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PRINTER'S NO. 118
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
134
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY MURT, BOBACK, COHEN, GOODMAN, HARKINS, MASSER,
MILLARD, PICKETT, READSHAW AND WATSON, JANUARY 21, 2015
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 21, 2015
AN ACT
Establishing an official rock of the Commonwealth.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Official Rock
Act.
Section 2. Declaration of policy.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) The production of anthracite coal has historically
been a major industry and source of employment in this
Commonwealth.
(2) Anthracite played a major role in the
industrialization of this Commonwealth and the United States.
(3) The estimations are that 16,000,000,000 tons of coal
lie within the anthracite seams in northeastern Pennsylvania
with a recoverable amount being classified at approximately
7,000,000,000 tons.
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(4) Connecticut settlers in the Wyoming Valley
discovered the anthracite coal seams in 1762.
(5) In 1775, mining of anthracite started in
northeastern Pennsylvania in Pittston.
(6) The first industrial use of anthracite, for heating
and drawing iron in the making of nails, was recorded in
1788.
(7) Anthracite was discovered in the Schuylkill region
in 1790 and in the Lehigh region in 1792.
(8) The first recorded anthracite coal company, the
Lehigh Coal Mining Company, sent the first significant
shipments of anthracite out of the coal field region in 1820.
(9) In 1869, the Pennsylvania Department of Mines was
established with the nation's first stringent mine safety
laws to follow in 1870.
(10) In 1959, the Knox mine coal disaster ended deep
coal mining in the northern anthracite fields in this
Commonwealth.
(11) The anthracite ranges cover 500 square miles in
Dauphin, Schuylkill, Northumberland, Columbia, Carbon,
Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wayne and Susquehanna counties.
(12) Anthracite, historically referred to as "stone
coal," is one of this Commonwealth's most significant natural
resources.
(13) In 1971, to help preserve and share the rich
history of Pennsylvania anthracite the Pennsylvania
Historical and Museum Commission created the Anthracite
Museum Complex, consisting of three museums, the Pennsylvania
Anthracite Heritage Museum, the Eckley Miners' Village and
the Museum of Anthracite Mining, and one historical site, the
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Scranton Iron Furnaces.
Section 3. Designation.
Anthracite, also known as "hard coal," is designated as the
official rock of the Commonwealth.
Section 4. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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