legislation – Page 3

Growing Greener III legislation introduced in Senate

Posted on May 25, 2017 Leave a Comment

Senator Killion’s Growing Greener III framework legislation (SB705) has been introduced.

The House bill, as of this morning, has 31 sponsors but needs many more.

Please call or email your state representative ASAP. Ask them to co-sponsor the legislation. View the cosponsorship memo.

View current list of sponsors.

The legislation establishes a framework for the state to invest $315 million annually to support water protection, land conservation, outdoor recreation, and other environmental projects. Pennsylvania needs this new framework. Growing Greener could provide only $57 million for projects last year.

PALTA Supports HB 544, Recreational Use

Posted on May 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association sent a letter to the majority and minority chairs of the Tourism and Recreational Development Committee to underscore the association’s support for HB 544.

PALTA Letter to Rep. Millard

HB 544 would amend the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act to limit the liability for personal injury or property damage of landowners who generously open their lands to public use for hunting, bird watching, hiking, and other forms of recreation. It ensures they will not punished for allowing the public on their land at no charge.

The final passage vote for this legislation last year was 187-2 in the House.

The Association’s member organizations work with landowners to conserve their land and to provide safe and responsible recreational opportunities to the public. Landowner fear of liability is often an obstacle to establishing trails and other outdoor recreational opportunities. By providing assurance to landowners that their public-minded decisions to provide access won’t be punished with undue liability, House Bill 544 will expand recreational opportunities for the public.

Landowners and the public deserve the protections and recreational opportunities that this bill promotes. Both of their interests would benefit from the passage of this bill.

Act now: Growing Greener 3

Posted on June 28, 2017 Leave a Comment

Legislation to establish a greatly expanded Growing Greener 3 will be introduced shortly in the PA House and has been introduced in the Senate. Representatives are being asked by the House’s lead sponsors* to sponsor the House legislation.

Please call or email your state representative ASAP, preferably today but no later than Tuesday. Ask them to co-sponsor the legislation. A link to the memo requesting their cosponsorship is provided below.**

View current list of sponsors.

*Representatives English (R-Allegheny), Carroll (D-Lackawanna), Charlton (R-Delaware), Freeman (D-Northhampton), and Quinn (R-Delaware)

**View the cosponsorship memo (dated 5/17/2017)

Conservation Easement Incentive Act Introduced

Posted on February 4, 2015

2/3/15

Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) just introduced the Conservation Easement Incentive Act, H.R. 641. It now goes immediately to a vote in the House Ways and Means Committee! The committee has scheduled a markup of this and other charitable incentives, which include incentives for donations of food to food banks, and provisions for tax-free charitable donations from IRAs tomorrow, February 4.

Then it goes to the House floor for a vote of the full House, as early as Wednesday, February 11th, most likely packaged with the other charitable provisions (similar to the packages voted on the floor in July and December of last year).

This is stunningly fast – which is possible because of all the work accomplished last year! We need you to call your representative and ask that they vote for the conservation easement incentive, and for the package of charitable incentives in which it will travel. The enhanced incentive is identical to that voted on last December.

Here is the Dear Colleague Reps. Kelly and Thompson just sent out to their colleagues – asking them to co-sponsor. It’s too late for that now – what we really need is their vote next week!
See Land Trust Alliance’s spreadsheet that shows how every House member voted on December’s charities bill (H.R. 5806), last July’s bill (H.R 4719) and whether they had co-sponsored H.R. 2807.
If your representative didn’t vote for those bills, or is a freshman, see LTA’s new talking points to get your representative informed and on board.

HB1565 Passes, Signed by Governor

Posted on October 20, 2014

On October 15, 2014, by a vote of 118 to 79, the House gave final approval to House Bill 1565 (Hahn-R-Northampton) that would weaken DEP requirements for stream buffers in Special Protection Watersheds. In September, the House passed an earlier version of the bill by the vote of 119 to 79. The bill now goes to the Governor for his action.

Click Here to see how your House member voted. House action Wednesday followed a vote by the Senate Tuesday which approved the bill by a vote of 27 to 22. Click Here to see how your Senate member voted.

Prior to its final Senate action, Sen. John Yudichak (D-Luzerne), Minority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, amended the bill to change the provisions of the bill to give applicants the option to install practices other than a stream buffer, but only if they can prove other practices are “substantively equivalent to” a stream buffer.

The amendment also changed the provision allowing the installation of a buffer in other areas, but “as close as feasible to the area of disturbance” to limit the replacement buffer to areas within the same watershed.

Update: Governor Corbett signed the bill into law on October 22, 2014.

Source: PA Environment Digest