Regular Session 2021-2022 House Bill 2242 P.N. 2597

PRINTER'S NO. 2597

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

2242

Session of

2022

INTRODUCED BY KEEFER, RYAN, MALONEY, BERNSTINE, JAMES, HAMM,

STAMBAUGH, GROVE, COX, KAUFFMAN, MOUL, TWARDZIK AND WARNER,

JANUARY 11, 2022

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,

JANUARY 11, 2022

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), entitled

"An act providing for and reorganizing the conduct of the

executive and administrative work of the Commonwealth by the

Executive Department thereof and the administrative

departments, boards, commissions, and officers thereof,

including the boards of trustees of State Normal Schools, or

Teachers Colleges; abolishing, creating, reorganizing or

authorizing the reorganization of certain administrative

departments, boards, and commissions; defining the powers and

duties of the Governor and other executive and administrative

officers, and of the several administrative departments,

boards, commissions, and officers; fixing the salaries of the

Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and certain other executive

and administrative officers; providing for the appointment of

certain administrative officers, and of all deputies and

other assistants and employes in certain departments, boards,

and commissions; providing for judicial administration; and

prescribing the manner in which the number and compensation

of the deputies and all other assistants and employes of

certain departments, boards and commissions shall be

determined," in administrative organization, further

providing for departmental administrative boards,

commissions, and offices; in organization of departmental

administrative boards and commissions and of advisory boards

and commissions, further providing for advisory boards and

commissions and repealing provisions relating to

Environmental Quality Board; in powers and duties of the

Department of Agriculture and its departmental administrative

commission, further providing for seasonal farm labor; in

powers and duties of the Department of Environmental

Resources, its officers and departmental and advisory boards

and commissions, further providing for Environmental Quality

Board and for powers of Environmental Quality Board.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 202 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177,

No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929, amended July

9, 2021 (P.L.377, No.70), is amended to read:

Section 202. Departmental Administrative Boards,

Commissions, and Offices.--The following boards, commissions,

and offices are hereby placed and made departmental

administrative boards, commissions, or offices, as the case may

be, in the respective administrative departments mentioned in

the preceding section, as follows:

In the Department of State,

Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs,

State Real Estate Commission,

State Board of Medical Education and Licensure,

State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners,

State Board of Pharmacy,

State Dental Council and Examining Board,

State Board of Optometrical Examiners,

State Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners,

State Board of Nurse Examiners,

State Board of Barber Examiners,

State Board of Cosmetology,

State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners,

State Board of Chiropractic Examiners,

State Board of Podiatry Examiners,

State Board of Examiners of Public Accountants,

State Board of Examiners of Architects,

State Registration Board for Professional Engineers,

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State Board of Funeral Directors,

State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators,

State Board of Auctioneer Examiners,

State Board of Psychologist Examiners,

State Board of Landscape Architects.

In the Department of Justice,

In the Treasury Department,

Board of Finance and Revenue;

In the Department of Community Affairs,

Board of Property;

In the Department of Education,

Board of Trustees of Thaddeus Stevens College of

Technology,

Board of Trustees of Scranton State School for the Deaf,

Public Service Institute Board,

State Board of Private Academic Schools,

State Board of Private Licensed Schools,

State Board of Education.

In the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs,

Armory Board of the State of Pennsylvania,

Board of Trustees of Scotland School for Veterans'

Children.

In the Department of Banking and Securities,

In the Department of Agriculture,

State Farm Products Show Commission;

In the Department of Health,

In the Department of Labor and Industry,

Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board,

State Workmen's Insurance Board,

The Industrial Board,

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Unemployment Compensation Board of Review,

Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board,

Advisory Council on Affairs of the Handicapped;

In the Department of Human Services,

Board of Trustees of The Western Youth Development

Centers,

Board of Trustees of The Central Youth Development

Centers,

Board of Trustees of The Eastern Youth Development

Centers,

Board of Trustees of Allentown State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Clarks Summit State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Danville State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Embreeville Center,

Board of Trustees of Farview State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Harrisburg State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Mayview State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Norristown State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Philadelphia State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Somerset State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Warren State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Wernersville State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Woodville State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Torrance State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Haverford State Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Ashland State General Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Coaldale State General Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Nanticoke State General Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Philipsburg State General Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Scranton State General Hospital,

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Board of Trustees of Shamokin State General Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Ebensburg Center,

Board of Trustees of Eastern State School and Hospital,

Board of Trustees of Laurelton Center,

Board of Trustees of Pennhurst Center,

Board of Trustees of Polk Center,

Board of Trustees of Selinsgrove Center,

Board of Trustees of Hamburg Center,

Board of Trustees of Western Center,

Board of Trustees of White Haven Center,

Board of Trustees of Woodhaven Center,

Board of Trustees of South Mountain Restoration Center.

In the Department of General Services,

Board of Commissioners of Public Grounds and Buildings,

State Art Commission;

In the Department of Revenue,

State Athletic Commission;

In the Department of Commerce,

Navigation Commission for the Delaware River and its

navigable tributaries;

In the Department of Highways,

State Highway Commission.

In the Department of Transportation,

Hazardous Substances Transportation Board,

In the Department of Environmental [Resources,

Environmental Quality Board,] Protection,

Environmental Hearing Board,

State Board for Certification of Sewage Treatment and

Waterworks Operators,

State Soil and Water Conservation Commission,

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Anthracite Mine Inspectors,

Bituminous Mine Inspectors.

In the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs,

Bureau of Prevention and Intervention,

Bureau of Treatment,

Bureau of Administration.

All of the foregoing departmental administrative boards and

commissions shall be organized or reorganized as provided in

this act.

Section 2. Section 448(p) of the act is amended to read:

Section 448. Advisory Boards and Commissions.--The advisory

boards and commissions, within the several administrative

departments, shall be constituted as follows:

* * *

(p) The Citizens Advisory Council shall be an independent

advisory council administratively housed within the Department

of Environmental Protection and shall consist of the Secretary

of Environmental Protection who shall serve in an ex officio

capacity, six members who shall be appointed by the Governor, no

more than three of whom shall be of the same political party,

six members who shall be appointed by the President Pro Tempore

of the Senate, no more than three of whom shall be of the same

political party, and six members who shall be appointed by the

Speaker of the House of Representatives no more than three of

whom shall be of the same political party. The appointed members

of the council shall be citizens of the State, who, during their

respective terms, shall hold no other State office to which any

salary is attached [except that of membership on the

Environmental Quality Board].

The term of office of each appointed member shall be three

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years, measured from the third Tuesday of January of the year in

which he takes office, or until his successor has been

appointed; except that in the initial appointments of the

members of the council, the respective appointing authorities

shall appoint two members for terms of one year each, two

members for terms of two years each, and two members for terms

of three years each.

The Citizens Advisory Council shall include persons

knowledgeable in fields related to the work of the Department of

Environmental Resources such as, but not limited to, ecology,

limnology, toxicology, pharmacology, organiculture, and

industrial technology.

The council shall annually elect one of its appointed members

as chairman and shall elect a secretary who need not be a member

of the council. Meetings of the council shall be held at least

quarterly or at the call of the chairman.

The council shall have the sole power to employ and fix the

compensation of an executive director and such experts,

stenographers, and assistants as may be deemed necessary to

carry out the work of the council, but due diligence shall be

exercised by the council to enlist such voluntary assistance as

may be available from citizens, research organizations, and

other agencies in Pennsylvania or elsewhere, generally

recognized as qualified to aid the council.

Section 3. Section 471 of the act is repealed:

[Section 471. Environmental Quality Board.--The

Environmental Quality Board shall consist of the Secretary of

Environmental Resources, who shall be chairman thereof, the

Secretary of Health, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of

Transportation, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of

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Labor and Industry, the Secretary of Community Affairs, the

Executive Director of the Fish Commission, the Executive

Director of the Game Commission, the Chairman of the Public

Utilities Commission, the Executive Director of the State

Planning Board, the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania

Historical and Museum Commission, five members of the Citizens

Advisory Council, and four members of the General Assembly. The

Citizens Advisory Council members shall be designated by, and

serve at the pleasure of, the Citizens Advisory Council. One of

the General Assembly members shall be designated by, and serve

at the pleasure of, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, one

by the Minority Leader of the Senate, one by the Speaker of the

House of Representatives and one by the Minority Leader of the

House of Representatives. In addition to the heads of the

various departments as elsewhere in this act provided, the other

members of the board may have named alternates to serve in their

stead, the alternates for the members of the board from the

Citizens Advisory Council to be selected by that council from

members of the council and each other alternate to be selected

by that particular member of the board in whose stead he is to

serve. No person will serve as alternate for more than one board

member.

Eight members of the board shall constitute a quorum.]

Section 4. Sections 1715(b)(2), 1920-A and 1930-A of the act

are amended to read:

Section 1715. Seasonal Farm Labor.--* * *

(b) The Secretary of Agriculture shall have the power and

the secretary's duty shall be:

* * *

(2) To exercise the powers and duties vested by law and

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imposed upon the former Environmental Quality Board as

specifically [set forth] specified in the "Seasonal Farm Labor

Act."

Section 1920-A. [Environmental Quality Board] Department of

Environmental Protection.--(a) The [Environmental Quality

Board] department shall have the responsibility for developing a

master environmental plan for the Commonwealth.

(b) The [Environmental Quality Board] department shall have

the power and [its duties shall be] duty to formulate, adopt and

promulgate [such] rules and regulations [as may be determined by

the board] for the proper performance of the work of the

department[, and such rules and regulations, when made by the

board, shall become the rules and regulations of the department]

in adherence to the law as written and not as interpreted by the

department.

the power to formulate, adopt and promulgate rules and

regulations[, heretofore] previously vested in the [several]

persons, departments, boards and commissions [set forth in

section 1901-A. of this act, and any such rules] specified under

section 1901-A. Rules and regulations promulgated prior to the

effective date of this act shall be the rules and regulations of

the [Department of Environmental Resources] department until

[such time as] they are modified or repealed by the

[Environmental Quality Board] department.

(d) The [board] department shall have the power to subpoena

witnesses, records and papers and upon certification to it of

failure to obey [any such] the subpoena the Commonwealth Court

is empowered after hearing to enter, when proper, an

adjudication of contempt and [such] any other order as the

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circumstances require.

[(e) The board shall receive and review reports from the

Department of Environmental Resources and shall advise the

Department and the Secretary of Environmental Resources on

matters of policy.]

(f) The [board] department shall establish [such] rules and

regulations, not inconsistent with law, for the control,

management, protection, utilization, development, occupancy and

use of the lands and resources of State parks[, as it may deem

necessary to conserve the interests of the Commonwealth. Such].

The rules and regulations shall be compatible with the purposes

for which State parks are created and strictly adhere to State

law. Whenever the [board] department imposes fees or charges for

activities, admissions, uses or privileges, including charges

for concessions, at or relating to State parks, [such] the

charges or fees shall be used solely for the acquisition,

maintenance, operation or administration of the State parks

systems, and are hereby appropriated for [such] those purposes.

The [board] department shall not adopt or impose any charges or

fees for parking or general admission to State parks unless the

charges were imposed prior to January 1, 1984. The [board]

department may continue to impose and modify parking charges and

fees applicable to specific services or units within the State

park system which were imposed prior to January 1, 1984, and may

impose charges or fees for admission to and for use of specific

services and facilities in State parks.

(g) The [board] department shall establish [such] rules and

regulations, not inconsistent with law, for the control,

management, protection, utilization, development, occupancy[,]

and use[,] of the lands and resources of the State forests[, as

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the department deems proper, to conserve the interests of the

Commonwealth. Such]. The rules and regulations shall be

compatible with the purposes for which the State forests are

created, namely to provide a continuous supply of timber,

lumber, wood[,] and other forest products, to protect the

watersheds, conserve the waters, [and] regulate the flow of

rivers and streams of [the State] this Commonwealth and [to

furnish opportunities for healthful recreation to the public]

maintain and manage existing public recreation opportunities.

(h) [Any] A person may petition the [Environmental Quality

Board] department to initiate a rule making proceeding for the

issuance, amendment or repeal of a regulation administered and

enforced by the department.

(i) The [chairman of the Environmental Quality Board]

secretary may suspend any regulation promulgated solely to meet

a requirement of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act

of 1977[, Public Law 95-87] (Public Law 95-87, 30 U.S.C. § 1201

et seq.), when the requirement is no longer binding upon

Pennsylvania. Notice of the suspension shall be published in the

Pennsylvania Bulletin. Within sixty days after the suspension,

the [Environmental Quality Board] department shall reconsider

the suspended regulation and shall promulgate, amend or repeal

the regulation pursuant to the requirements of the act of July

31, 1968 (P.L.769, No.240), referred to as the Commonwealth

Documents Law.

(j) The [board] department shall promulgate regulations

under the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), known as "The

Clean Streams Law," or other laws of this Commonwealth that

require that the water quality criteria for manganese

established under 25 Pa. Code Ch. 93 (relating to water quality

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standards) shall be met, consistent with the exception in 25 Pa.

Code § 96.3(d) (relating to water quality protection

requirements). Within ninety days of the effective date of this

subsection, the [board] department shall promulgate proposed

regulations.

(k) The following apply:

(1) The powers and duties vested in the Environmental

Quality Board are transferred to the department, which shall

exercise the powers and perform the duties that the

Environmental Quality Board exercised or performed prior to the

effective date of this subsection.

(2) Any reference to the Environmental Quality Board under a

statute or regulation that was in effect before the effective

date of this subsection shall be deemed a reference to the

department.

(3) All personnel, allocations, appropriations, equipment,

files, records, contracts, agreements, obligations and other

materials used, employed or expended by the Environmental

Quality Board are transferred to the department. Any contract,

agreement or obligation incurred or entered into by the

Environmental Quality Board shall be deemed to have been

incurred or entered into by the department.

(4) Any personnel transferred from the Environmental Quality

Board to the department shall retain any civil service

employment status assigned to the personnel.

(l) As used in this section, the following words and phrases

shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless

the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of

the Commonwealth.

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"Secretary." The Secretary of Environmental Protection.

Section 1930-A. Powers of [Environmental Quality Board]

Department of Environmental Protection.--The [Environmental

Quality Board] Department of Environmental Protection shall have

the power and [its] duty [shall be] to review any petition

submitted to it to designate an area as unsuitable for surface

mining as provided for in section 315(h) through (n) of the act

of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), known as "The Clean Streams

Law," and make designations [pursuant thereto]under that act:

Provided, however, That the [board or the] Department of

Environmental [Resources] Protection shall not make [such] the

designations for surface mining operations regulated by the act

of December 19, 1984 (P.L.1093, No.219), known as the "Noncoal

Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act." This section

shall not apply to any petition to designate an area as

unsuitable for noncoal mining operations filed with the

Department of Environmental [Resources] Protection prior to July

30, 1992.

Section 5. All acts or parts of acts are repealed insofar as

they are inconsistent with this act.

Section 6. All activities regarding the powers and duties of

the Environmental Quality Board that were initiated before the

effective date of this act shall continue and remain in full

force and effect and may be completed by the Department of

Environmental Protection. Orders, regulations, rules and

decisions that were made under the authority of the

Environmental Quality Board and that were in effect on the

effective date of this section shall remain in full force and

effect until revoked, vacated or modified by the Department of

Environmental Protection. Contracts, obligations and collective

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bargaining agreements entered into by the Environmental Quality

Board are not affected nor impaired by the transfer of the

powers and duties of the Environmental Quality Board to the

Department of Environmental Protection.

Section 7. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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