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

House

Coal Refuse Disposal Permits: House Bill 1557 (Gabler-R- Clearfield) that eliminates the ability of coal refuse disposal site operators to temporarily cease operations for 21 year and still retain their permit was reported from the House Rules Committee, amended on the House Floor, referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee (House Fiscal Note and summary). and passed by the House.  The bill now goes to the Senate for action.

Farm Conservation Excellence Grants:  House Bill 1517 (Zimmerman-R-Lancaster) establishing the Conservation Excellence Farm Conservation Grant Program, a bipartisan proposal included in Gov. Wolf’s PA Farm Bill proposal was reported from the House Appropriations Committee (House Fiscal Note and summary) and passed by the House.  The bill now goes to the Senate for action.

Agriculture Disaster Response: House Bill 1516 (Causer-R-Cameron) establishing an Agriculture Rapid Response Disaster Readiness Account, a bipartisan proposal included in Gov. Wolf’s PA Farm Bill proposal, was reported from the House Appropriations Committee (House Fiscal Note and summary) and passed by the House.  The bill now goes to the Senate for action.  The bill is scheduled to be considered by the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee in June 24.

Agri-Link BMP Investments: House Bill 1526 (Irvin-R-Huntingdon) establishes the Agriculture-Linked Investment Program for implementing best management practices, a bipartisan proposal included in Gov. Wolf’s PA Farm Bill proposal, was reported out of the House Appropriations Committee (House Fiscal Note and summary) and passed by the House.  The bill now goes to the Senate for action.  The bill is scheduled to be considered by the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee in June 24.

REAP Farm Conservation Tax Credit: House Bill 241 (Pickett-R-Susquehanna) amends the Resource Enhancement and Protection Farm Conservation Tax Credit Program to provide for the tax credit to be applied to a spouse when a joint income tax return is filed. Currently Eligible Applicants is defined only as “a business firm or an individual.” The bill adds “individuals filing jointly” to that list.  The bill was reported out of the House Finance Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee as all bills are this time of year.

Abandoned Sites Registry: House Bill 2014 (Toohil-R- Luzerne) creating an Abandoned Manufacturing Sites Registry to encourage brownfield reuse, part of the Republican Energize PA initiative, was reported out of the House Commerce Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee like all bills are this time of year.

Single Cleanup Permit: House Bill 1105 (Nelson-R- Westmoreland) amending Act 2 Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act to require DEP to issue a consolidated permit for remediation projects, part of the Republican Energize PA initiative, was reported out of the House Commerce Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee like all bills are this time of year.

PFAS Cleanup Bill: House Bill 1410 (Stephens-R-Montgomery) redirecting  future state tax revenue generated on and around military installations to create an authority to cleanup water contaminated with PFAS and other chemicals was reported out of the House Rules Committee, amended on the House Floor, was referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee (House Fiscal Note and summary) and is now on the House Calendar for action.

Senate

Farm Conservation Excellence Grants: Senate Bill 634 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) which would establish the Farm Conservation Excellence Grant Program was amended and reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee (Senate Fiscal Note and summary) and was passed by the Senate.

            In the House, the bill was amended with provisions relating to the Agrilink Loan Program and the Resource Protection and Enhancement Farm Conservation Tax Credit Program to give priority to Chesapeake Bay Watershed counties and reported out of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and Tabled.

Relinquish Residence Provision: House Bill 370 (Klunk-R-York) would amend the Agricultural Area Security Law to authorize farmland conservation owners to relinquish the right to establish a residence (House Fiscal Note and summary) was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Valuing Water/Wastewater Systems: House Bill 751 (Roae-R-Crawford) further providing for the valuation of wastewater and water systems for ratemaking purposes, revising the definition of service line (Senate Fiscal Note and summary) was referred into and out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Sunday Hunting: Senate Bill 147 (Laughlin-R-Erie) authorizing Sunday hunting was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee (Senate Fiscal Note and summary) and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Changing Definition Of Water Pollution: Senate Bill 619 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) makes fundamental changes to the definition of water pollution under the state Clean Streams Law to require an individual or company who causes pollution to surface or groundwater to determine if it should be reported to DEP and whether it is pollution in the first place Click Here for more. was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Vehicle Emissions Inspections: Senate Bill 742 (Ward-R-Westmoreland) exempting vehicles from emissions testing for 8 years after manufacturing; Senate Bill 743 (Ward-R-Westmoreland) replace annual emission inspections with inspections every 2 years for vehicles more than 8 years old; Senate Bill 744 (Langerholc-R- Bedford) exempt Blair, Cambria, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mercer, and Westmoreland Counties from the vehicle emissions testing; Senate Bill 745 (Stefano-R-Fayette) replace the tailpipe test in Pittsburgh and the 2-speed idle test via a dynamometer/treadmill in the Philadelphia region with a gas cap test and a visual inspection for model year 1994-95 vehicles; Senate Bill 746 (Vogel-R-Beaver) extend the transition date for existing emissions inspection stations that are required by the Department of Transportation to obtain new emissions testing equipment by November 1, 2019 to July 1, 2021 (sponsor summary of package) were referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Click Here for more on these bills. These bills are scheduled to be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 24.

Pipeline Safety: Senate Bill 258 (Dinniman-D-Chester, Killion-R-Delaware), a bipartisan initiative to improve emergency response to pipeline incidents and Senate Bill 284 (Killion-R- Delaware, Dinniman-D-Chester) require pipeline companies to provide current emergency response plans to PUC were amended and reported from the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and are now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Tree Of Heaven Noxious Weed: House Bill 404 (Lawrence-R-Chester) would add the tree of heaven preferred by the spotted lanternfly as a Class B noxious weed (House Fiscal Note and summary) was Tabled from the Senate Calendar. [Note: The Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee added tree of heaven to the Class B list on April 25.]

Lakes Appreciation Month: Senate Resolution 177 (Baker-R-Luzerne) recognizing the month of July as Lakes Appreciation Month (sponsor summary) was adopted by the Senate.

6/23/2019