting Of House Transportation and Tourism & Recreational Development Committees on anti-litter initiatives and their impact on state’s tourism economy.  <>  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.

Bills Introduced

The following bills of interest were introduced last week--

Senate

Lyme Disease: Senate Resolution 74 (Dinniman-D-Chester) designating May as Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Awareness Month was introduced and adopted (sponsor summary).

Opt-Out For Act 129: Senate Bill 129 (Boscola-D-Lehigh) providing an opt-out from the Act 129 Energy Conservation Program for large energy users (sponsor summary).

Office Of The Repealer/ Vote To Approve Regulations: Senate Bill 250 (Phillips-Hill-R-York) establish the Office of the Repealer, General Assembly must vote to approve economically significant regulations, reauthorize repeal of any regulation by resolution (sponsor summary).

Office Of The Repealer: Senate Bill 251 (Phillips-Hill-R-York) establish the Office of the Repealer for regulations (sponsor summary).

Third Party Permit Reviews: Senate Bill 252 (Phillips-Hill-R-York) authorizing third party permit reviews, still with no conflict of interest provisions, and permit tracking system with no funding (sponsor summary).

Regulatory Compliance Officer: Senate Bill 253 (Phillips-Hill-R-York) establishing a Regulatory Compliance Officer in agencies with authority to waive any penalties and fines if a company “will take [steps] to remedy the violation” (sponsor summary).

House and Senate Co-Sponsorship Memos

House: Click Here for all new co-sponsorship memos

Senate: Click Here for all new co-sponsorship memos

Session Schedule

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

Senate

April 29, 30

May 1, 6, 7, 8

June 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28

House [change]

April 15, 16, 17, 29, 30

May 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 22 (non-voting), 23 (non-voting)

June 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28

4/15/2019