The information you need to follow legislation in the House and Senate- starting with articles and NewsClips from last week--

Environment & Energy NewsClips--

Gov. Shapiro

-- Gov. Shapiro, DCNR Announce Investment Of $52.5 Million In Local Recreation, Conservation, Watershed Projects Across PA; Next Grant Round Opens Jan. 16  [PaEN]

-- Politics PA: Shapiro Defends Response To Legislative Secretary’s Sexual Harassment Allegations

-- Inquirer: Gov. Shapiro Met Privately With Female PA Senators As Questions Swirl About Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Former Legislative Secretary

-- AP: Gov. Shapiro’s Voter Registration Change Draws Ex-President’s Ire In Echo Of 2020 Election Clashes

-- Spotlight PA: Automatic Voter Registration In PA Draws Republican Lawsuit Threats, But Little Action

-- AP: PA’s Democratic Governor, A Rising Political Star, Crosses Partisan Private School Choice Divide

-- Warren Times Editorial: Shapiro Keeping Spirits High In Pennsylvania

-- Warren Times Editorial: Shapiro’s Surprising Popularity

Budget

-- Game Commission Works With Legislators, Stakeholders To Safeguard Federal Wildlife Funds; House Passes Budget Bill Without Game Fund Transfer  [PaEN]

-- WITF: PA House, In Contentious Session, Moves State Budget Forward

-- AP: House Passes Legislation To Complete Overdue Budget, Decisions Now Lie With Senate

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Republican Resistance Or Democrat Gamesmanship?  House Leaders Weigh In On Week’s Work

-- Spotlight PA: What This Year’s Budget Means For PA’s Shrinking Rural Communities

-- PA Capital-Star: Democratic Changes To PA Budget Bill That Boost Tax Cuts, Film Credits Anger House Republicans

-- City & State PA: 8 Things To Know About The New House-Passed Tax Code Bill

Oil & Gas Health Study

-- WPXI: Activists, Washington County Residents Concerned After Study Explores Link Between Natural Gas Development, Cancer

Natural Gas Explosions

-- PUC: Focus Of Natural Gas Explosion In Port Richmond Section Of Philadelphia Now Inside The Buildings  [PaEN]

-- AP: PA Chocolate Factory Fined For Failing To Evacuate Before Fatal Natural Gas Explosion

-- TribLive: Car Rally Held To Raise Money For Rustic Ridge Families Impacted By Home Explosion, Fires In Allegheny County

Village Of Reno Water Supply Contamination

-- Petro Erie Inc. Again Claims It Lacks The Financial Ability To Comply With DEP’s 2nd Order To Cleanup Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill That Contaminated The Village Of Reno’s Water Supply In Venango County  [PaEN]

Flooding

-- US Small Business Administration To Provide Low-Interest Disaster Loans To Businesses, Homeowners As A Result Of July Flooding In Northampton County  [PaEN]

-- Scranton Times: Scranton To Provide Individual Assistance To Flood Victims With Federal American Rescue Funds

-- WNEP: Luzerne County Emergency Management Agency Urging Anyone With Flood Damage From September Storm To Report It

Train Derailment-Related Issues

-- WFMJ: EPA: Final Analysis Shows Normal Dioxin Levels At Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Area In Ohio

-- WESA: Eight Months After Norfolk Southern Train Derailment, Some Residents Wonder If They’ll Ever Go Home

PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: PA- $3.83; National- $3.72; Ohio- $3.30

-- Baker Hughes PA Natural Gas Drill Rigs Same As Last Week - 20

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Chesapeake Energy Wants To Ship 20% Of Production Overseas

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Retreat As Tepid Demand Counters Weather Risks

-- Bloomberg: Europe’s November Natural Gas Contract Prices Plummet As Demand Collapses; Egypt To Resume LNG Exports

-- Reuters: US LNG Natural Gas Exports Slump In September As Plant Outages Pare Output

-- Bloomberg: Ireland Denies LNG Natural Gas Port Despite Energy Security Concerns

-- Reuters: Higher Stocks To Pressure US Natural Gas Prices [Downward] With Sufficient Storage, Slightly Higher Production [Natural Gas Supply Assn.]

-- Reuters: Oil Could Hit $100/Barrel As OPEC+ Sticks With Supply Cuts

-- Financial Times: Oil Plunges $5 In Biggest One-Day Drop In Over A Year Due To Demand Worries

-- Reuters: ExxonMobil 3Q Profits To Climb From Last Quarter On Higher Prices

-- Financial Times: US Shale Oil Bosses Vow To Hold Back Drilling Despite Rising Oil Price

Environment/Energy Issues

-- House Unanimously Passes Bill Against Lawsuits Aimed At Silencing Citizen Critics And Dampening Public Participation  [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 -- Company Tries To Limit DEP Investigation; Unauthorized Water Withdrawals; Can’t Pay For Reno Cleanup; Venting Gas Wells; More Abandoned Conventional Wells  [PaEN]

-- Repsol Gas USA Issued Violation For Denying DEP Right To Document Damaged Shale Gas Well Casing During Investigation Of Uncontrolled Gas Venting In Bradford County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issues Violation To CNX Gas Company For Unauthorized Water Withdrawals For 17 Days From Beaver Run Reservoir In Westmoreland County  [PaEN]

-- Petro Erie Inc. Again Claims It Lacks The Financial Ability To Comply With DEP’s 2nd Order To Cleanup Conventional Oil Well Wastewater Spill That Contaminated The Village Of Reno’s Water Supply In Venango County  [PaEN]

-- WPXI: Activists, Washington County Residents Concerned After Study Explores Link Between Natural Gas Development, Cancer

-- Environmental Hearing Board Will Hear Key Arguments On Appeal By A Washington County Family Alleging Shale Gas Drilling Contaminated Their Water Supply With PFAS And Other Chemicals  [PaEN]

-- WPXI: Activists, Washington County Residents Concerned After Study Explores Link Between Natural Gas Development, Cancer

-- The Daily Review: Sen. Yaw Addresses PA Chemical Industry Council, Outlines His Energy Priorities [‘Responsible’ Energy Development; Grid Reliability; Independent Energy Office; Carbon Capture Framework]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Rep. Kaufer To Host Community Electronics Waste Recycling Event Oct. 26 In Luzerne County

-- Agencies Celebrate Eastern Hellbender License Plate Recognizing PA’s Clean Water Ambassador; Shale Gas Development On DCNR Land Threatens Habitat  [PaEN]

-- PennLive: PA House Passes Bill To Would Allow Cities To Crack Down On Illegal Dirt Bikes, ATVs

-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: The High Cost Of Wildlife Rehab In Pennsylvania

Top 10 Stories On Harrisburg/PA Politics Last Week--

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Top 10 Stories: Harrisburg/PA Politics Reported By Local News Media Last Week  [PaEN]

Senate, House Bills Moving Last Week

The following environmental and energy bills saw movement last week--

House

Anti-SLAPP Lawsuits: House Bill 1466 (Bizzarro-D-Erie) that would help prevent powerful interests from filing SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) lawsuits to silence citizen critics and chill free speech was reported out of the House Judiciary Committee, referred into and out of the House Appropriations Committee [House Fiscal Note & Summary]and was passed by the House by a vote of 202 to 0.  The bill now goes to the Senate for action.  Read more here.

State Budget Bills: The House amended and returned these bills related to finishing the state budget back to the Senate--

-- Fiscal Code: House Bill 1300 - the bill was amended to eliminate the $150 million transfer from the Game Commission Game Fund to the Clean Streams Fund that endangered federal wildlife conservation funding.  Read more here.

-- Tax Code:  House Bill 1219

Anti-Littering Law Acknowledgement: House Bill 1044 (Ciresi-D-Montgomery) providing plain language acknowledgement of state anti-littering laws on vehicle registrations and drivers’ licenses was reported out of the House Appropriations Committee [House Fiscal Note & Summary] and was passed by the House 118 to 85.  The bill now goes to the Senate for action.

Wildlife Rehab Grants: House Bill 1522 (Probst-D-Monroe) establishing a Wildlife Rehab Grant Program was amended and reported out of the House Game and Fisheries Committee and referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Electric Vehicle Charging: House Bill 1474 (Ciresi-D-Montgomery) that would expand the  C-PACE clean energy financing program to include electric vehicle charging infrastructure was removed from the Table is is now on the House Calendar for action.

Rail Safety Week:  House Resolution 196 (Matzie-D-Beaver) designating the week of September 18-24 Rail Safety Week was reported out of the House Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee and is now on the House Calendar for action.

Bill Calendars

House (October 16): House Bill 962 (Vitali-D- Delaware) to restore DEP’s authority to review conventional oil and gas well plugging bonding amounts to help prevent the routine abandonment of between 400 and 600 conventional oil and gas wells a year by operators; House Bill 1474 (Ciresi-D-Montgomery) that would expand the  C-PACE clean energy financing program to include electric vehicle charging infrastructure; House Resolution 79 (Pisciottano-D-Allegheny) urging the Biden Administration and Congress to designate Pennsylvania as a hydrogen hub; House Resolution 196 (Matzie-D-Beaver) designating the week of September 18-24 Rail Safety Week. <> Click Here for full House Bill Calendar.

Senate (October 16): Senate Bill 723 (Phillips-Hill-R-York) prohibits public employees from lobbying the agencies they worked for for two years, but does not apply to lawmakers or lawyers. <> Click Here for full Senate Bill Calendar.

Committee Meetings

House   

<>  Click Here for full House Committee Schedule.

Senate

 <>  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.

Session Schedule

Here is the latest voting session schedule for the Senate and House--

Senate

October 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25

November 13, 14, 15

December 11, 12, 13

House

October 16, 17, 18, 30, 31

November 1, 13, 14, 15

[Posted: October 8, 2023]

10/9/2023