19119_Authority_April_2026

municipalauthorities.org │ 25 House Bill 2150 (Representative Kyle Mullins, Lackawanna) – This bill directs the Center for Local Government Services within the Department for Community and Economic Development to create a model ordinance and offer technical support to municipalities regarding the siting of data centers. House Bill 2151 (Representative Kyle Donahue, Lackawanna) – This bill would require data centers in Pennsylvania to send information about their energy and water use to DEP and require DEP to aggregate the information and create an annual report on data center impacts. Senate Bill 939 (Senator Greg Rothman, Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry) – This bill would create a statewide AI, Data Center, and Emerging Technologies regulatory sandbox. It was amended and held in the Senate Communications and Technology Committee. Regulations Safe Drinking Water Revised Consumer Confidence Report Rule On December 13, 2025, the Environmental Quality Board proposed an amendment to Chapter 109 (relating to safe drinking water) of Title 25 (Environmental Protection). PMAA commented on the proposal which focuses on implementation clarity and the potential for unintended consequences. PMAA Comments 6 Water Quality Standards—Triennial Review On December 27, 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection published the advance notice of proposed rulemaking in preparation for Pennsylvania’s 11 th Triennial Review of Water Quality Standards. PMAA argued that DEP’s adoption of EPA’s 2007 copper criteria is outdated and would impose unjustified costs on wastewater treatment plants despite limited treatment feasibility and largely uncontrollable copper sources. PMAA Comments 7 In the News Pennsylvania State Senator Gene Yaw Returns to Chairmanship of the Chesapeake Bay Commission Pennsylvania State Senator Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) has been elected to chair the tri-state Chesapeake Bay Commission (CBC) for 2026, the Commission announced this week. He served as chair of the CBC in 2020. Senator Yaw will lead the 21-member Commission, including state legislators fromMaryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, along with a cabinet secretary selected by each Governor and a prominent citizen representative from each state. Senator Yaw will remain chair of the Pennsylvania Delegation of the Commission. Other members of the delegation are Representative Kerry Benninghoff, (R-Centre); G. Warren Elliott, Citizen Representative, Chambersburg; Representative Carol Hill-Evans, (D-York); Senator Scott Martin, (R-Lancaster); Representative Nikki Rivera, (D-Lancaster); and Jessica Shirley, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Consumer Advocate v. PUC (East Whiteland Township) East Whiteland Township sought to sell its sewer system to Aqua Pennsylvania at “fair market value” (approximately $55 million) under Act 12/Section 1329, a law designed to facilitate municipal system sales. The Office of Consumer Advocate and Commonwealth Court opposed the sale, arguing that potential increases in customers rates outweighed any public benefits of the transaction. On December 16, 2025, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Commonwealth Court’s decision, affirming that the PUC has discretion to determine whether a municipal system sale provides “affirmative public benefits.” Read the full opinion 8 and PMAA’s Amicus Brief 9 Budget Proposal On February 3 rd , Governor Josh Shapiro delivered his annual budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026-27. The proposal calls for $53.3 billion in state General Fund expenditures, which is an increase of $2.7 billion or 5.38% over the previous budget. Additional information 10 S Scan to view the documents referenced (numbers 1 - 10) in the Government Relations Report