The Senate and Senate return to voting session May 7.

House

Calendar: House Bill 772 (Hershey-R-Chester) establishing the Keystone Energy and Environmental Excellence Awards program and an energy efficiency and pollution reduction initiative; House Bill 913 (Vereb-R-Montgomery) establishing the Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program; House Bill 894 (Leach-D-Montgomery) authorizing additional reimbursements for school building construction which meets the LEED standards; House Bill 13 (Readshaw-D-Allegheny) limiting liability of landowners in connection with opening their lands for hunting and recreation; House Bill 496 (George-D-Clearfield) that would increase fees on nuclear power plants and for transport escorts.

Senate

Calendar: Senate Bill 354 (MJWhite-R-Venango) prohibiting the Environmental Quality Board from accepting rulemaking petitions to regulate substances not authorized by current state or federal law.

Committees: the Appropriations Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 782 (MJWhite-R-Venango) that would increase fees on nuclear power plants and for transport escorts, Senate Bill 815 (Musto-D-Luzerne) that would amend the Storage Tank Act to extend the sunset dates on certain programs, Senate Bill 846 (Armstrong-R-Lancaster) the state general appropriations bill.

Bills Introduced

Several more environmental bills were introduced this week…

Halogenated Solvents: Senate Bill 827 (Dinniman-D-Chester) amending the Air Pollution Control Act to authorizing the regulation of halogenated solvent cleaning facilities.

Mercury-Free Thermostats: Senate Bill 830 (Greenleaf-R-Montgomery) prohibiting the sale or distribution of mercury thermostats and providing for safe disposal.

Game Commissioner Terms: House Bill 1214 (Surra-D-Elk) changing the terms of Game Commissioners from eight years to four years.

Diesel Retrofitting: House Bill 1224 (Gabig-R-Cumberland) providing a tax credit for disel retrofitting to eliminate idling.

PA Senior Environment Corps Anniversary: House Resolution 260 (George-D-Clearfield) and Senate Resolution 112 (Pippy-R-Allegheny) celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps and designating May as “Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps Month.”

5/4/2007