An Act amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, in general budget implementation, further providing for Department of Agriculture.

PRINTER'S NO. 3754
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2689
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY MOUL, WALLEN, REICHARD, PASHINSKI, STENDER,
STAMBAUGH, JAMES, COOK, BANTA, ROWE, CAUSER, ZIMMERMAN,
GLEIM, MENTZER, KAUFFMAN, CIRESI, SAPPEY, PUGH, GAYDOS, KUTZ,
BARGER, SHAFFER, MARCELL, PICKETT, COOPER, LAWRENCE,
M. MACKENZIE, B. MILLER AND OWLETT, JULY 2, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS,
JULY 6, 2026
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
"An act relating to the finances of the State government;
providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint
Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
financial management firms, for private dam financial
assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
department, board, commission, and officer of the State
government, every political subdivision of the State, and
certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
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collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
Commonwealth," in general budget implementation, further
providing for Department of Agriculture.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1718-E(a) of the act of April 9, 1929
(P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is amended by
adding a paragraph to read:
Section 1718-E. Department of Agriculture.
(a) Appropriations.--The following shall apply to
appropriations for the Department of Agriculture:
* * *
(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, from
remaining money allocated for highly pathogenic avian
influenza prior to fiscal year 2024-2025, the following shall
apply:
(i) No more than $20,000,000 shall be used for a
disaster recovery grant program to assist fruit and
vegetable growers who experienced losses exceeding 30% of
expected 2026 production of eligible Pennsylvania-grown
specialty crops due to freeze events that occurred
between April 1 and April 21, 2026.
(ii) Pennsylvania-grown specialty crops include all
pome and stone fruits, grapes, berries and vegetables.
(iii) Losses or costs that are eligible for or
covered by Federal funding, insurance, contracts or other
funding sources are not eligible for recovery grant
funding under this paragraph.
(iv) Within 90 days of the effective date of this
paragraph, the Department of Agriculture shall submit
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guidelines to implement this paragraph to the Legislative
Reference Bureau for publication in the next available
issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
* * *
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026, or
immediately, whichever is later.
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