Gov. Wolf Signs Recreation Liability, Lead Service Line, Leaf Waste, Ag Advisory Board Bills

Gov. Tom Wolf Wednesday signed into law bills limiting landowner liability for recreation, lead service line replacement, leaf waste composting exemption, expanding the responsibilities of DEP Agricultural Advisory Board and a one-stop business permitting center.  The bills include--

-- Recreation Liability: House Bill 544 (Moul-R-Adams) further providing for liability protection for landowners opening their land for public recreation (Senate Fiscal Note and summary).  Signed into law as Act 98.

“Adams County has a lot of farmland, trails and open spaces that could be available for public use, but landowners who permit such use – at no cost – should not be held liable if someone gets hurt on their land through no fault of the landowner,” said Rep. Dan Moul.  Click Here for more.

-- Leaf Waste Recycling: House Bill 927 (Rader-R-Monroe) amends Act 101 Municipal Waste Planning and Recycling Act to eliminate the mandate on smaller municipalities to have a leaf waste collection program (Senate Fiscal Note and summary). Signed into law as Act 101.

-- Lead Service Lines: House Bill 2075 (Charlton-R-Delaware) authorizing rate recovery for customer-owned lead water service lines (Senate Fiscal Note and summary).  Signed into law as Act 120.

In an effort to curb this problem, a bipartisan group of legislators wrote language into this year’s Fiscal Code allowing municipal authorities and municipal governments to replace homeowner’s water and sewer laterals when there is a public health concern such as lead.

“Unfortunately, left out of that was Pennsylvania’s regulated water and wastewater utilities that serve much of my district,” said Rep. Alex Charlton. This legislations corrects that.  Click Here for more.

-- DEP Agricultural Advisory Board: Senate Bill 1171 (Brooks-R-Crawford) provides detailed procedures for DEP to consult with the existing Agricultural Advisory Board on the adoption of technical guidance, changes to permits affecting agriculture and regulations (House Fiscal Note and summary).  Signed into law as Act 162.

-- One-Stop-Business Center: House Bill 1284 (Peifer-R-Pike) directs DCED to develop a one-stop-shop online business formation and permitting portal for business (Senate Fiscal Note and summary).  Signed into law as Act 107.

“As a former business owner, I know that for too long the processes and procedures for starting and running a business were a barrier to entry for so many entrepreneurs across the commonwealth,” Gov. Tom Wolf said. “I’m proud that my PA Business One-Stop Shop has successfully eased that burden on entrepreneurs. I applaud the legislature for recognizing that success and cementing the one-stop shop into statute.”  Click Here for more.