These bills of interested were the subject of action by the Senate and House this week-

Senate

Appalachian Trail: House Bill 1281 (Freeman-D-Lehigh) requiring municipalities to protect the Appalachian Trail through land use controls was amended on Third Consideration, passed by the Senate and returns to the House for a concurrence vote.

NewsClip: Senate Approves Plan to Protect Appalachian Trail

Editorial: House Must Take Next Step on Bill to Protect Trail

Cellulosic Ethanol: Senate Bill 1317 (Waugh-R-York) providing incentive payments for cellulosic ethanol production was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Infrastructure Funding: Senate Bill 2 (Earll-R-Erie) that would provide $750 million for drinking water, wastewater, flood control and high hazard dam projects over ten years from the Gaming Fund was amended and reported from the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Gaming Fund Distributions: Senate Bill 1286 (Wozniak-D-Cambria) no Gaming Funds shall be distributed to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for economic development projects until such time as an equal amount is available to the remainder of the state was amended and reported from the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Legacy Sediments: Senate Resolution 283 (Brubaker-R-Lancaster) recognizing the accomplishments of Franklin & Marshall professors Robert Walter and Dorothy Merritts on their research into legacy sediments was reported out of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is on the Senate Calendar for action.

House

Deep Mine Safety: Senate Bill 949 (Kasunic-D-Somerset) updating the Bituminous Coal Mine Safety Act was amended on the floor of the House and passed by a vote of 182-13. It now goes back to the Senate for a concurrence vote. The bill is designed, in part, to prevent accidents like the one that occurred in the Quecreek Mine in 2002. (See separate article)

Flood Assistance: House Bill 1989 (Wansacz-D-Luzerne) providing for flood relief grants by imposing a 20 cents per $100 paid on property insurance surcharge was amended and reported from the House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee by a party-line vote (Democrats supporting) and then referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Landfill Siting: House Bill 1242 (Goodman-D-Schuylkill) establishing additional siting criteria for municipal and residual waste landfills was reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and referred to House Appropriations Committee.

Conservation Districts: Senate Bill 1020 (Wonderling-R-Montgomery) updating the conservation district law was reported from the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and then referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Forestry Task Force: House Resolution 712 (Hutchinson-R-Venango) re-establishing the Forestry Task Force was reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is now on the House Calendar for action.

River Basin Funding: House Resolution 719 (George-D-Clearfield) endorsing request for federal funding for PA river basin commissions was reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is now on the House Calendar for action.

PA Hiking Week: House Resolution 744 (Everett-R-Lycoming) designating May 24 to June 1 “Pennsylvania Hiking Week” was adopted by the House.

5/16/2008