NOTICES
INDEPENDENT REGULATORY REVIEW COMMISSION
Actions Taken by the Commission
[29 Pa.B. 5777] The Independent Regulatory Review Commission met publicly at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, October 21, 1999, and took the following actions:
Regulations Approved:
Environmental Quality Board #7-324: Stream Redesignations; Hay Creek, et al (amends 25 Pa. Code § 93.9).
Environmental Quality Board #7-323: Wastewater Management (amends 25 Pa. Code Chapters 91, 97 and 101).
Department of Revenue #15-390: Inheritance Tax; Disclaimers of Nonprobate Taxable Assets (amends 61 Pa. Code §§ 93.141 and 94.1).
Department of Revenue #15-381: Personal Income and Corporate Taxes (amends 61 Pa. Code §§ 101, 103, 109, 113, 117, 121 and 155).
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Commissioners Present: John R. McGinley, Jr., Chairperson; Alvin C. Bush, Vice Chairperson; Arthur Coccodrilli; John F. Mizner
Public Meeting held
October 21, 1999Environmental Quality Board--Stream Redesignations; Hay Creek, et al; Regulation No. 7-324
Order On August 5, 1997, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this proposed regulation from the Environmental Quality Board (EQB). This rulemaking amends 25 Pa. Code § 93.9. The authority for this regulation is 35 P. S. § 691.5, et seq. The proposed regulation was published in the August 16, 1997 Pennsylvania Bulletin with a 45-day public comment period. The final-form regulation was submitted to the Commission on September 21, 1999.
This regulation upgrades the designation of five streams in Berks, Cambria and Somerset counties. Portions of one stream are being downgraded. The stream reports were reviewed in comparison to the antidegradation rulemaking published as final on July 17, 1999. Accordingly, portions of some of the redesignations were adjusted. The EQB removed Pine Creek, located in Crawford and Warren Counties, from this rulemaking. The EQB plans to reevaluate it for possible inclusion in a future proposed rulemaking.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest. The amendments provide the appropriate protection of these streams and their drainage basins.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 7-324 from the Environmental Quality Board, as submitted to the Commission on September 21, 1999, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
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Commissioners Present: John R. McGinley, Jr., Chairperson; Alvin C. Bush, Vice Chairperson; Arthur Coccodrilli; John F. Mizner
Public Meeting held
October 21, 1999Environmental Quality Board--Wastewater Management; Regulation No. 7-323
Order On August 12, 1997, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this proposed regulation from the Environmental Quality Board (EQB). This rulemaking amends 25 Pa. Code Chapters 91, 97 and 101. The authority for this regulation is The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. § 691.5). The proposed regulation was published in the August 23, 1997 Pennsylvania Bulletin with a 30-day public comment period. The final-form regulation was submitted to the Commission on September 21, 1999.
This rulemaking is part of the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP's) Regulatory Basics Initiative. The amendments are intended to eliminate provisions which impose disproportionate economic costs; are obsolete; or are more stringent than Federal regulations unless justified by a compelling public interest. The amendments are also intended to support DEP's pollution prevention measures and more easily apply new green technologies.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be generally in the public interest. However, we have a concern with § 91.15(a) which requires compliance with Chapter 16 (relating to water quality toxics management strategy--statement of policy). By definition, statements of policy contain nonbinding guidelines. If the EQB intends to require compliance with Chapter 16, it should promulgate this chapter as a proposed regulation.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No.7-323 from the Environmental Quality Board, as submitted to the Commission on September 21, 1999, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
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Commissioners Present: John R. McGinley, Jr., Chairperson; Alvin C. Bush, Vice Chairperson; Arthur Coccodrilli; John F. Mizner
Public Meeting held
October 21, 1999Department of Revenue--Inheritance Tax; Disclaimers of Nonprobate Taxable Assets; Regulation No. 15-390
Order On September 3, 1997, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this proposed regulation from the Department of Revenue (Department). This rulemaking amends 61 Pa. Code §§ 93.141 and 94.1. The authority for this regulation is section 2103 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 (72 P. S. § 9103) and the Opinion and Order of Commonwealth Court in In Re Estate of Bernecker, 654 A.2d 246 (Pa. Commonwealth 1995). The proposed regulation was published in the September 13, 1997 Pennsylvania Bulletin, with a 30-day public comment period. The final-form regulation was submitted to the Commission on September 24, 1999.
This rulemaking, in response to the referenced Commonwealth Court decision, amends the Department's regulations concerning disclaimers of nonprobate taxable assets. Nonprobate taxable assets are those assets that pass outside an individual's will.
The regulation sets forth specific conditions, includes filing and notice requirements, which will be utilized in determining whether a disclaimer executed in regard to nonprobate taxable assets and nontrust assets is taxable under the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax law.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest. The regulation formalizes the Department's rules on this subject for taxpayers and tax practitioners.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 15-390, from the Department of Revenue, as submitted to the Commission on September 24, 1999, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
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Commissioners Present: John R. McGinley, Jr., Chairperson; Alvin C. Bush, Vice Chairperson; Arthur Coccodrilli--Dissented; John F. Mizner
Public Meeting held
October 21, 1999Department of Revenue--Personal Income and Corporate Taxes; Regulation No. 15-381
Order On August 20, 1997, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) received this proposed regulation from the Department of Revenue (Department). This rulemaking amends 61 Pa. Code §§ 101, 103, 109, 113, 117, 121 and 155. The authority for this regulation is 72 P. S. §§ 7354 and 7408. The proposed regulation was published in the August 30, 1997 Pennsylvania Bulletin with a 30-day public comment period. The final-form regulation was submitted to the Commission on September 28, 1999.
We have reviewed this regulation and find it to be in the public interest. The amendments clarify the Department's interpretation of State requirements, Federal requirements and classification of income, losses and deductions.
Therefore, It Is Ordered That:
1. Regulation No. 15-381 from the Department of Revenue, as submitted to the Commission on September 28, 1999, is approved; and
2. The Commission will transmit a copy of this Order to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
JOHN R. MCGINLEY, Jr.,
Chairperson
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 99-1883. Filed for public inspection November 5, 1999, 9:00 a.m.]
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