The Senate and Senate return to voting session June 11. Here’s what’s on the agenda this week--

House

Calendar: House Resolution 112 (Mann-D-Lehigh) directing DEP to implement policies that encourage electronic waste recycling; House Resolution 193 (Haluska-D-Cambria) directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study the future value of assets on Game Commission land; House Resolution 122 (George-D-Clearfield) petitioning the President and Congress to increase funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program; House Resolution 268 (Rohrer-R-Berks) directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study Game Commission forestry and mineral development policies; House Resolution 297 (DeWeese-D-Greene) expressing opposition to the designation of national interest electric transmission corridors.

Committees: the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meets to consider House Bill 1200 (DePasquale-D-York) making changes to the responsibilities of the PA Energy Development Authority and House Bill 1203 (Hornaman-D-Erie) amending the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act in line with Gov. Rendell’s Energy Independence Proposal; the Consumer Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing on House Bill 1201 (George-D-Clearfield) making changes to Title 66 consistent with Gov. Rendell’s Energy Independence Proposal; the Game and Fisheries Committee holds a public hearing on House Bill 251 (Godshall-R-Montgomery) Amending Title 34 related to game feeders; the State Government Committee meets to discuss the issue of riparian rights and waterfront development as it relates to casino and other projects; the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee meets to consider House Bill 656 (Bastian-R-Somerset) that would allow farms preserved under the state Clean and Green law to allow the development of wind farms; the Finance Committee meets to consider House Bill 1295 (Hanna-D-Clinton) to amend the Keystone Recretaion, Park and Conservation Fund Act to restore the allocation of funds for fiscal year 2006-07 to the State System for Higher Education.

Senate

Committee: the Finance Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 690 (Waugh-R-York, O’Pake-D-Berks) establishing the Resource Enhancement and Protection Act to give farmers tax credits for installing conservation practices; the State Government Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 752 (Erickson-R-Delaware) requiring a description of data used to justify regulations before the Independent Regulatory Review Commission; the Environmental Resources and Energy and Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committes hold a joint hearing on energy policy in Pennsylvania.

Other Meetings: Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee Environmental Forum presentation by John Quigley, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, on carbon sequestration.

Bills Introduced

Several more environmental bills were introduced this week…

PennFuels Initiative: House Bill 1202 (Gerger-D-Montgomery) establishing the PennFuels Program to require renewable content in transportation fuels, part of Gov. Rendell’s Energy Independence Initiative.

Storage Tanks: House Bill 1331 (Carroll-D-Luzerne) amending the Storage Tank Act to extend the sunset dates for certain programs.

Sewer/Water Connections: House Bill 1493 (Rubley-R-Chester) establishing the Water and Wastewater System Connection Funding Program in PennVEST.

Long-Term Energy Contracts: House Bill 1530 (Dermondy-D-Allegheny) authorizing long-term contracts to acquire electric energy.

6/8/2007