Blue Pennsylvania: Earth Month Continued

Last week’s email delivered a rather discouraging picture of the state of environmental concerns in Harrisburg, even though it also presented a way forward.  In recent weeks, however, there has been some reassuring news, particularly as it relates to data centers.  Since the end of March, the State House has passed four bills, some with the help of Republican members.  The bills are now headed for the Republican dominated state senate. 

Below is a short description of each of the bills, followed by a table detailing not only a breakdown of the vote, but also how each of those Republican members whose house seats we are targeting voted.  The last row of the table tells you the Democratic challenger for the Republican seats.  You can find out more about these challengers by clicking here. 

If you would like to help these challengers out, please consider attending this event sponsored by ChangePA (or by making a donation)  tomorrow (April  19) afternoon (4-6 pm) at the Fleischer Art Memorial, 719 Catherine Street, in Philadelphia. 

PA HB 1260 

Tens of millions of square feet are currently sitting unused on warehouse rooftops that could help us unleash the power of solar energy in Pennsylvania. 

HB 1260 would require new warehouses & distribution centers to be built so at least 40% of their roof space is solar-ready.

The bill will also help existing warehouses upgrade their roofs so solar can be added.

PA HB 1834

This bill creates stronger data center regulations by requiring data centers to get a significant portion of their power from clean, low-cost energy—helping meet rising demand without passing costs on to Pennsylvanians.

PA HB 2150 

This bill would require data centers to file annual reports with the state Department of Environmental Protection detailing the facility’s electricity and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and other parameters.

PA HB 2151

This bill would instruct the state’s Local Government Commission to develop a model zoning ordinance, providing municipalities with a template to develop their own rules on where data centers can go, what setback and landscape buffers they’re subject to, what noise limits they must meet, and similar land-use issues.

	Joe Emrick – HD 137 – Northampton	Joe Hogan – HD 142 - Bucks	Craig Williams – HD 160 – Chester & Delaware	Final Vote
HB 1260	N	N	N	101-Y              98-N
HB 1834	N	Y	N	104-Y              95-N
HB 2150	Y	Y	Y	133-Y              68-N
HB 2151	Y	Y	N	124-Y              77-N
Challenger	Jeff Warren	Kristin Egan	Elizabeth Moro

Thanks,

Coleman