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Senate Approves White Bill to Strengthen Slippery
Rock University-Based
Center for Environmental Education
HARRISBURG -- The
state Senate today unanimously approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Mary Jo
White (R-21) to strengthen a successful statewide environmental education
program based at Slippery Rock University.
The Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education
serves as a statewide environmental education resource for state agencies,
county conservation districts, educators, parents and nonprofit organizations.
Senator White’s legislation, Senate Bill 1040, would
amend the Environmental Education Act to establish the PCEE in statute,
strengthening its status among state programs and ensuring more stable funding.
“The PCEE has been very successful since being
formed under an Executive Order by Governor Ridge in 1996, but recently I became
concerned funding would be discontinued as a way to trim the state Department of
Environmental Protection’s budget,” said White, who chairs the Senate
Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. “We want to recognize the
good work done by the Center in statute, and provide funding into the future.”
Among its various duties, the PCEE inventories and
generates environmental education related research, maintains an Internet-based
environmental resources network and provides training and education
opportunities for educators and citizens. It makes learning tools
available to teachers, home-school parents and students via the Internet and
newsletters. More information about the PCEE is available on its website
at
www.pcee.org.
Senate Bill 1040 also would establish a governing
board to oversee the Center and appropriate $350,000 to the State System of
Higher Education to administer the program.
“We worked with the Department of Environmental
Protection and the State System of Higher Education on several amendments that
strengthened Senate Bill 1040,” said White. “Environmental education is
constantly evolving. It’s an ongoing learning process, and the PCEE serves as an
important component to further environmental education in Pennsylvania."
Senate Bill 1040 was part of a package of
environmental measures unveiled in April to bolster environmental protection in
Pennsylvania. The bills will next be considered by the House of Representatives.
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