The following bills and resolutions moved in the Senate and House this week—

Senate

Alternative Energy Investment: Special Session Senate Bill 1 (MJ.White-R-Venango), the Alternative Energy Investment Act, was amended to carve $50 million out of $200 million for alternative energy tax credits that could be used for rebates for certain solar projects, and $15 million from that tax credit pot for hybrid car rebates and directed a one-time $5 million appropriation to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency for loans to low-income homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient. It was passed by the Senate 44 to 5 and now goes to the House for consideration. (see separate article)

Biodiesel Mandate: Special Session Senate Bill 36 (MJ.White-R-Venango) Biodiesel Study and Production Incentive Act, which will trigger mandates for the use of biodiesel based on biodiesel fuel production capacity for production sold to distributors in Pennsylvania, was amended and reported from the Senate Appropriations Committee and passed the Senate 42 to 7. (see separate article)

AFIG Incentives: Special Session Senate Bill 22 (Tomlinson-R-Bucks) increasing the reimbursement for alternative vehicle fuels from five to ten cents per gallon was amended and reported from the Senate Appropriations Committee and passed the Senate 40 to 9.. (see separate article)

Coal Miner’s Day: House Resolution 410 (DeWeese-D-Greene) that would designate December 19 “Coal Miner’s Day” was passed by the Senate.

Deep Mine Safety Legislation: Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango) announced she and Sen. Richard Kasunic (D-Somerset) have been working with the United Mine Workers and the PA Coal Association to do a comprehensive re-write of Pennsylvania’s deep mine safety law prompted by events surrounding the Quecreek Mine Rescue in 2002. They hoped to have the 300-page bill done for consideration prior to the holiday, but said they would be introducing it in January.

Tire Pile Recycling: Senate Bill 1050 (Baker-R-Luzerne) transferring $3 million to a new Used Tire Pile Remediation Account from the Recycling Fund was referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.

House

Appalachian Trail: House Bill 1281 (Freeman-D-Lehigh) requiring municipalities to protect the Appalachian Trail was passed by the House 169 to 22 and now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Green Building Credits: Special Session House Bill 5 (M.Smith-D-Montgomery) establishing a High-Performance Green Building Tax Credit Program was passed by the House and goes to the Senate for consideration.

Radon Awareness Month: House Resolution 513 (Rubley-R-Chester) designating January as “Radon Awareness Month” was adopted by the House.

Great Lakes Compact: House Bill 1705 (Harkins-D-Erie) adopting the Great Lakes Compact concerning water withdrawals was reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and then referred to the House Appropriations Committee. (see separate article)

$850 Million Energy Plan: Special Session House Bill 1 (DePasquale-D-York) providing for a $850 million bond issue to fund energy projects through the Energy Development Authority, without a funding source, was amended and reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, then was re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Green Buildings: Special Session House Bill 4 (Rubley-R-Chester) requiring buildings constructed with state funds to meet green building standards was amended and reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, then re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

State Energy Office: Special Session House Bill 16 (King-D-Bucks) establishing an independent State Energy Office was amended and reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, then re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

State Energy Office: Special Session House Bill 36 (George-D-Clearfield) establishing a State Energy Office was referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Solar Energy Requirement Increase: Special Session House Bill 13 (Bennington-D-Allegheny) amending the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard amending Tier III requirements to include energy efficiency and conservation was reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, then re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee. Rep. George announced the Committee will be holding hearings on this legislation next year.

Smart Meters: Special Session House Bill 38 (Freeman-R-Lehigh) requiring electric distribution companies to install smart electric meters was reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, then re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Electric Price Transition: House Resolution 506 (George-D-Clearfield) directing DEP and the PUC to evaluate measures to manage the transition from electricity price caps and to minimize the impact on residential customers was reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is now on the House Calendar for action.

Development Moratorium: House Bill 904 (Freeman-D-Lehigh) authorizing local temporary development moratoriums was amended again this week and reported from the House Local Government Committee and then referred to House Appropriations Committee.

Theft of Scrap: House Commerce Committee amended and reported out House Bill 1742 (Pashinski-D-Luzerne) increasing penalties for theft of scrap processors and then referred to House Appropriations Committee.

EcoTerrorism: House Bill 379 (Cutler-R-Lancaster) making changes to ecoterrorism penalties was amended and reported out by the House Agriculture Committee.

Municipalities Planning Code: the House Local Government Committee reported out House Bill 749 (Boyd-R-Lancaster) amending the Municipalities Planning Code relating to zoning implementation agreements and House Bill 866 (Kauffman-R-Cumberland) amending the Municipalities Planning Code further providing for contents of subdivision and land development ordinances, which were both referred to House Appropriations Committee. House Bill 1812 (Gillespie-R-York) amending the Municipalities Planning Code further providing for contiguous municipalities was passed over.

Bills Introduced

Stormwater Permitting: House Bill 2128 (Reichley-R-Berks) requires DEP to develop a streamlined process for issuing stormwater NPDES permits.

12/14/2007