The Senate and House will return to voting session the week of March 31.

You can watch the Senate Floor Session and House Floor Session live online.

On the Senate/House Agenda/Bills Introduced

The Senate and House published committee schedules for next week and floor Calendars for the week of March 31—

Calendars

House (March 31): House Bill 1078 (Hanna-D-Clinton) establishing the Elk Damage Fund providing for deterrent fences for deer, bear and elk and payment of claims for elk damage; House Resolution 546 (George-D-Clearfield) urging Congress to investigate gas and energy prices; House Resolution 627 (George-D-Clearfield) urging federal government to provide more heating assistance funding; House Bill 2233 (Freeman-D-Lehigh) extending grants under the Elm Street Program beyond the original five year term;

Special Session House Bill 13 (Bennington-R-Mifflin) amends the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act to provide for increased use of energy efficiency, extends the compliance period from 15 to 21 years and provides additional milestones for the use of alternative energy; Special Session House Bill 16 (King-D-Bucks) establishing a State Energy Office; Special Session House Bill 17 (McIlvaine Smith-D-Montgomery) excluding purchase price of hybrid electric vehicles from sales and use tax; Special Session House Resolution 6 (Thomas-D-Philadelphia) designating the week of November 11-17 as “National Geography Awareness Week.”

Senate (March 31) House Bill 1214 (Surra-D-Elk) changing the terms of Game Commissioners from eight to four years; House Bill 1281 (Freeman-D-Lehigh) requiring municipalities to take steps to protect the Appalachian Trail; House Bill 1329 (Kessler-D-Berks) further providing for appeals and challenges to zoning ordinances.

Committees

House: the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee holds an informational meeting on Senate Bill 949 (Kasunic-D-Somerset) updating the Bituminous Coal Mine Safety Act; the Game and Fisheries Committee meets to consider House Resolution 642 (Levdansky-D-Allegheny) directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to do an audit of the Game Commission’s Deer Management Program and holds a second meeting to hear the annual report of the Game Commission; the Local Government Committee meets to consider House Bill 2266 (Steil-R-Bucks) requiring watershed based stormwater planning, House Bill 2018 (Freeman-D-Lehigh) establishing a tax exempt property municipal assistance fund; the Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee on Information Technology meets to consider House Bill 1304 (Fairchild-R-Mifflin) to establish a Geospatial Coordinating Council; the Tourism and Recreational Development Committee meets to consider House Bill 2035 (Seip-D-Berks) establishing the Pennsylvania Heritage Area Development Program and House Bill 2043 (Haluska-D-Cambria) establishing the Snowmobile and All-Terrain Vehicle Act.

Senate: the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee informational briefing on DCNR’s natural gas leasing policy; the Appropriations Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 1020 (Wonderling-R-Montgomery) updating the County Conservation District law, House Bill 1589 (Evans-D-Philadelphia) Capital Budget for 2007-08.

Bills Introduced

These environmental bills of interest were introduced this week—

Utilities Tax Reduction: House Bill 2236 (Saylor-R-York) reducing the Utilities Gross Receipts Tax.

Biofuels Incentive: Senate Bill 1317 (Waugh-R-York) establishing the PA Farms to Fuels Initiatives Act to promote the production of bioenergy crops.

3/28/2008