Bills extending the recycling fee and requiring a review of regulations for their impacts on small business moved to the Governor’s desk this week. Other environmental bills were also moving, so here’s the rundown…

Note: With only nine days before the election, there are no committee meetings scheduled in Harrisburg and no scheduled session days before the November 7 election.

On the Governor’s Desk

Clean Streams Penalties: House Bill 2042 (Reichley-R-Berks) that would increase penalties for water pollution under the Clean Streams Law was signed into law by Gov. Rendell. NewsClip: Corbett Praises General Assembly for Updated Penalties

Recycling Fee: House Bill 1902 (Rubley-R-Chester) extending the $2/ton Recycling Fee sunset date through 2012 was concurred by the House and now goes to the Governor for his action.

Regulatory Impacts: House Bill 236 (Pickett-R-Bradford) requiring the review of regulations for their impact on small business by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission was passed by the Senate unamended and now goes to the Governor for his action.

House

Infrastructure Record Disclosure: House Bill 854 (Rubley-R-Chester) establishing the Terrorism Infrastructure Disclosure Protection Act prohibiting the release of certain infrastructure records was amended by the House and returns to the Senate for a concurrence vote. NewsClip: Bill Would Protect Data on Security at Utilities

Multi-Municipal Agreements: House Bill 2063 (Boyd-R-Lancaster) that provides for multi-municipal Planning Code implementation agreements to deal with a local issue was passed by the House and now moves to the Senate for action.

Miner’s Day: House Resolution 795 (DeWeese-D-Greene) is a concurrent resolution designating December 19 as “Coal Miner’s Day” which was adopted by the House this week after being passed by the Senate.

Environmental Ed Center: Senate Bill 410 (MWhite-R-Venango) establishing the Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education in law was reported from House Appropriations Committee.

Access to Land for Recreation: House Bill 3007 (Semmel-R-Berks) limits the liability of landowners who open their property to hunting was reported from the House Game and Fisheries Committee and tabled.

Windmill Farm Assessments: Senate Bill 514 (Gordner-R-Columbia) amending the Tax Reform Act related to property tax assessments for windmill farms and other issues was reported from House Appropriations Committee.

Mercury Thermostats: House Bill 2658 (Rubley-R-Chester) prohibiting the sale and restricting the disposal of mercury thermostats was amended to add a requirement for a manufacturers collection program was tabled in the House.

California Car Standards: Senate Bill 1025 (Madigan-R-Bradford) to establish a Clean Vehicle Program that gives automakers two options to comply— use the California II or federal Tier II vehicle emissions standards and forming a stakeholders group was reported from House Appropriations Committee.

Natural Gas Decoupling: House Bill 2954 (Evans-R-Erie) prohibiting revenue decoupling in setting rates for the sale of natural gas was reported from House Appropriations.

Clean Diesel Technology: House Bill 2997 (Beyer-R-Monroe) providing a tax credit of up to $5,000 for new diesel technology was reported from the House Appropriations Committee.

Clean Diesel Tax Credit: Senate Bill 1139 (Browne-R-Lehigh) providing a tax credit for the installation of clean diesel technology was reported from House Appropriations.

Healthy Schools: The House Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee reported out Senate Bill 1209 (Waugh-R-York) Healthy Foods, Healthy Schools was referred to House Appropriations Committee.

NOTE: Links to Senate and House bills in past editions of the PA Environment Digest might not work because the webmasters of the General Assembly’s website changed the URLs. You can find bills by going to the Pennsylvania General Assembly website and putting in the bill number in the box at the top of the page.

Bills Introduced

GIS Day: Senate Resolution 380 (C.Williams-D-Montgomery) designating November 15 as “Pennsylvania GIS Day” was adopted by the Senate.

10/27/2006