These bills of interest saw action in the House and Senate this week as of Friday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. Due to the volume of bills moving, additional details of action are included under listed bills, rather than individual stories—

Senate

PUC Nominations: The Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee held a hearing and then unanimously recommended Senate approval of Gov. Rendell’s two nominees for the Public Utility Commission—Robert Powelson and Wayne Gardner. The nominations will be reported to the Senate Rules Committee and then the full Senate for action.

Water Infrastructure: Senate Bill 1341 (Musto-D-Luzerne) authorizing a $400 million bond issue voter referendum for water, wastewater and stormwater projects (part of the PA Fair Share for Clean Water Plan) was amended, passed by the Senate and is now in the House for consideration.

"This investment in our clean water infrastructure is desperately needed," Sen. Musto, ranking member of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, said today. "Combined sewer overflows and the lack of funding to fix old water systems pose a major water pollution concern that we must deal with immediately."

"If we do not address this problem now, there will be costly implications on future generations," Sen. Musto said. "I am hopeful that the voters will approve the referendum."

Energy Assistance: Senate Bill 352 (Robbins-R-Mercer) providing for a Low-Income Energy Assistance Program allocation of funds was passed by the Senate and now goes to the House for action.

The House Health and Human Services Committee is scheduled to consider this legislation on June 28.

"With energy prices skyrocketing, it is imperative that all LIHEAP funds be appropriated expeditiously and responsibly to assist the growing number of Pennsylvanians who will struggling this coming winter to pay their heating bills," Senator Robbins said. "With home heating oil running at almost $5 per gallon more Pennsylvania households are looking at troubling financial times ahead and it is important that we maximize the efficiency, accountability and effectiveness of Pennsylvania's LIHEAP program," Sen. Robbins said.

Last year, state Auditor General Jack Wagner reported that a special performance audit found serious deficiencies in the Department of Public Welfare's administration of LIHEAP.

Specifically, Auditor General Wagner noted that inadequate policies and procedures, insufficient supervision, and inadequate oversight resulted in fraud and abuse in all six counties -- Philadelphia, Allegheny, Lancaster, Lehigh, Perry and York -- examined during the audit period of July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2006.

Senate Bill 352 provides for additional oversight that Auditor General Wagner deemed to be needed under the current system and directs the Department of Public Welfare to take appropriate actions if it discovers any false, misleading or inaccurate statements by applicants, participating energy vendors or state employees.

Brownfields: Senate Bill 1062 (Wonderling-R-Montgomery) providing for the reimbursement of developers for reuse of brownfield sites was amended and reported from the Senate Appropriations Committee, passed by the Senate and is now in the House for further consideration.

"Restoring brownfields to productive use carries with it enormous benefits to local communities. Money invested in brownfields cleanups pays big dividends for taxpayers and the environment. In the 24th Senatorial District there are hundreds of brownfields sites waiting to be remediated. Sites such as the Bushkill Creek Cooridor Revitalization Project in Easton, the former Ashland Specialty Chemical Company in Glendon; the Krupp Foundry in Quakertown; and the Mutter and Stauffer Auto in East Greenville, to name a few. Unfortunately, these sites no longer create jobs for residents or tax dollars for the municipal government. All that remains is an eyesore. My legislation will further help private entities in the redevelopment of these abandoned properties," said Sen. Wonderling.

Coal Bed Methane: Senate Bill 1330 (D.White-R-Indiana) establishing the Coal Methane Review Board was passed by the Senate and now goes to the House for consideration.

"Under a 1983 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling, coal bed methane is considered part of the property rights transferred under coal agreements. Now, with energy prices rising, methane extraction is becoming more and more attractive to developers," Sen. Don White said. "As a result, many landowners who previously entered into coal agreements subsequently gave up their rights to coal bed methane and are confronted with mineral estate development on their property. Senate Bill 1330 is not intended to change the respective rights and obligations of either party, but rather to create a timely, less expensive process."

Senate Bill 1330 calls for the creation of a three-member Coal Bed Methane Review Board to consider objections and attempt to reach an agreement on issues such as the location of coal bed methane wells and/or access roads.

Electric Rate Cap Transition: Senate Bill 1134 (Tomlinson-R-Bucks) providing for a transition period after rate caps come off in 2010 was amended and reported out of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Neighborhoods: The Senate Local Government Committee amended and reported out House Bill 1280 (Freeman-D-Lehigh) amending the Municipalities Planning Code to further define traditional neighborhood development and is now on the Senate Calendar for action.

Scrap Metal Thefts: House Bill 1742 (Pashinski-D-Luzerne) prevention of scrap material thefts was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

House

Nonstructural Alternatives to Flooding: House Bill 2539 (Seip-D-Schuylkill) and House Bill 2546 (Conklin-D-Centre) authorizing nonstructural alternatives to control flooding were passed by the House and now go to the Senate for consideration.

"We have had significant flooding issues in Pennsylvania throughout our state's history," Rep. Conklin said. "But with traditional 100-year and 500-year flood plains becoming more like 15- or 20-year flood sites – which is what we are seeing across the Midwest -- it is very important to take steps to make sure we are doing what we can to improve and update our flood control projects here in Pennsylvania."

Rep. Conklin said his proposal is a part of the state's Rebuild PA economic development initiative contained in the latest budget proposal. He said investing in Pennsylvania's aging and deteriorating infrastructure, including updating inadequate and outdated flood control projects, is not only critical in protecting residents, but also in attracting business development to Pennsylvania.

"Part of encouraging businesses to set up shop in our area is showing that we are willing to invest in projects that improve our overall business climate," Rep. Conklin said. "This includes protecting roads, bridges, dams and infrastructure from potentially dangerous floods."

Capital Budget Bills: House Bill 2522 (Evans-D-Philadelphia) providing for the 2008-09 Capital Budget was and House Bill 2542 (Evans-D-Philadelphia) providing for the Rebuilding PA Capital Budget were both passed by the House and now go to the Senate for consideration.

Funding Dam Repairs: House Bill 2549 (Siptroth-D-Monroe) authorizing funding for unsafe high hazard dam repairs was passed by the House and now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Planning Code: House Bill 1525 (Steil-R-Bucks) amending the Municipalities Planning Code relating to comprehensive plans and compliance by counties was passed by the House and is now in the Senate for consideration.

Infrastructure: House Bill 2638 (McCall-D-Carbon) a $760 million infrastructure program administered by the Commonwealth Finance Agency for financing capital projects related to tourism development, independent institutions of higher education, hospital facilities, vital community assets (water, wastewater, et al) and economic development projects, funded with Gaming revenues was amended to include high hazard dams and flood protection projects and reported out by the House Finance Committee and then referred to the House Rules Committee.

Infrastructure II: House Bill 2621 (D.Evans-D-Philadelphia) providing for a $1 billion bond issue referendum on natural gas, water and wastewater pipeline replacement was amended and reported from the House Consumer Affairs Committee, referred to and reported from the House Rules Committee and was then referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Biomass Credit: The House Finance Committee amended and reported out House Bill 664 (George-D-Clearfield) providing for a Sales Tax exemption for biomass projects and was then referred to the House Rules Committee.

Biodiesel Subsidy: Special Session House Bill 64 (Kessler-D-Berks) that would provide a 75 cent per gallon subsidy for the production of biodiesel was reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. The bill was then referred to the House Rules Committee

AEPS Energy Mandate: Special Session Senate Bill 64 (Waugh-R-York) amending the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act to include paper making liquors as a Tier I alternative energy source was amended to increase the solar energy set aside in Tier I, reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and then tabled.

Littering Fines: House Bill 1319 (Siptroth-D-Monroe) increasing penalties for scattering rubbish and including an acknowledgement of littering laws on learner’s permit was amended to increase penalties for certain forms of littering was reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee;

Organic Farming: House Bill 2347 (Kessler-D-Berks) creating an Organic Agriculture Development Fund Program was amended and reported from the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, referred into and out of the House Rules Committee and then re-committed to the House Appropriations Committee.

"This bill would be a major step forward on achieving two objectives -- making farming more profitable and improving the environment," said Rep. Kessler. "This would help to preserve farmland. Organic food is the fastest-growing sector of the food industry and provides a net return to farmers much higher than for conventionally raised farm products.

"In addition, all Pennsylvanians would benefit from being able to buy food produced close to home -- local food requires much less fuel to get to market than out-of-state or foreign products."

Fisheries Guiding Principles: House Bill 2672 (Staback-D-Schuylkill) establishing a guiding principle in fisheries and aquatic resource management decisions was reported from the House Game and Fisheries Committee, the referred to the House Rules Committee.

Beneficial Use of Sludge: House Resolution 763 (R.Miller-R-York) directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to review the program for beneficial use of sewage sludge by land application was reported from the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

Adopt-A-River: House Bill 328 (Sturla-D-Lancaster) establishing the Adopt-A-River Program within DCNR was reported from the House Rules Committee and referred to the House Appropriations Committee.

Oil Speculation: House Resolution 788 (Longietti-D-Mercer) urging Congress to investigate the role of speculators related to rising oil prices was adopted by the House.

6/27/2008