By a party-line 29-20 vote, the Senate passed Senate Bill 1100, which would establish an impact fee on Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling. Under this legislation, the fee would be $50,000 the first year, reducing in $10,000 increments each year. In years four through 10, the fee would hold at $20,000 and in years 11 through 20, it would hold at $10,000.
Revenue from the proposed impact fee would be distributed as follows:
- County Conservation Districts would receive $2.5 million in 2011 and $5 million in 2012 and every year following.
- Office of the State Fire Commissioner would receive $1.5 million in 2011 and every year after to be used for training programs for emergency responders in the Marcellus Shale region and purchasing special equipment.
- PA Fish and Boat Commission would receive $1.5 million in 2011 and every year after for the costs related to reviewing applications for drilling permits.
- Local governments would receive 55 percent of tax revenues to be distributed as follows:
- 36 percent to counties in the shale region with producing wells;
- 37 percent to municipalities in the shale region with producing wells; and
- 27 percent to municipalities in counties in the shale region with producing wells (based on population and highway miles).
- Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund would receive $2.5 million in 2011 and $5 million in 2012 and each year after. These funds would be used to increase availability of quality housing for low- to moderate-income individuals and increase rental availability for low-income individuals.
The remaining 45 percent of the impact fee revenues would be distributed as follows:
- The Commonwealth Financing Authority would receive 25 percent for grants;
- The Highway Bridge Improvement Restricted Account would receive 25 percent;
- Water and sewer projects would receive 25 percent (50 percent to the PA Infrastructure Investment Authority and 50 percent to the H2O PA Program); and
- Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund would receive 5 percent.
Additionally, this bill would establish the Natural Gas Energy Development Program and require wells to be 500 feet away from an existing building or water well and 300 feet from any stream, spring or body of water and 1,000 feet from a public water supply source. Senate Democrats tried several times to amend Senate Bill 1100, both in committee and on the Senate floor, but were unsuccessful. The Democratic plan would have:
- Provided a higher impact fee of $75,000 per well in the first year, raising to $150 million in 2011, $260 million in 2012, $380 million in 2013 and $491 million in 2014;
- Toughened setback requirements to measure distances from the edge of the well pad, rather than from the well head; and
- Totally preserved local zoning power as it relates to natural gas drilling so that no state agency could override a municipality’s power to provide for appropriate placement of wells.
The bill is now in the House.
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By a 48 to 1 vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 1266, which would authorize borrowing up to $150 million for flood-related highway, bridge and rail rehabilitation projects, as well as flood control and disaster mitigation projects.
The measure was part of a bipartisan eight-bill package designed to provide relief to people impacted by heavy flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene.
The bill is now in the House.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1268, which would authorize a county-by-county list of highways damaged by the Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene flooding that require repair and rehabilitation.
The measure, which would authorize up to $75 million for projects listed by priority under highway Capital Budget project itemization, was part of an eight-bill bipartisan legislative package in response to the fall flooding and storm damage.
The bill is now in the House.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1269, which would authorize a county-by-county list of bridges and railroad facilities damaged by the Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene that require repair and rehabilitation.
The bill, which would itemize the projects for Capital funding, was part of an eight-bill bipartisan legislative package in response to the fall flooding and storm damage. The measure would limit authorization for the bridge projects at $8.9 million, and $2 million for the railroad projects
The bill is now in the House.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1271, which would authorize a county-by-county list of flood control and disaster mitigation projects eligible for Capital funding in response to damage caused by Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene.
The bill was part of an eight-bill bipartisan legislative package in response to the fall flooding and storm damage. The measure would itemize a total of $41.0 million in public improvement projects and $7.29 million in disaster mitigation or assistance projects.
The bill is now in the House.
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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 923, allowing county housing authorities to hire police officers. Under current law, only first-or-second-class cities can hire police officers.
The bill now goes to the House.
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The Senate unanimously passed a bill giving property tax breaks to homeowners who experienced damage during Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee. Senate Bill 1267 provides for a local tax abatement of real estate taxes on properties as well as a real estate tax exemption for repairs to property.
Under the bill, the county assessment office is authorized to reassess damaged properties retroactive to August 1, 2011 to reflect reductions in property value caused by either of the two storms. The amount of real estate tax abated, credited, or refunded can’t exceed $30,000 per property.
If the property is repaired within three years, the homeowner can seek an exemption from the additional value the repairs add. The exemption can be as much as 100 percent of the eligible assessment in the first year, 50 percent in the second year and 25 percent in the third year.
The bill is now in the House.
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The Senate voted unanimously to create a $15 million Small Business Flood Relief Program for businesses in counties that were declared a federal disaster area as a result of Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee.
Under Senate Bill 1297, small businesses would be required to apply for a loan by October 2, 2012. Loan amounts ranging from $10,000-$100,000 could be used for working capital, inventory, purchase of equipment and property improvements.
Working capital loans would be made at no higher than 3 percent interest and would be for no more than five years. A loan for equipment purchase or property improvement would be limited to 1 percent interest for 10 years.
Applications would be reviewed and loans approved on a first-come, first-served basis until available funds are exhausted. The program would end on December 31, 2012 and any money remaining in the account would be transferred to the General Fund.
The bill is now in the House.
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On a largely partisan 33-16 vote, the Senate passed a bill updating Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation law that gives businesses huge tax breaks while doing nothing to fix the insolvency of the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund.
Although Pennsylvania has one of the highest trust fund deficits in the nation, Senate Republicans rejected Democratic amendments and pushed through Senate Bill 1310, which borrows money to pay the state’s debt to the federal government, letting businesses off the hook for their share.
Under the bill, employers receive the benefit of lower taxes because the debt service tax on the bond floated to pay the federal debt is lower than the additional federal taxes they would be responsible for to repay the federal loans, but employees will not see their taxes go down because the solvency percentage is artificially kept at zero, meaning that the solvency measures, including the employee tax, remain in effect at their highest levels.
The bill also keeps Pennsylvania’s taxable wage base – the maximum wage on which employers pay unemployment taxes — among the lowest in the country for years to come.
Pennsylvania remains one of only three states where employees pay unemployment taxes, and those taxes rise with every salary increase, even as employer taxes have been capped at the same rate since 1982.
Democrats offered amendments, both in the Appropriations Committee and on the Senate floor that would have leveled the burden of paying the trust fund debt and would have taken steps toward improving the trust fund’s solvency.
The bill is now in the House.
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The Senate unanimously approved legislation would allow farmers to move farm equipment more freely on Pennsylvania roads.
Senate Bill 390 would allow for the transportation of wider equipment on Pennsylvania roads and permit farm equipment transportation at night if proper safety precautions are taken.
For producers using their own equipment, the bill would increase the size of implements of husbandry permitted on roads during the day from 14 feet, 6 inches to 16 feet in width if additional safety precautions are taken, and would provide for the movement of equipment up to 14 feet, 6 inches in width at night with proper precautions.
The bill also increases the distance a farm vehicle operating under a Type C certificate (which is exempt from registration) can travel from 25 miles to 50 miles.
The bill also increases the allowable distance for multipurpose agricultural vehicles to be operated on between farms 2 miles to 5 miles.
The bill also creates a classification of custom farm service implements of husbandry for farmers who are contracted by neighbors to provide a service, such as harvesting or planting. Current law treats this equipment as a commercial implement, which places more strict regulations on equipment owners, but this bill would treat this equipment the same as producers using their own equipment.
The bill is now in the House Transportation Committee.
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The Senate unanimously approved legislation that would update Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law, as well as bring Pennsylvania into compliance with the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.
Senate Bill 1183 establishes a comprehensive system for managing Pennsylvania’s sex offender population.
Also, a person who is subject to registration would have a DNA sample taken and forwarded to the state police for inclusion in the state DNA database, as required by the Adam Walsh act.
The bill would also prohibit group-based homes from providing concurrent residency to multiple individuals who are required to register as sexually violent predators, unless the individuals are spouses, siblings, or parent and child to each other.
The bill would also include penalties for failure to register and establishes mandatory sentences for failure to register.
The bill is now in the House Judiciary Committee.
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The Senate unanimously approved legislation that would create the “Flood Relief Act for September 2011.”
Senate Bill 1264 would establish and makes an appropriation for the Supplemental Individual Assistance Program for individuals who suffered losses due to Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.
Under the bill, a restricted account would be established in the state treasury and known as the Supplemental Individual Assistance Program Account, and $5 million would be transferred from the General Fund to this account.
Individuals and families impacted by storm damage as a result of the severe weather events of September 2011 would qualify for grants based on the eligibility guidelines under the federal Stafford Act (varies according to income and damage/losses).
The bill is in the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
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The Senate unanimously approved legislation that would create the Agriculture Disaster Recovery Program to provide loans and an interest buy-down program within the Department of Agriculture to assist in the recovery from a disaster declared by the president, U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary or governor.
Currently there is no law that applies to loan and interest buy-down programs within the state Department of Agriculture.
Under Senate Bill 1323, loans issued through the program would be zero interest loans with a maximum loan term of 24 months. The dollar amount of any loan would not exceed $100,000.
Applicants and private banks could participate in the interest buy-down program, which would reduce the interest by a maximum of 4 percent on loans from $10,000 to $100,000 with maximum loan terms of 24 months.
The eligible dollar amount would be the adjusted loss (total loss minus the loss that has already been covered), as determined by the Department of Agriculture.
The funding would be provided for the following uses: working capital, land contamination remediation, land restoration, floodway restoration, the removal of debris from creeks, streams or waterways and other eligible losses as determined by the department, including milk, feed and crop loss.
The bill is now in the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.
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By a vote of 46-3, the Senate passed Senate Bill 735, which removes the requirement of sportsmen having to wear back tags while hunting. The back tags were often lost by sportsmen while crawling through the brush or coming into contact with trees while hunting.
This legislation was initiated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission as a convenience to hunters.
The bill was signed into law as Act 107 of 2011.
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By a vote of 40-9, the Senate passed Senate Bill 1644, which permits the sale of county personal and surplus farm products through electronic online auctions.
During the electronic auction, each bidder will have the capability to view the high bid price and increase their own bids accordingly. The purchase price must be paid by the high bidder immediately, or at a time determined by the county commissioners. A record of the electronic auction is made accessible for public inspection.
The board of county commissioners can reject any bids received if they are believed to be less than fair market value.
House Bill 1644 also allows county commissioners to eliminate the costly position of jury commissioner by vote in many of the state’s 67 counties – – an estimated annual cost savings of $1.4 million.
The bill was signed into law as Act 108 of 2011.
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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bills 473 and 853, which would make annual resident fishing license for $1 to members of the armed forces, PA National Guard or reserves deployed for 60 days within the past 24 months.
Currently, a deployment of more than 180 days is required for the reduced-cost license.
Both bills are now in the House.
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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1276, which allows Third Class counties having a population of over 500,000 people to have the option to remain a Third Class County and not become a Second Class County A.
Under previous law, if a county had more than 500,000 but less than 850,000 residents it was considered a Second Class County A. This bill would allow current Third Class Counties to keep their standing through an ordinance or resolution of its board of commissioners. Third Class counties must exercise this option by February 15 of the year following a certified census.
This bill was signed into law as Act 132 of 2011.
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The Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 1228, which would add an additional 30 days to the amount of time manufacturers have to make repairs under the Automobile Lemon Law in cases of war, terrorism, civil unrest, fire, flood or natural disaster.
Under this legislation, the manufacturer would have an additional 90 days to complete the repairs if they file a sworn affidavit with the Attorney General’s office stating that the repairs were unable to be completed due to war, terrorism, civil unrest, fire, flood, or natural disaster.
The bill is now in the House.
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