This week, the Wolf Administration, business community and the leaders of the General Assembly continued to face off over pension reform and severance taxes, two major pieces of the 2015-2016 budget puzzle.
MORE »During a speech at Michigan State University, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak laid out a plan, in which agricultural producers will play a major role in helping to address climate change.
MORE »As part of Obama’s Build America Investment Initiative, the White House hosted around 90 industry individuals at a roundtable this week.
MORE »The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) on Thursday recognized Gov. Tom Wolf’s appointment of Commissioner Gladys M. Brown as the PUC’s new Chairman. She replaces Robert F. Powelson of Chester County, who will remain as Commissioner. John F. Coleman Jr. of Centre County will remain as Vice Chairman.
MORE »With Easter behind and a Memorial Day break ahead, the Governor and the General Assembly spent most of the last two weeks setting the stage for what is expected to be a long month of negotiations on the state budget in June.
MORE »This week, the Obama administration rolled out its first Quadrennial Energy Review (QER), a broad study of the nation’s energy policies that calls for programs aimed at making the electric grid more resilient, accelerating the replacement of aging pipelines, improving measurement of methane emissions, coordinating products shipped by rail and reviewing the release authorities of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
MORE »In an effort to facilitate compliance with federal nutrient management requirements, Sen. Elder Vogel Jr. (R-Beaver) introduced SB 724, the Watershed Improvement Act. Filing the legislation followed release of a special report by Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on economic consequences of failure in Pennsylvania’s efforts to meet EPA requirements for clean up of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
MORE »In early March, Governor Wolf proposed his ambitious vision for Pennsylvania, with promises of increased education funding, property tax reductions, and a variety of income, sales and shale gas tax hikes to support his plans. Supporters called his proposal bold, and opponents called the plan dead on arrival. All agreed that the proposal was historic in one way or another, and all agreed that the state was facing a budget deficit of at least $1.8 billion.
MORE »Turning chicken waste into energy is not easy. And it probably won’t pay for itself, at least not in the near future. Patrick Thompson is doing it anyway.
MORE »The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is providing more opportunity for the public to comment on revisions to the Environmental Protection Performance Standards at Oil and Gas Well Sites (Chapter 78 and 78a). DEP is extending the current public comment period by an additional 15 days, to 45 days, and adding three public hearings.
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