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 (March 16): House Bill 188 (Quinn-R-Montgomery) providing for an eminent domain bill of rights for projects like pipelines; House Bill 247 (Oberlander-R-Clarion) would amend Act 13 to authorize an accounting mechanism to allow for the drilling of longer unconventional gas well laterals; House Bill 827 (Fritz-R-Wayne) requiring the Delaware River Basin Commission to reimburse property owners for drilling rights if the Commission adopts a ban on fracking was reported from the House Appropriations Committee (House Fiscal Note and summary);  House Bill 881 (Fee-R-Lancaster) would authorize the use of Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Fund monies for farm succession planning grants; House Bill 1106 (Puskaric-R-Allegheny) requires DEP approval of any permit regulating air quality, waste, erosion and sedimentation and dam safety and encroachments within 30 days without regard to public review of permits, creates a new bureaucracy in the form of a “referee” to decide disputes between DEP and applicants over application completeness (Part of House Republican EnergizePA natural gas subsidy package) Click Here for more; Senate Bill 790 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson) reducing environmental protections from impacts of conventional oil and gas drilling was reported from the House Appropriations Committee (House Fiscal Note & Summary). <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Senate (March 16): Senate Bill 258 (Dinniman-D-Chester, Killion-R-Delaware), a bipartisan initiative to improve emergency response to pipeline incidents; Senate Bill 284 (Killion-R- Delaware, Dinniman-D-Chester) require pipeline companies to provide current emergency response plans to PUC;  Senate Bill 565 (Farnese-D-Philadelphia) further providing for parking restrictions next to bike lanes (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 679 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) establishing an unfunded stream maintenance program (Senate Fiscal Note & Summary;  Senate Bill 766 (Leach-D- Montgomery) increases the matching grants available for household hazardous waste collection events rom $100,000 to $250,000 per county per fiscal year (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 1030 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) amending the Sewage Facilities Act to change the process for considering alternative on-lot sewage disposal systems (sponsor summary); House Bill 342 (Cruz-D-Philadelphia) allows the City of Philadelphia to impose a $500 per tire fine for illegal dumping of waste tires and require business to maintain records of waste tire disposal (House Fiscal Note & Summary); House Bill 752 (Turzai-R-Allegheny) removes the per acre cap on purchases of land to include in the state game lands system in Allegheny County (House Fiscal Note & Summary).  <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meetings  This Week

House: Budget Hearings: DEP, DCNR, Transportation, DCED, Agriculture.  <>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate: Budget Hearings: PennDOT, Health, DCED.  <>  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.

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

Budget Hearings: February 18 - March 5

March 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25

April 6,7, 8

May 4, 5, 6, 18,19, 20

June 1,2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30

House

Budget Hearings: February 18 - March 5

March 16, 17, 18, 23, 24,25

April 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16

May 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20

June 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30

2/24/2020