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

NEW: Click Here for expected action on bills by the full House.

House (May 18): 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 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; House Bill 1874 (Grove-R-York)-- was amended to authorize any regulated entity at any time to request a review by the little-known, and even less frequently used Joint Committee On Documents to determine if any “published or unpublished document”-- including permits, produced or issued by DEP or other agencies- Read more here.;  House Bill 2416 (Everett-R-Lycoming) that would stop any proposed or final environmental or other state agency regulation from being finalized until at least 90 days after the March 6 COVID-19 emergency declaration by the Governor is terminated (House Fiscal Note & Summary)  Read more here;  Senate Bill 703 (Scarnati-R- Jefferson) which also expands the authority Joint Committee on Documents to determine whether “published or unpublished” documents of agencies should be promulgated as a regulation- Read more here; Senate Bill 790 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson) reducing environmental protections from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 (June 1?): 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 679 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) directs the Environmental Quality Board to develop regulations that authorize counties to adopt a program for “stream cleaning” and maintenance and the removal of obstructions and flood-related hazards from our local waterways (sponsor summary); Senate Bill 763 (Bartolotta-R- Washington) would eliminate the annual public report on subsidence damage from underground coal mining; 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 915 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) regulating the application of fertilizer on turf. <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meetings  This Week

House:   <>  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

Suspend MS4 Requirements: House Resolution 874 (Zimmerman-R-Lancaster) urging Congress and EPA to delay the MS4 stormwater management program for two years in response to COVID-19 crisis (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 [Updated]

Senate recessed to the call of the President Pro Tempore

May 18, 19, 20 - Canceled

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

House

House is on a 12-hour call

May 18, 19, 20, 26, 27

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

September 15, 16, 17, 29, 30

October 1, 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21

November 10

5/18/2020