WEEK in REVIEW Grassroots Lobbying November 18, 2016 Network

WEEK IN REVIEW Grassroots Lobbying November 18, 2016 Network News for the week of November 14 The House and Senate are both in recess. Neither chamber is scheduled to return for voting session before November 30 and as such, any bill that does not make it to the governor by November 30 will “die.” All bills must then be reintroduced and begin the process again next year in the 2017-2018 legislative session. From all of us at PSATS we wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Due to the upcoming holiday, the next Week in Review will be published on December 4. Leadership Election Results Last week, the House and Senate met to elect their party leaders for the 2017-18 Legislative Session. The House Republican Caucus re-elected Mike Turzai as the Speaker-designee, Majority Leader Dave Reed, Majority Whip Bryan Cutler, Policy Chairman Kerry Benninghoff and Caucus Secretary Donna Oberlander. Newly elected to leadership positions are Appropriations Chairman Stan Saylor, Caucus Chairman Marcy Toepel, and Caucus Administrator Kurt Masser. For the House Democratic Caucus, the leadership team remains the same with Frank Dermody Minority Leader, Mike Hanna Caucus Whip, Dan Frankel Caucus Chair, Joe Markosek Caucus Appropriations Chair, Neal Goodman Caucus Administrator, Mike Sturla Caucus Policy Committee Chair, and Rosita Youngblood Caucus Secretary. The Senate Republican Caucus leadership team also remains unchanged with Joe Scarnati as Senate President Pro Tempore, Jake Corman as Majority Leader, Pat Browne Appropriations Chair, John Gordner Majority Whip, Bob Mensch Caucus Chair, Richard Alloway Caucus Secretary, Chuck McIlhinney Caucus Administrator and Dave Argall Policy Committee Chair. The Senate Democratic Caucus continues with Jay Costa as Minority Leader, Anthony Williams Caucus Whip, Vincent Hughes Caucus Appropriations Chair, Lisa Boscola Policy Committee Chair, Wayne Fontana Caucus Chair, and Lawrence Farnese Caucus Secretary. The position of Caucus Administrator has not yet been appointed. Congratulations to all returning and new House and Senate leaders! Traffic Incident Management Kick Off Summit Last week, the Federal Highway Administration held a Traffic Incident Management summit in Pennsylvania to promote their national unified goal for improved safety, clearance, and communications during traffic incidents. Traffic Incident Management (commonly referred to as TIM) consists of a planned and coordinated multi-disciplinary process to detect, respond to, and clear traffic incidents so 1 that traffic flow may be restored as safely and quickly as possible. Effective TIM reduces the duration and impacts of traffic incidents and improves the safety of motorists, crash victims, and emergency responders. PSATS along with representatives from PennDOT, PSP, agency leadership, the general assembly, first responders, and other transportation professionals will continue the TIM conversation at additional meetings to effectively and efficiently work on this initiative. Click here to read more on Traffic Incident Management. Grants and Funding Multimodal Transportation Grants The state Department of Transportation is accepting grant applications for Multimodal Transportation Fund from municipalities, councils of government, economic developments, and public transit agencies until December 16, 2016. Eligible projects include those that coordinate land use with transportation assets to enhance existing communities; those related to streetscapes, lighting, sidewalk enhancement, and pedestrian safety; those that improve connectivity or use of existing transportation assets; and those related to transit-oriented development. A 30 percent local match is required. Click here for more information. Watershed Protection and Restoration Grants Applications are being accepted by the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Growing Greener Plus Program for watershed protection and restoration grants until January 13, 2017. Municipalities, county conservation districts, watershed organizations, and councils of governments may apply. This grant round will focus on reducing nonpoint source pollution within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, including those that implement effective best management practices to reduce or eliminate stream impairments and lead to local water quality improvements. Eligible projects include high priority BMPs such as riparian forest buffers and streambank fencing and projects that will reduce nonpoint source pollution in watersheds where streams are impaired, help reduce Total Maximum Daily Load pollutants, and integrate stormwater management into watershed management and water conservation strategies. Click here for more information. Clean diesel grants available The state Department of Environmental Protection is accepting applications for the Pennsylvania State Clean Diesel Grant Program until December 28, 2016. Municipalities are eligible for these grants, which are for projects that will replace, repower, or retrofit fleet diesel-powered vehicles, engines, and equipment. Projects must use technologies certified or verified by the Environmental Protection Agency or the California Air Resources Board to lower diesel emissions. Click here for more information. Townships may also contact Samantha Harmon at DEP’s Bureau of Air Quality for an application packet at (717) 787-9495. * * Looking for this week’s issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin? Click here* * 2 Capitol Calendar Legislative Committee Meeting for the Week of November 21: None scheduled. 2016 Session Days for the Pennsylvania General Assembly The House and Senate are scheduled for session on the following days: House November 22 (non-voting) Senate None scheduled. Content contributed by Pennsylvania Legislative Services. Looking for daily updates on legislation and news related to townships? Be sure to ‘Like’ us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/psats Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/PSATS And, as always, check out www.psats.org for the latest updates 3 .

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