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 (June 22): House Bill 188 (Quinn-R-Delaware) 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) [Read more here.]; 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by the little-known, and even less frequently used Joint Committee On Documents to determine if any “published or unpublished document”-- including permits, produced or issued by DEP or other agencies- [Read more here.]; House Bill 2004 (Ortitay-R-Allegheny) gives the General Assembly authority to reallocate monies from the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund between participating agencies, instead of having an allocation fixed in law (sponsor summary) [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); House Resolution 758 (Matzie-D-Beaver) designating April 2020 as Pennsylvania 8-1-1 Safe Digging Month (sponsor 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Jefferson) which also expands the authority Joint Committee on Documents to determine whether “published or unpublished” documents of agencies should be promulgated as a regulation [Read more here.].<> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Senate (June 22): Senate Bill 5 (DiSanto-R-Cumberland)-- that authorizes the General Assembly to kill any final regulation by doing nothing [Read more here.];  Senate Bill 119 (DiSanto-R- Cumberland) would amend the Regulatory Review Act to require the arbitrary repeal of at least two existing regulatory requirements for every new requirement proposed by any state agency [Read more here.];  Senate Bill 251 (Phillips-Hill-R-York) would create a new bureaucracy-- Independent Office of the Repealer-- to review existing regulations from all state agencies and make recommendations to the General Assembly and Governor for the repeal or revision [Read more here.];  Senate Bill 252 (Phillips-Hill-R- York) would require all state agencies to establish a third party permit review program to provide for the review of permits delayed beyond arbitrary deadlines set in the legislation [Read more here.]; Senate Bill 253 (Phillips-Hill) would create yet more bureaucracy in each state agency called an Agency Regulatory Compliance Officer [Read more here.]; 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 609 (Brooks-R- Crawford) that would require a review of economically significant regulations every three years Read more here;  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; House Bill 2045 (Dowling-R-Fayette) providing for a land exchange between DCNR and the Borough of Ohiopyle (House Fiscal Note & Summary).  <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meetings This Week [This Is June, There Could Be More]

House: the State Government Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 575 (Yaw-R- Lycoming) which takes money away from conservation efforts by farmers at precisely the time farmers need it most [Read more]; the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meets to consider House Bill 2219 (James-R-Venango) would add a member of the coal refuse energy industry to the Mining and Reclamation Advisory Board (sponsor summary); the Tourism and Recreational Development Committee meets to consider House Bill 1311 (Murt-R-Montgomery) providing for veterans a discount on State Park activity fees (sponsor summary);   <>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate:  the Appropriations Committee meets to consider House Bill 808 (Mehaffie-R- Dauphin) authorizing the Fish and Boat Commission to adopt its own fees until July 15, 2022 (House Fiscal Note & Summary), House Bill 1003 (Gillespie-R-York) further providing for marking and safety at low-head dams (House Fiscal Note & Summary); the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee holds a hearing on DEP’s Proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Program for Power Plants [Read more]; the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 881 (Martin-R-Lancaster) setting aside state farmland preservation funding for local land trusts (sponsor summary), House Bill 441(Sonney-R-Erie) allow wind energy facilities in Agricultural Security Areas (House Fiscal Note & Summary). <>  Click Here for full Senate Committee Schedule.

Other: the Joint House/Senate Conservation Committee meeting on Committee Report On Impact Of Carbon Pollution Reduction Program on Coal Waste-Fired Power Plants [Read more].

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

Senate recessed to the call of the President Pro Tempore

June 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30

House 

House is on a 12-hour call

June 22, 23, 24

September 15, 16, 17, 29, 30

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

November 10

6/22/2020