PRINTER'S NO. 69
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.118
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, COMITTA, KEARNEY, HAYWOOD, COSTA AND
SCHWANK, JANUARY 22, 2025
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, JANUARY 22, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), entitled
"An act providing for and reorganizing the conduct of the
executive and administrative work of the Commonwealth by the
Executive Department thereof and the administrative
departments, boards, commissions, and officers thereof,
including the boards of trustees of State Normal Schools, or
Teachers Colleges; abolishing, creating, reorganizing or
authorizing the reorganization of certain administrative
departments, boards, and commissions; defining the powers and
duties of the Governor and other executive and administrative
officers, and of the several administrative departments,
boards, commissions, and officers; fixing the salaries of the
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and certain other executive
and administrative officers; providing for the appointment of
certain administrative officers, and of all deputies and
other assistants and employes in certain departments, boards,
and commissions; providing for judicial administration; and
prescribing the manner in which the number and compensation
of the deputies and all other assistants and employes of
certain departments, boards and commissions shall be
determined," in powers and duties of the Department of
Environmental Resources, its officers and departmental and
advisory boards and commissions, providing for Office of
Environmental Justice.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known
as The Administrative Code of 1929, is amended by adding a
section to read:
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29 Section 1940-A. Office of Environmental Justice.--(a) It
shall be the policy of the Commonwealth to promote and ensure
that environmental justice is effectuated in this Commonwealth.
Each Commonwealth agency shall make achieving environmental
justice part of the agency's mission by identifying, addressing
and mitigating disproportionately high and adverse human health
or environmental effects of the programs, policies and
activities of the agency on communities of color and low-income
communities in this Commonwealth.
(b) The Office of Environmental Justice is established
within the department to assist in the implementation of the
public policy under subsection (a).
(c) The secretary shall appoint a director.
(d) The office shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) To advise and make recommendations to the Governor and
the Governor's cabinet on:
(i) Integrating environmental justice considerations
throughout Commonwealth programs, regulations, policies and
procedures.
(ii) Improving the environment and public health in
communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms
and risks.
(iii) Addressing environmental justice by ensuring
transparent, authentic and equitable engagement in decision
making, building capacity in disproportionately burdened
communities and promoting collaborative problem solving for
issues involving environmental justice.
(iv) Strengthening partnerships on environmental justice
among governmental agencies, including Federal, State and local
government.
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30 (v) Enhancing research and assessment approaches related to
environmental justice.
(2) To coordinate with all Commonwealth agencies to:
(i) Address and eliminate the disproportionate environmental
and human health impacts on communities of color and low-income
communities.
(ii) Develop and enforce rules, regulations, guidance,
standards, policies, plans and practices that promote
environmental justice.
(iii) Increase cooperation and require coordination among
Commonwealth agencies in achieving environmental justice.
(iv) Mitigate the inequitable distribution of the burdens
and benefits of Commonwealth programs having significant impacts
on human health and the environment.
(v) Provide guidance regarding criteria for identifying
disproportionately high and adverse human health or
environmental effects on communities of color and low-income
communities and the environmental impact on communities on the
basis of race, color, national origin or income.
(3) If appropriate, to assist all State agencies in
examining new regulations and policies involving State action or
the appropriation of money related to the impact those actions
and resources have on environmental justice prior to adopting a
regulation or policy.
(4) To provide to communities of color and low-income
communities greater access to public information and
opportunities for participation in decision making effecting
human health and the environment.
(5) To receive comments, concerns and recommendations from
individuals throughout the Commonwealth.
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30 (6) To develop resources and strategies and share relevant
information with the public.
(7) To examine existing data and studies relating to
environmental justice.
(8) To develop and update, no less than every five years, a
Statewide environmental justice strategy that identifies and
addresses disproportionately high and adverse human health or
environmental effects of the programs, policies, spending and
other activities of the Commonwealth with respect to communities
of color and low-income communities, including:
(i) Impacts from the lack of infrastructure or from
deteriorated infrastructure.
(ii) Impacts from land use.
(iii) Impacts from climate change.
(iv) Impacts from commercial transportation.
(9) To identify programs, policies, planning and public
participation processes, rulemaking, agency spending and
enforcement activities relating to human health or the
environment that may be revised to:
(i) promote enforcement of all health, environmental and
civil rights laws and regulations in communities of color and
low-income communities; and
(ii) improve research and data collection relating to the
health and environment of communities of color and low-income
communities.
(10) To ensure that meaningful opportunities exist for the
public to submit comments and recommendations relating to the
environmental justice strategy under paragraph (8).
(11) To hold public meetings or otherwise solicit public
participation from communities of color and low-income
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30 communities for the purpose of fact-finding, policy development,
receiving public comments and conducting inquiries concerning
environmental justice.
(12) To prepare a public review and publish a summary of the
comments and recommendations.
(e) (1) The secretary shall convene a task force, to be
known as the Environmental Justice Task Force, which may not
have more than fifteen (15) members, each of whom shall be
residents of this Commonwealth, and shall include:
(i) Representatives who reside or work in a community
designated as an Environmental Justice Area under the
Environmental Justice Public Participation Policy.
(ii) Senior management officials or designees from the
Governor's Office of General Counsel, the Office of Attorney
General, the Department of Aging, the Department of Agriculture,
the Department of Community and Economic Development, the
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Department
of Education, the Department of Human Services and the
Department of Transportation.
(2) The task force shall have the following powers and
duties:
(i) To plan strategy and develop guidelines for operation of
Regional Environmental Justice Committees.
(ii) To prepare an annual report about the combined work of
Regional Environmental Justice Committees across this
Commonwealth.
(iii) To monitor reporting processes for Regional
Environmental Justice Committees.
(3) (i) The governing body of a municipality or a resident
of this Commonwealth may file a petition directly with a
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30 Regional Environmental Justice Committee regarding adverse
exposure to environmental health risks or to disproportionate
adverse effects resulting from the implementation of a State
law, regulation, guideline or policy affecting public health or
the environment.
(ii) After review of a petition under subparagraph (i) by
the governing body of a municipality and an initial review of
the petition by the Regional Environmental Justice Committee,
the Regional Environmental Justice Committee shall meet with the
governing body of the municipality to discuss the petition. The
meeting shall be open to the public and the public may offer
comments at the meeting.
(4) Within one hundred twenty (120) days of the meeting
under paragraph (3)(ii), the task force, in consultation with
the governing body of the municipality, municipal residents,
municipal school board of directors and county government
officials, shall develop an action plan for the municipality
addressing environmental factors that affect community health.
The action plan shall clearly delineate the steps necessary to
reduce existing environmental burdens and avoid or reduce the
imposition of additional environmental burdens through
allocation of resources, the exercise of regulatory discretion
and the development of new standards and protections. The action
plan must specify municipal deliverables, a time frame for
implementation and the justification and availability of
financial and other resources to implement the plan. The task
force shall present the action plan to the relevant departments,
recommending its implementation.
(5) The task force shall monitor the implementation of each
action plan and make recommendations to Commonwealth agencies as
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30 necessary to facilitate implementation of the action plans.
Agencies shall implement the strategy to the fullest extent
practicable.
(f) The Environmental Justice Advisory Board is established
for purposes of reviewing and making recommendations to the
director of the task force and the secretary relating to
existing and proposed laws, legislation, regulations, if
appropriate, and policies that impact the environmental health
of communities. The board shall:
(1) consist of fifteen (15) individuals appointed by the
secretary;
(2) meet at least quarterly;
(3) annually select a chairperson from board membership; and
(4) be composed of representatives from a diverse complement
of sectors which may include:
(i) Academic public health.
(ii) Statewide environmental organizations.
(iii) Civil rights and public health organizations.
(iv) Large and small business and industry.
(v) Municipal and county officials.
(vi) Organized labor.
(vii) Grassroots or faith-based community organizations.
(g) As used in this section:
"Board" means the Environmental Justice Advisory Board.
"Community of color" means any geographically distinct
population with a substantial number of individuals who identify
as black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific
Islander or any other nonwhite race.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental
Protection.
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30 "Director" means the Director of the Office of Environmental
Justice.
"Environmental justice" means the fair treatment and
meaningful involvement of all individuals, regardless of race,
color, national origin, educational level or income, with
respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of
environmental laws, regulations and policies to ensure that:
(1) communities of color and low-income communities have
access to public information and opportunities for meaningful
public participation relating to human health and environmental
planning, regulations and enforcement; and
(2) no community of color or low-income community is exposed
to a disproportionate burden of the negative human health and
environmental impacts of pollution or other environmental
hazards.
"Office" means the Office of Environmental Justice.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Environmental Protection.
"Task force" means the Environmental Justice Task Force.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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