PRINTER'S NO. 877
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
717
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY STEFANO, BARTOLOTTA, SCARNATI, YAW AND J. WARD,
JUNE 5, 2019
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, JUNE 5, 2019
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled,
as amended, "An act relating to the finances of the State
government; providing for cancer control, prevention and
research, for ambulatory surgical center data collection, for
the Joint Underwriting Association, for entertainment
business financial management firms, for private dam
financial assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes;
providing for the settlement, assessment, collection, and
lien of taxes, bonus, and all other accounts due the
Commonwealth, the collection and recovery of fees and other
money or property due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or
any agency thereof, including escheated property and the
proceeds of its sale, the custody and disbursement or other
disposition of funds and securities belonging to or in the
possession of the Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims
against the Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and
appeals to the courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to
the Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth
and all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
department, board, commission, and officer of the State
government, every political subdivision of the State, and
certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
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Commonwealth," in oil and gas wells, further providing for
legislative findings and for Oil and Gas Lease Fund and
establishing the Green Infrastructure Fund.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 1601.1-E and 1601.2-E(b)(1) of the act
of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code,
are amended to read:
Section 1601.1-E. Legislative findings.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Revenue from the leasing of State land to extract
natural gas is necessary to obtain the revenue necessary to
effectuate the act of July 10, 2014 (P.L.3052, No.1A), known
as the General Appropriation Act of 2014.
(2) Leases utilized by the department include provisions
that are highly protective of the ecological integrity of
State forest lands and carefully crafted to minimize impacts
to rare and endangered plants, wildlife and their habitat and
the vast number of streams and watersheds that are part of
State forest and park lands.
(3) Leases utilized by the department for shale gas
provide for enhanced environmental and surface protections,
including:
(i) Increased setback distances from critical
recreation infrastructure, streams and water features,
State parks and designated wild and natural areas.
(ii) Limiting the amount of surface area disturbed,
prohibiting shallow well drilling and authorizing the
application of strict forestry resource management
principles.
(iii) Limiting the number of well pads allowed to be
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constructed on the lease tract; providing for deep
drilling insurance; and prohibiting the development of
the ecologically sensitive areas, including designated
wild and natural areas and areas of special
consideration, without the department's prior written
approval.
(4) The department continually updates and employs best
management practices when managing oil and gas activities on
State forest lands to ensure that shale gas activities are
consistent with the recreational and ecological uses of State
forest.
(5) The department has implemented a Shale Gas
Monitoring Program to monitor, evaluate and report any
impacts of shale gas development on the State forest system.
(6) The fund is not a constitutional trust.
(6.1) The Green Infrastructure Fund is not a
constitutional trust.
(7) Money in the fund has increased exponentially from
the extraction of shale gas and the implementation of new gas
extraction techniques.
(8) The Commonwealth's role as trustee of the public's
natural resources is broader and more comprehensive than just
conserving the State forest and parks.
(9) The General Assembly affirms its intent that:
(i) The department should continue the operation of
the shale gas monitoring activities program to monitor,
evaluate and report the impacts of shale gas activities
in State forest and, in consultation with the Governor's
Office, utilize data received from ongoing monitoring to
adjust its management planning and practices.
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(ii) The department should consider the State forest
and park lands as one of the Commonwealth's interests
when considering whether or not to lease additional State
forest and park lands and determining what is in the best
interests of the Commonwealth. Interest involved in
decisions relating to leasing State forest and park lands
should not be made to the exclusion of all other
interests of the Commonwealth.
(iii) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary,
it is in the best interest of the Commonwealth to lease
oil and gas rights in State forests and parks if the
department:
(A) [in consultation with the Governor,]
continues strong and effective lease protections,
best management practices and ongoing monitoring
programs on the impact of gas operations; and
(B) maintains a balance of money in the fund and
the Green Infrastructure Fund to carry out the
department's statutory obligation to protect State
forest and park land and other environmental
activities.
(10) If a balance in the funds is adequate to achieve
the purposes of paragraph (9), transfers to the General Fund
are permissible.
Section 1601.2-E. Oil and Gas Lease Fund.
* * *
(b) Sources.--The following shall be deposited into the
fund:
(1) Rents and royalties from oil and gas leases of land
owned by the Commonwealth, except [rents]:
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(i) Rents and royalties received from game and fish
lands.
(ii) Money deposited into the Green Infrastructure
Fund under section 1611-E(c).
* * *
Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 1612-E. Green Infrastructure Fund.
(a) Establishment.--The Green Infrastructure Fund is
established as a separate fund in the State Treasury.
(b) Administration.--The Green Infrastructure Fund shall be
administered by the Commonwealth Financing Authority.
(c) Sources.--The following shall be deposited into the
Green Infrastructure Fund:
(1) Money deposited under section 1611-E(c).
(2) M oney appropriated or transferred to the Green
Infrastructure Fund.
(3) Return on money in the Green Infrastructure Fund.
(4) Grants, gifts, donations and other payments from a
person or governmental entity to the Green Infrastructure
Fund.
(d) Use.--Money in the Green Infrastructure Fund shall be
awarded as grants to be used for:
(1) Blight remediation, if the blight to be replaced is
an environmental hazard or will be replaced with green space.
(2) Critical flood control infrastructure, to replace
high-hazard dams and conduct stream restoration and
maintenance.
(3) Storm water infrastructure, to replace or install
storm water systems.
(4) Paving and repairing of dirt and gravel roads,
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including the reduction of sediment in the streams of this
Commonwealth.
(5) Outdoor recreational opportunities for residents at
State, county and municipal parks.
(6) Abandoned mine reclamation projects to improve
waters flowing into our waterways.
(e) Nonlapsing.--Money in the Green Infrastructure Fund
shall not lapse and shall be available in subsequent fiscal
years to be used in accordance with this section.
(f) Administrative fees.--No more than 2% of the money in
the Green Infrastructure Fund may be used to cover
administrative costs.
(g) Grants.--
(1) The Commonwealth Financing Authority shall create
guidelines and an application process for grants to be
awarded for the uses under subsection (d).
(2) Grants may be awarded on a pro rata basis if the
total dollar amount of the approved applications exceeds the
amount of funds available.
(3) The Commonwealth Financing Authority shall approve
or disapprove applications within 30 days of receipt of the
application. Applications which have not been approved or
disapproved within 60 days of receipt shall be deemed
approved.
(4) The Commonwealth Financing Authority shall ensure
that grant funding is geographically dispersed throughout
this Commonwealth.
(5) The Commonwealth Financing Authority may randomly
audit grant recipients to ensure the appropriate use of grant
funds.
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(6) The following shall be eligible for grants under
this subsection:
(i) A county, municipality, council of governments,
watershed organization, land bank, redevelopment
authority, institution of higher education or nonprofit
organization.
(ii) An authorized organization as defined in 27
Pa.C.S. ยง 6103 (relating to definitions).
(h) Contributions.--The department may solicit and accept
gifts, donations, legacies and other money for deposit into the
Green Infrastructure Fund from a person or a government entity
on behalf of the Commonwealth.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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