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Committee advances bill letting municipalities charge Commonwealth for stormwater fees; amendment strips findings
Summary
The House Local Government Committee voted to report House Bill 1308, which would allow municipalities and municipal authorities to charge stormwater planning and management fees to the Commonwealth and entities otherwise tax‑exempt; the committee adopted an amendment removing the bill’s legislative findings before reporting it 18‑8 to the floor.
At a meeting of the House Local Government Committee, members voted 18-8 to report House Bill 1308, Representative Fleming’s stormwater management measure, which would allow municipal corporations and municipal authorities to charge or impose fees for stormwater planning, management and implementation on the Commonwealth and on otherwise tax‑exempt entities.
The bill would amend Title 27 (Environmental Resources) and Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the consolidated statutes to: clarify that an authority performing stormwater work may charge reasonable and uniform rates to owners of property that benefit from those services; allow rates to be based on impervious surface or participation in a project or district; and add definitions for “impervious surface” and “stormwater.”
Representative Fleming said the bill responds to a state court dispute and the burden municipal governments face. “We all want clean air and water — that is absolutely a fact. We all deserve clean air and water,” Fleming said, and added that the “Commonwealth won’t pay its own stormwater fee.”
Committee members debated the bill’s scope. Representative Probst, a former mayor, urged that state agencies such as PennDOT follow existing law and rules when conducting work that affects municipal stormwater systems, saying, “PennDOT doesn’t care. They don’t care what you’re doing with MS4 and stormwater.” Representative Madsen described equity concerns in Harrisburg, saying the Commonwealth’s property occupies a large share of city land yet the state does not pay stormwater fees that local residents must cover.
The committee adopted amendment A010021, offered by Chairman Miller, which removes the bill’s legislative findings section; the amendment was approved by voice vote. Committee discussion described the findings as nonessential to the bill’s functioning and potentially requiring future edits if circumstances change.
Following debate, the committee took a roll call and reported the bill to the floor by an 18‑8 vote. The prime sponsor had urged a yes vote. Representative Fleming and other supporters said the bill would give municipalities the authority to charge properties that receive stormwater benefits, including state‑owned properties, rather than leave the cost entirely to local taxpayers.
Discussion (not a formal direction) included concerns about how the bill would treat nonprofits and other tax‑exempt organizations and whether imposing fees on them could raise additional policy questions on the House floor. Chairman Miller said he would vote yes in committee but flagged nonprofit treatment as a likely area of debate later.
The committee record shows the amendment and the final motion to report the bill; the measure now proceeds to the full House for further consideration.
