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WILKES-BARRE — The Department of Human Services announced that extra financial help will be provided to vulnerable Pennsylvanians who received assistance from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, during the 2015-2016 heating season.
“These supplemental funds will help older Pennsylvanians, individuals with a disability, families with children, and crisis grant recipients to pay their remaining heating bills and even help with their heat during the next winter months,” said Secretary Ted Dallas.
LIHEAP assists eligible low-income households with their heating and cooling energy costs, bill payment assistance, energy crisis assistance, weatherization and energy-related home repairs.
In the 2015-16 heating seasons, crisis grants were approved for more than 114,000 households with an average crisis benefit of $322.
LIHEAP was also approved to more than 240,000 older Pennsylvanians, individuals with a disability, and families with children. These households will now receive the $65 supplemental cash grant paid directly to their utility or deliverable fuel company to credit their accounts.
This week, DHS is sending letters to the consumers that are eligible for the $65 supplemental grant payment. The payment will be issued in early July.
The 2016-17 LIHEAP season is scheduled to begin Nov. 1, 2016.
For more information about the LIHEAP program, visit www.dhs.pa.gov.
House committee approves
natural gas royalty legislation
Legislation designed to protect natural gas drilling lease owners’ royalty payments was approved on a bipartisan vote of 20-7 by the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee last week.
According to an emailed news release from the committee, House Bill 1391 represents a more simplified effort to provide fairness for natural gas drilling lease holders. The bill would protect lease owners by guaranteeing that a minimum royalty payment for unconventional gas well production would not be less than one-eighth (12.5 percent). Companies have reduced royalty payments by deducting post-production costs.
A 2010 Pennsylvania Supreme Court case determined that the General Assembly is the proper branch of government to determine public policy regarding royalty valuation, the release stated.
Casey, Isakson continue fight to cut
off terror financing with new legislation
U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, and Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia, last week introduced legislation that would provide the president additional leverage to penalize foreign governments failing to shut down terrorist financiers and facilitators.
The Stop Terrorists Operational Resources and Money (STORM) Act would authorize the president to designate a country that is not doing enough on terrorism financing as a “Jurisdiction of Terrorism Financing Concern.” This designation triggers a menu of penalties or requires that the country enter into a capacity building agreement with the U.S. government to improve their ability to end terrorist financing.
“Cutting off the money that terrorist groups use to pay fighters’ salaries, buy weapons and IED components, and control territory is essential to the strategy to degrade and ultimately defeat these groups,” Casey said.
Under current law, the U.S. has limited leverage to penalize a government for allowing terrorist financiers to operate using its jurisdiction. The STORM Act will give the president additional tools to ensure all foreign partners are investigating, prosecuting, and holding accountable terrorist financiers as well as improving their legal framework on terrorism financing. It also sanctions foreign banks for doing business for ISIL.
DEP rebates for alternative
fuel vehicles still available
The Department of Environmental Protection is reminding Pennsylvania car buyers of rebates to assist with the cost of purchasing a new alternative fuel vehicle.
DEP Acting Secretary Patrick McDonnell said rebates are available for battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and vehicles that use alternative fuels such as natural gas and fuel cell vehicles.
“These vehicles are helping to reduce climate change causing emissions and are a part of a sustainable Pennsylvania,” McDonnell said in an emailed news release.
The rebates are funded by the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Program, which is supported by a gross receipts tax on utilities. To qualify, the vehicle must be registered in Pennsylvania, operated primarily in-state, and be purchased no more than six months before the rebate application is submitted. Rebates are available for new cars only.
Large-battery vehicles are eligible for a rebate of $2,000 (examples include models such as the Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus, Chevy Volt, and similar models from BMW, Volkswagen and Tesla). DEP is also offering rebates of $1,000 for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery-electric vehicles (examples include the Hyundai Sonata, Ford C-Max Energi, BMW x5, Volvo XC).
Rebates of $1,000 are also being offered for natural gas, propane, hydrogen or fuel-cell vehicles, such as the CNG powered Honda Civic or any new CNG powered car or pickup truck. CNG original equipment, manufacturer retrofits, or certified conversions to CNG or propane are also eligible for the $1,000 rebate. A $500 rebate is available for electric motorcycles and scooters.
There are only a limited number of rebates available at $2,000. The rebate program offered will be reassessed upon payment of the first 250 rebates at $2,000 or Dec. 31, 2016, whichever occurs first.
