PRINTER'S NO. 283
No. 260 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY GEORGE, HERSHEY, DeWEESE, VEON, BELARDI, BELFANTI,
BIANCUCCI, CALTAGIRONE, CAWLEY, CRUZ, DeLUCA, EACHUS,
FABRIZIO, FRANKEL, FREEMAN, GERGELY, GRUCELA, HANNA, HARHAI,
JAMES, JOSEPHS, LaGROTTA, LEACH, LEVDANSKY, McGEEHAN, MUNDY,
PISTELLA, ROONEY, SAINATO, SANTONI, STABACK, STETLER, SURRA,
THOMAS, TIGUE, WALKO, WHEATLEY, YOUNGBLOOD AND YUDICHAK,
FEBRUARY 8, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,
FEBRUARY 8, 2005
AN ACT
1 Providing for submission to the electorate of a question of
2 indebtedness for environmental initiatives and for
3 utilization of indebtedness.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Growing
8 Greener Bond Act.
9 Section 2. Question of indebtedness.
10 (a) Authorization.--Pursuant to the provisions of section
11 7(a)(3) of Article VIII of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, the
12 question of incurring indebtedness of $800,000,000 for
13 environmental initiatives, natural resource conservation,
14 agricultural land preservation and community revitalization
15 shall be submitted to the electors at the 2005 primary election.
1 (b) Certification.--The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall
2 certify the question to the county boards of elections.
3 (c) Question.--The question shall be in substantially the
4 following form:
5 Do you favor the protection of open space and farmland,
6 the restoration of abandoned mines and polluted streams,
7 the revitalization of communities and the undertaking of
8 other environmental initiatives by authorizing the
9 Commonwealth to incur debt of up to $800,000,000 offset
10 by fees on pollution and waste disposal activities?
11 Section 3. Debt utilization.
12 If the question in section 2 (relating to question of
13 indebtedness) is submitted to the electors and approved in
14 accordance with law, the Commonwealth is authorized to incur
15 additional indebtedness, not to exceed $800,000,000, of which up
16 to $330,000,000 shall be spent for parks, open space, farmland
17 preservation and the improvement of facilities for the
18 Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania Game
19 Commission, up to $300,000,000 shall be spent for environmental
20 cleanup, and up to $170,000,000 shall be spent for
21 revitalization of communities as hereafter provided by law.
22 Section 4. Effective date.
23 This act shall take effect immediately.
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