PRINTER'S NO. 2318
No. 1799 Session of 1985
INTRODUCED BY HALUSKA, J. L. WRIGHT, PETRARCA, FARGO,
F. E. TAYLOR, DeWEESE, STAIRS, BELFANTI, WOZNIAK, KUKOVICH,
LASHINGER, MARKOSEK, WOGAN, PETRONE, DISTLER, SWEET,
PRESSMANN, BATTISTO, FISCHER, TELEK, LLOYD, JOSEPHS, TRELLO,
BALDWIN, MORRIS, DALEY, CARLSON, ARGALL AND BLACK,
OCTOBER 21, 1985
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON MINES AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT,
OCTOBER 21, 1985
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), entitled
2 "An act providing for and reorganizing the conduct of the
3 executive and administrative work of the Commonwealth by the
4 Executive Department thereof and the administrative
5 departments, boards, commissions, and officers thereof,
6 including the boards of trustees of State Normal Schools, or
7 Teachers Colleges; abolishing, creating, reorganizing or
8 authorizing the reorganization of certain administrative
9 departments, boards, and commissions; defining the powers and
10 duties of the Governor and other executive and administrative
11 officers, and of the several administrative departments,
12 boards, commissions, and officers; fixing the salaries of the
13 Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and certain other executive
14 and administrative officers; providing for the appointment of
15 certain administrative officers, and of all deputies and
16 other assistants and employes in certain departments, boards,
17 and commissions; and prescribing the manner in which the
18 number and compensation of the deputies and all other
19 assistants and employes of certain departments, boards and
20 commissions shall be determined," providing for a Deputy
21 Secretary of Commerce for Coal; and establishing the Coal
22 Advisory Board.
23 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
24 hereby enacts as follows:
25 Section 1. As much as relates to the Department of Commerce
1 in section 203 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175),
2 known as The Administrative Code of 1929, amended December 6,
3 1982 (P.L.774, No.223), is amended to read:
4 Section 203. Advisory Boards and Commissions.--The following
5 advisory boards and commissions are placed in and made parts of
6 the respective administrative departments, as follows:
7 * * *
8 In the Department of Commerce,
9 Board of the Ben Franklin Partnership Fund.
10 The Coal Advisory Board.
11 Section 2. Section 448 of the act is amended by adding a
12 subsection to read:
13 Section 448. Advisory Boards and Commissions.--The advisory
14 boards and commissions, within the several administrative
15 departments, shall be constituted as follows:
16 * * *
17 (q) There is hereby created the Coal Advisory Board. The
18 board shall have at least four quarterly meetings per year in
19 addition to special meetings that may be necessary at the call
20 of the Deputy Secretary of Commerce for Coal. The board may
21 adopt bylaws to govern its operation and meetings. The board
22 shall consist of the Deputy Secretary of Commerce for Coal as
23 Chairperson and eight other voting members: one representative
24 of the State's surface mining industry; one representative of
25 the United Mine Workers of America; two representatives of the
26 general public, one to be selected from the anthracite coal area
27 and one from the bituminous coal area; one coal research
28 scientist; one market analyst; and the Director of the Bureau of
29 Economic Development. The Governor shall appoint the members of
30 the board for terms of four years that run concurrently with the
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1 Governor's four years. They shall not be compensated except that
2 they shall be entitled to reasonable and necessary expenses
3 incurred in the performance of their duties and a per diem
4 allowance of seventy-five dollars ($75). The Department of
5 Commerce shall provide, through the Deputy Secretary of Commerce
6 for Coal, a liaison between the board and the coal industry's
7 science and engineering research, business, labor, development
8 and educational agencies and selected organizations, and between
9 the board and other agencies of the Commonwealth.
10 Section 3. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
11 Section 2505-B. Deputy Secretary of Commerce for Coal.--(a)
12 As used in this section "deputy secretary" shall mean the Deputy
13 Secretary of Commerce for Coal.
14 (b) The Governor shall appoint the deputy secretary. All
15 agencies of State and local government shall cooperate with the
16 deputy secretary in the performance of his duties.
17 (c) The duties of the deputy secretary shall be to:
18 (1) Assist in promoting and marketing the State's coal in
19 its various forms in both the domestic and international coal
20 markets;
21 (2) Provide a coordinating overview of past, present and
22 future coal research projects and coal utilization programs that
23 are or will be conducted at our various college and university
24 levels and in the private sector where possible;
25 (3) Review the regulatory process, especially for
26 permitting, producing and using the State's coal, make
27 appropriate recommendations for streamlining the permitting
28 process for greater efficiency and submit a report to the
29 State's agencies involved and the General Assembly;
30 (4) Assist in the development of projects which use the
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1 State's coal in its various forms by, among other means:
2 (i) Working directly with project developers in planning and
3 implementing projects utilizing coal, including assisting them
4 in financial planning, site location and the obtaining of
5 necessary permits.
6 (ii) Contracting for goods and services, including research,
7 marketing, product development and consulting personnel
8 necessary and desirable to achieve its responsibilities.
9 (iii) Coordinating staff assistance where and when necessary
10 to the various authorized entities.
11 (5) Review and promote technological developments concerning
12 the elimination of harmful pollutants caused by the combustion
13 and use of coal, including the promotion of technological and
14 pilot projects to determine their feasibility in full scale
15 commercial utilization;
16 (6) Establish a new product and process marketing policy
17 that would encourage development of new businesses and
18 industries to implement these new products or technologies that
19 have been developed from the various coal research projects;
20 (7) Work with the private sector to develop a coal
21 productivity center at the State or preferably the national
22 level. The center shall be mainly supported by private industry
23 funds and hopefully supplemented by funds from the Electric
24 Power Research Institute (EPR), as well as funds from the
25 different states. The center would direct industries toward
26 dealing with applied or advanced research in coal mining, new
27 products and new processes that would not only develop greater
28 use of coal but explore the technology for reducing the cost of
29 producing coal. This center would be concerned only with very
30 short term results. Many programs undertaken by government
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1 agencies, whether it be Federal or State Government, fail
2 because those agencies are not strictly accountable for their
3 actions. This center should not be placed with one of the
4 universities. Universities are concerned mostly with basic
5 research and development; this is their proper role.
6 (8) Utilize all the economic means available in the
7 Commonwealth and assist these new businesses and industries to
8 become a viable and effective vehicle in stimulating the economy
9 of this Commonwealth;
10 (9) Carry out and further the goals and duties of the
11 Department of Commerce as they pertain to the coal industry.
12 (d) The deputy secretary shall submit to the Secretary of
13 Commerce an annual report which will be presented to the
14 Governor and the General Assembly. The report shall include the
15 deputy secretary's activities, programs and functions.
16 (e) The deputy secretary will work with and receive advice
17 from the Coal Advisory Board.
18 Section 4. All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar
19 as they are inconsistent with this act.
20 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 1986.
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