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 29):  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); 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 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); 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 set guidelines for waiving that penalty if the person being penalized “has taken or will take [steps] to remedy the violation;” House Bill 806 (Keefer-R-York) would authorize the General Assembly to kill an economically significant final regulation by doing nothing.  It would require all final regulations with an estimated economic impact of $1 million or more to be submitted to the General Assembly for a vote by concurrent resolution.  If the House and/or Senate fail to take action to approve the final regulation, the regulation is deemed not approved and the regulation shall not take effect; House Bill 1055 (Klunk-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);  <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.     

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 House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on the future of nuclear energy and its impact on the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards in Montgomery County. <>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate: the Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on methane emissions and climate change in Pittsburgh  <>  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--

Protecting Private Water Supplies: Senate Bill 557 (Killion-R-Delaware) amending the Clean Streams Law to require notification of private water well owners within 500 feet of a project [say a natural gas pipeline] that may affect their water well and authorizing DEP to revoke the permit for that project [say a Water Obstruction and Erosion and Sedimentation permit]  (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

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

4/22/2019