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 (Sept. 1): 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by the little-known, and even less frequently used Joint Committee On Documents to determine if any “published or unpublished document”-- including permits, produced or issued by DEP or other agencies- [Read more here.]; House Bill 2004 (Ortitay-R-Allegheny) gives the General Assembly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Jefferson) which also expands the authority Joint Committee on Documents to determine whether “published or unpublished” documents of agencies should be promulgated as a regulation [Read more here.].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 (Sept. 8): 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 881 (Martin-R-Lancaster) which sets aside a portion of farmland preservation funding for land trust organizations (Senate Fiscal Note & Summary);  House Bill 2293 (Quinn-R-Delaware) that requires pipeline companies to make emergency response plans available to the Public Utility Commission, the PA Emergency Management Agency and county emergency management director where the pipeline is located. [Read more here.]  <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meetings  This Week

House: the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee hearing on DEP’s Proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Program for Power Plants (RGGI) [Read more here.]  <>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate: the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee hearing on DEP’s Proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Program for Power Plants (RGGI) [Read more here.]  <>  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--

Joint Conservation Committee: House Bill 2797 (Wentling-R-Mercer) preventing the elimination of the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee on July 1, 2021 (sponsor summary).  Read more here.

Pollinator Licence Plate: House Bill 2802 (McCarter-D-Montgomery) providing for a Pollinator license plate to help fund a state Pollinator Habitat Program (sponsor summary).  Read more here.

Charge State Park Admission/Park Fees: House Bill 2806 (Heffley (R-Carbon) eliminate current prohibition in law on State Park parking and general admission fees and authorized DCNR to impose fees on parking and admission sufficient to provide for the maintenance, operation or administration of that Park (sponsor summary).  Read more here.

Energy/Water/Wastewater Assistance: Senate Bill 1234 (Killion-R-Delaware) allocating federal CARES funding to provide additional low-income energy assistance (LIHEAP) assistance for individuals and financial assistance for utility bills for small businesses and providing assistance for water and wastewater bills through PennVEST  (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

Senate recessed to the call of the President Pro Tempore

September 8, 9, 21, 22, 23

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

November 10

House [Updated]

House recessed to the call of the House Speaker

August 31 (non-voting)

September 1, 2, 15, 16, 17, 29, 30

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

November 10

8/24/2020