On the Senate/House Agenda/Session Schedule/Bills Introduced

Here’s what’s coming up on the Senate and House agenda for next week, as well as the voting session schedule through June 30.

Session Schedule

The Senate and House will return to voting session on June 23.

House 2008 Session Days—

June 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30

Senate 2008 Session Days--

June 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30

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

Calendars/Committees

The Senate and House published committee schedules for next week and floor Calendars for June 23--

Calendars

House (June 23): Senate Bill 356 (M.White-R-Venango) establishing the PA Center for Environmental Education in law; Senate Bill 1020 (Wonderling-R-Montgomery) updating the 1945 Conservation District Law; House Bill 2549 (Siptroth-D-Monroe) authorizing funding for unsafe high hazard dam repairs; House Resolution 788 (Longietti-D-Mercer) urging Congress to investigate the role of speculators related to rising oil prices; 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 934 (Scavello-R-Monroe) authorizing counties to impose up to a $4/ton solid waste management fee to support local recycling, anti-litter programs; House Resolution 712 (Hutchinson-R-Venango) re-establishing the Forestry Task Force; House Resolution 719 (George-D-Clearfield) endorsing request for federal funding for PA river basin commissions.

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 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 November 15 as “Pennsylvania GIS Day” and the week of November 11-17 as “National Geography Awareness Week.”

Senate (June 23): Senate Bill 949 (Kasunic-D-Somerset) update to the Bituminous Coal Mine Safety Act; Senate Bill 352 (Robbins-R-Mercer) providing for a Low-Income Energy Assistance Program allocation of funds; Senate Bill 1062 (Wonderling-R-Montgomery) providing for the reimbursement of developers for reuse of brownfield sites; House Bill 1329 (Kessler-D-Berks) further providing for appeals and challenges to zoning ordinances; House Bill 221 (Tangretti-D-Westmoreland) establishing an Historic Preservation Incentive Program; House Bill 1742 (Pashinski-D-Luzerne) prevention of scrap material thefts.

Committees

House: the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee meets to consider House Bill 1319 (Siptroth-D-Monroe) increasing penalties for scattering rubbish and including an acknowledgement of littering laws on learner’s permit; the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee meets to consider House Bill 2347 (Kessler-D-Berks) creating an Organic Agriculture Development Fund Program; the Finance Committee meets to consider House Bill 664 (George-D-Clearfield) providing for a Sales Tax exemption for biomass projects; the Urban Affairs Committee meets to consider House Bill 2559 (Petrone-D-Allegheny) extending the guaranteed energy savings contract period from 15 to 20 years; the Labor Relations and Urban Affairs Committees hold a joint hearing on House Bill 2445 (Eachus-D-Luzerne) providing for neighborhood blight reclamation and revitalization.

Senate: the Appropriations Committee meets to consider Senate Bill 1330 (D.White-R-Indiana) establishing the Coal Methane Review Board.

Bills Introduced

The following legislation of interest was introduced this week—

Nutrient Credit Trading Bank: Senate Bill 1493 (Vance-R-Cumberland) establishing the Nutrient Credit Trading Bank.

River Basin Funding: Senate Resolution 344 (Brubaker-R-Lancaster) urging Congress to fund the interstate river basin commission within the Commonwealth.

Fair Share Nutrient Reduction Plan: House Bill 2654 (Hanna-D-Centre) establishing the entire Fair Share for Clean Water Nutrient Reduction Program.

Fair Share Nutrient Reduction Plan for Farmers: House Bill 2656 (Hanna-D-Centre) establishing the Fair Share for Clean Water Nutrient Reduction Plan for Farmers.

Dump the Pump Day: House Resolution 806 (McIlvaine Smith-D-Chester) recognizing June 19 as “Dump the Pump” Day to encourage mass transit.

Small Business Ombudsmen: House Resolution 808 (George-D-Clearfield) welcoming the 2008 National Conference of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state Small Business Ombudsmen to Harrisburg.

Advanced Coal Gasification: Special Session House Bill 62 (DePasquale-D-York) amending the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act to add advanced coal gasification and carbon sequestration projects.

Fuels for Schools: Special Session House Bill 63 (Rapp-R-Forest) establishing the Fuels for Schools and Beyond Program to encourage biomass energy.

Biomass Diesel: Special Session House Bill 64 (Kessler-D-Berks) amending the Alternative Fuels Incentive Act to encourage biomass diesel production.


6/20/2008

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