PRINTER'S NO. 1558
No. 1157 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY ORIE, ERICKSON, WOZNIAK, PIPPY, BAKER, WAUGH AND
D. WHITE, NOVEMBER 19, 2007
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,
NOVEMBER 19, 2007
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Flood Prevention and Remediation Fund; and
2 providing for the deposit of a portion of the liquor tax into
3 the fund and for use of fund.
4 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
5 (1) Serious flooding has been occurring Statewide with
6 alarming regularity.
7 (2) Such flooding occurs almost on an annual basis,
8 affecting virtually every region of this Commonwealth.
9 (3) Each time, the Commonwealth is forced to be reactive
10 and to address the damages inflicted by these events.
11 (4) The Commonwealth must take a proactive approach by
12 making it a priority to remediate its infrastructure and to
13 take steps to prevent future flooding.
14 (5) It is the intent of this act to establish an ongoing
15 unified program on a large-scale, regional basis to identify
16 and complete projects which will reduce this Commonwealth's
17 annual exposure to flooding emergencies.
18 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
1 hereby enacts as follows:
2 Section 1. Short title.
3 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Flood
4 Prevention and Remediation Fund Act.
5 Section 2. Definitions.
6 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
7 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
8 context clearly indicates otherwise:
9 "Fund." The Flood Prevention and Remediation Fund
10 established in section 3.
11 "Liquor tax." The tax imposed in accordance with the act of
12 June 9, 1936 (1st Sp.Sess., P.L.13, No.4), entitled "An act
13 imposing an emergency State tax on liquor, as herein defined,
14 sold by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board; providing for the
15 collection and payment of such tax; and imposing duties upon the
16 Department of Revenue and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control
17 Board."
18 "Liquor tax rate." The rate of tax imposed pursuant to
19 section 2 of the act of June 9, 1936 (1st Sp.Sess., P.L.13,
20 No.4), entitled "An act imposing an emergency State tax on
21 liquor, as herein defined, sold by the Pennsylvania Liquor
22 Control Board; providing for the collection and payment of such
23 tax; and imposing duties upon the Department of Revenue and the
24 Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board."
25 Section 3. Flood Prevention and Remediation Fund.
26 The Flood Prevention and Remediation Fund is hereby
27 established as a special fund in the State Treasury. The moneys
28 of the fund are hereby appropriated on a continuing basis to
29 carry out the provisions of this act.
30 Section 4. Deposit of revenues.
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1 All revenues received by the Commonwealth pursuant to the
2 imposition of the liquor tax shall be deposited by the
3 Department of Revenue as follows:
4 (1) The revenues derived from the first 12 percentage
5 points of the liquor tax rate shall be deposited in the fund.
6 (2) The remainder shall be deposited in the General
7 Fund.
8 Section 5. Use of fund.
9 (a) Annual report.--The Governor shall report on the fund in
10 the annual budget which shall include the amounts allocated to
11 each program.
12 (b) Allocations.--
13 (1) The moneys of the fund shall be allocated in
14 accordance with the percentages set forth in paragraph (2)
15 based on actual liquor tax revenues that were required to be
16 deposited in the fund for the immediately preceding fiscal
17 year. For the first fiscal year to which this act applies,
18 the allocations from the fund shall be based on the revenues
19 that would have been deposited in the fund had the division
20 of revenues required under section 4 been in effect for the
21 immediately preceding fiscal year.
22 (2) The allocations from the fund pursuant to paragraph
23 (1) shall be as follows:
24 (i) 33% to the Department of Conservation and
25 Natural Resources for land and water conservation and
26 Environmental Stewardship programs and projects related
27 to flood prevention and mitigation and technical
28 assistance to municipalities related thereto;
29 (ii) 33% to the Department of Environmental
30 Resources for flood and storm water planning and
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1 prevention, flood control projects and dam safety; and
2 (iii) 34% for capital projects approved by the
3 General Assembly for flood control.
4 (3) Determinations regarding the specific uses of funds
5 allocated under subparagraphs (2)(i) and (ii) shall be made
6 by majority vote of a Flood Prevention and Remediation
7 Committee to be comprised of the Secretary of Conservation
8 and Natural Resources, the Secretary of Environmental
9 Protection, and the head of Pennsylvania Emergency Management
10 Agency or their designees, plus two members selected by the
11 majority of other three, one to be an engineer specializing
12 in flood control selected by majority vote of those three and
13 the other to be an elected municipal official in a
14 municipality other than a city of the first, second or second
15 class A.
16 (c) Lapses.--Lapses from moneys provided for a program under
17 subsection (b)(2)(i) and (ii) shall be reallocated to that
18 department or commission and program specified in subsection (b)
19 for use in succeeding years.
20 (d) Pro rata calculation.--If the Governor determines that
21 the deposits in the fund will be insufficient to allocate the
22 amounts calculated under subsection (b) in a fiscal year, each
23 program specified under subsection (b) shall be allocated a pro
24 rata share of the amounts the Governor estimates will be
25 deposited in the fund.
26 (e) Transfer to General Fund.--Any balance in the fund which
27 remains unallocated after the application of subsections (b),
28 (c) and (d) shall be transferred to the General Fund on or
29 before June 30 of each fiscal year.
30 Section 6. Repeals.
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1 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
2 inconsistent with this act.
3 Section 7. Applicability.
4 This act shall apply to the fiscal year beginning after the
5 effective date of this section and to each fiscal year
6 thereafter.
7 Section 8. Effective date.
8 This act shall take effect immediately.
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