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

House

Killing Regulations By Doing Nothing: House Bill 72 (Keefer-R-York) would require legislative approval of any economically significant final regulation or final-omitted regulation that has an impact of $1 million or more on a regulated community was referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the House and was sent to the Senate for its action. The bill was referred to the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee.

 Repeal Existing Regulations By Resolution Not Law: House Bill 950 (Metcalfe-R-Butler) would authorize the General Assembly to repeal any existing regulation using a concurrent resolution passed by both the Senate and House and presented to the Governor for his action.  If a regulation is repealed or disapproved, an agency may not propose a new or revised regulation unless specifically authorized by law.  Was referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the House and was sent to the Senate for its action. The bill was referred to the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee.

Mandates Private Review Of DEP Permit Applications:  House Bill 139 (Rothman-R- Cumberland)  establishes a program to require the review of permit applications by private contractors for applications that have been “delayed,” eliminating agency review of permit applications on behalf of the public and adding more state bureaucracy and cost on taxpayers.  Was referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the House and was sent to the Senate for its action. The bill was referred to the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee.

Shields Violators From Enforcement Actions: House Bill 288 (O’Neal-R-Washington)  would create a Regulatory Compliance Officer in each state agency to, among other duties, develop guidelines to waive penalties if a business or other entity if they just “attempt to comply” with a regulation.  Was referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee and passed by the House and was sent to the Senate for its action. The bill was referred to the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee.

Office of the Repealer of Regulations: House Bill 939 (Klunk-R-York) creating a new bureaucracy-- the 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 was referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee and is now on the House Calendar for action.

Roll Back Protections From Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling:  House Bill 1144 (Causer-R- Cameron) which would not only roll back environmental protection standards for conventional oil and gas wells, but would also make road dumping of drilling wastewater legal again was removed from the Table and is now on the House Calendar for action. 

Electric Vehicles:  House Bill 948 (Carroll-D- Luzerne) imposing highway use fees on electric vehicles [amended] and  House Bill 722 (Rothman-R- Cumberland) increasing the maximum weight limit for electric-powered trucks were reported from the House Transportation Committee and Tabled.

Lyme Disease: House Bill 1033 (Rapp-R-Warren) providing for insurance coverage for Lyme disease was reported from the House Health Committee and Tabled.

5/10/2021