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Budget update
Session Daze went to press just as the budget bills and a wide range of other measures were being finalized and voted. The Senate agreed this afternoon to the House amendments to Senate Bill 1466, the General Fund budget bill, and sent the bill to Gov. Corbett for his signature. The House and Senate should conclude their work on Saturday before leaving for the summer recess.
But it ain't over yet. Some of the key final details in the budget — and potential last-minute mischief — will be found in the Fiscal Code bill (Senate Bill 1263), which will be amended today. The Fiscal Code implements portions of the budget, makes transfers between funds, and over the years has been a source of many last-minute and not-so-nice surprises.
It looks like all funding for the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fundand Pennsylvania's nationally recognized farmland preservation program will be restored. But we're not going to celebrate until we see what happens with the Fiscal Code. We're also hearing very good things about restoring funding for the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant (AFIG) program, but the fate of this program hinges on the Fiscal Code bill as well.
PennFuture is also closely following other bills, including the historic preservation tax credit and land bank legislation. Stay tuned.
Bad DEP permitting bill on hold, thanks to citizen action
The House was scheduled to vote this week on legislation that would severely limit or possibly even eliminate theDepartment of Environmental Protection's (DEP) ability to adequately review applications for pollution and other permits. But the House Republican leadership has had difficulty rounding up the votes in favor of House Bill 1659, thanks to misgivings of members and the opposition of PennFuture, other environmental groups, and citizens across the state. All but a handful of House Democrats say they will oppose the bill.
House Bill 1659 sets very short deadlines for DEP to review permits, then declares that permits are deemed approved if DEP can't meet the deadlines. Meanwhile, the General Assembly has been cutting DEP's budget, hindering its ability to review permits in a timely manner. House Bill 1659 also requires DEP to develop a plan within 90 days to outsource permit reviews to non-DEP employees.
But it could still come up anytime. Please urge your state representative to oppose this bad bill.
Federal transportation bill moves us forward, mostly
Congress reached agreement Thursday on a wide-reaching transportation bill that holds mostly good news for the environment. Two years after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst oil disaster in our history, this bill will deliver funding to help bring the Gulf back to its pre-spill health. We're also greatly relieved to see that the bill won't give a green light to the Keystone XL pipeline. Unfortunately, the bill does include some rollbacks to the National Environmental Policy Act, which, under the guise of streamlining the approval of new transportation projects, could mean cutting corners on environmental assessments.
Eagle nesting population soars
Just in time for Independence Day, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has released its preliminary survey of bald eagle nests in the Commonwealth. There are now 206 confirmed active eagle nests in the state, and the number is expected to grow as more surveys are completed. Crawford, Lancaster and York Counties had the highest numbers of nests. We see lots of soaring eagles in our future.
Summer of Energy to launch on Monday
With every Pennsylvanian breathing crappy and dangerous air today — and more to come — we all need to remember that the single most important thing we can do to clean up our air is to change how we use energy, and what kind we use. On Monday, PennFuture will launch the Summer of Energy — giving Pittsburghers everything they need to clean up their act! Join Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and other local leaders, environmental and health organizations, and people who just like to breathe, at the press conference/rally at 1 p.m. in the courtyard of the Allegheny County Courthouse on Grant Street.
Daze off to Penn's Woods
There will be no Session Daze next Friday, July 6. We'll be out exploring some of the gems of Penn's Woods — hiking in Little Pine State Park in Lycoming County or Trough Creek State Park in Huntingdon County, biking the Sandy Creek Trail in Venango County or looking for eagles while paddling the Upper Delaware River.
Daze will be back, not with a vengeance (we hope), on Friday the Thirteenth.
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