Last week Senate Republicans returned to session for one day on August 30 and passed and sent to the House two Fiscal Code bills needed to finish the FY 2023-24 state budget, but it didn’t matter-- neither bill was agreed to by House Democrats or Gov. Shapiro.

House Bill 1300  (Mehaffie-R-Dauphin) was a general Fiscal Code bill that included some environmental provisions and  Senate Bill 757 (Stefano-R-Fayette) would authorize a new private school student tuition scholarship program.

The Senate then adjourned to September 18.  The House returns to session on September 26.  Maybe they’ll try again to finish the budget.

Environmental Provisions

For the record, the House Bill 1300  (Mehaffie-R-Dauphin) Fiscal Code bill contains these provisions related to the environment, recreation and state lands--

-- Clean Streams Funding: Distributes money in the Clean Stream Funds for the 2023-2024 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter as follows:

     -- 80% to the State Conservation Commission to implement the Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program.

     -- 8% to the Pennsylvania Investment Authority to implement the Pennsylvania Clean Water Procurement Program.

     -- 8% to the Nutrient Management Fund.

     -- 4% to the Department of Environmental Protection for grants and reimbursements to municipalities and counties under the Storm Water Management Act.

     -- Prior to the above distributions occurring, the Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania Investment Authority and the Department of Environmental Protection shall expend no less than 75% of the money appropriated from COVID Relief – ARPA – Transfer to Clean Streams Fund.

-- Game Commission Gas Leasing Funds To Clean Streams Fund: Transfers $150,000,000 from the Game Fund to the Clean Streams Fund.

-- Prohibits Spending Dirt, Gravel Road Money On Game Commission Roads:

     -- Prohibits money appropriated from the Motor License Fund for maintenance and improvement of dirt, gravel and low-volume State and municipal roads from being used on land owned or under the control of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

     -- Prohibits money appropriated from the Motor License Fund for the maintenance and mitigation of dust and sediment pollution from parks and forestry roads from being used on lands owned or under the control of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

-- DCNR Regional ATV Project: Requires the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to provide access to the ATV pilot area for at least the 2024 and 2025 summer ATV riding season from the Friday before Memorial Day through the last full weekend in September.

     Requires DCNR to submit a report to the General Assembly on the ATV pilot every three years, the next report is due December 31, 2026.

-- Increases In Lieu Of Tax Payments By DCNR, Game Commission:

-- Increase the payment in lieu of taxes for lands owned by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as follows:

     -- From $2 to $2.40 per acre for the benefit of each county where the property is located.

$1.20 shall be paid by DCNR [Oil & Gas Lease Fund?] and $1.20 shall be paid from State Gaming Fund revenues.

     -- From $2 to $2.40 per acre for the benefit of the schools in each school district where the property is located.  $1.20 shall be paid by DCNR [Oil & Gas Lease Fund?] and $1.20 shall be paid from State Gaming Fund revenues.

     -- From $2 to $2.40 per acre for the benefit of each township where the property is located.

$1.20 shall be paid by DCNR [Oil & Gas Lease Fund?] and $1.20 shall be paid from State Gaming Fund revenues.

-- Increases the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for lands owned by the Game Commission or the Fish and Boat Commission as follows:

     -- From $1.20 to $2.40 per acre for the benefit of each county where the property is located.

$.40 shall be paid by the agency which owns the property and $2 shall be paid from State Gaming Fund revenues.

     -- From $1.20 to $2.40 per acre for the benefit of the schools in each school district where the property is located.  $.40 shall be paid by the agency which owns the property and $2 shall be paid from State Gaming Fund revenues.

     -- From $1.20 to $2.40 per acre for the benefit of each township where the property is located.

$.40 shall be paid by the agency which owns the property and $2 shall be paid from State Gaming Fund revenues.

-- Waives Multimodal Funding Local Match For 2024: Waives the local match for multimodal projects until December 31, 2024.

-- Fund Transfers--

     -- Prohibits the annual transfer of $15 million from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund to the Marcellus Legacy Fund for distribution to the Environmental Stewardship Fund for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

     -- $10,538,000 from Article II tax revenues to the Environmental Stewardship Fund to pay debt service on Gov. Rendell’s Growing Greener II bond issue.

     -- Transfers $4,000,000 from Article II tax revenues to the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Fund.

NewsClips:

-- AP: Senate Returns To Session 1 Day For A Budget Stalemate

-- The Center Square: Pennsylvania’s State Budget Reaches Deja Vu

-- Spotlight PA: State Budget Inches Forward, But Lawmakers Still Split On Stalled Education Funding

-- PA Capital-Star: Senate Republican Budget Bills Rekindle Fight Over Shapiro’s School Voucher Deal

-- PennLive: PA Senate Moves 2 Fiscal Bills, But Core Budget Disagreements Remain

-- PA Senate Republicans: Senate Approves Critical Budget Implementation Bills, Sends To House

Related Article:

-- House Passes $45.5 Billion State Budget Including Funding For More DEP Staff [PaEN - 7.6.23]

[Posted: September 2, 2023]

9/4/2023