Pennsylvania SR 347: A Resolution directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study of the budgeted funding levels of Federal, State and local agencies that provide child welfare and juvenile justice services compared to the provider contracted rates for those same services in this Commonwealth, and the financial and social impact of any disparity between the approved rate by the State and contracted rate and to issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the Senate.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 1846
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 347
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY LAUGHLIN, HUGHES, STREET AND MASTRIANO,
JUNE 25, 2026
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, JUNE 25, 2026
A RESOLUTION
Designating July 18, 2026, as "Piping Plover Day" in
Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Section 27 of Article I of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania, referred to as the Environmental Rights Amendment,
provides that "The people have a right to clean air, pure water,
and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and
esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public
natural resources are the common property of all the people,
including generations yet to come. As a trustee of these
resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for
the benefit of all the people"; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Game Commission is entrusted to
manage wild birds, wild mammals and their habitats; and
WHEREAS, The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is a
shorebird endemic to North America in three populations which
are protected under the Endangered Species Act, as amended, by
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and
WHEREAS, Presque Isle State Park is a designated Important
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Bird Area and one of the most significant sites in the Great
Lakes region for shorebirds, including plovers; and
WHEREAS, The Department of Conservation and Natural
Resource's habitat management at Presque Isle is a collaborative
effort among State and Federal agencies and conservation
partners that combines habitat restoration, active monitoring,
protective measures and public education to support the recovery
of the Great Lakes piping plover population in Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Gull Point at Presque Isle State Park is a Natural
Heritage Area identified as critical habitat for species and
natural communities of concern, supporting at least 53 species
of concern in this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, There are an estimated 4,000 piping plover pairs
worldwide; and
WHEREAS, The piping plover is a native shorebird to this
Commonwealth, requiring sparsely vegetated and wide beach
habitat with low human disturbance on Lake Erie; and
WHEREAS, Recreational beach use and development contributed
to piping plover population declines across the Great Lakes; and
WHEREAS, In 1986, the Great Lakes piping plover population,
of which Pennsylvania is a part, was protected as endangered
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended; and
WHEREAS, The Great Lakes piping plover population was 88
breeding pairs in 2025; and
WHEREAS, The piping plover was extirpated from this
Commonwealth by the mid-1950s; and
WHEREAS, The United States Fish and Wildlife Service
designated 35 critical habitat units for Great Lakes piping
plover in 2001, including 3.7 miles along Lake Erie at Presque
Isle State Park; and
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WHEREAS, After Federal protection, significant piping plover
research led to successful conservation that steadily increased
the population throughout the Great Lakes; and
WHEREAS, Young piping plovers began visiting historic habitat
in the early 2000s, including Presque Isle State Park; and
WHEREAS, Young piping plovers began visiting historic habitat
in the early 2000s, including Presque Isle State Park; and
WHEREAS, Three male piping plovers were observed at Presque
Isle State Park in 2005; and
WHEREAS, In 2005, the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action
Plan identified piping plover as a species of greatest
conservation need; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Game Commission sought to
understand limiting factors to piping plovers returning as
nesting species in this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, The Presque Isle State Park Management Plan
highlights piping plover conservation needs; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Game Commission contracted the
Presque Isle State Park Piping Plover Recovery Assessment,
completed in 2007, that outlined needs to enhance recolonization
potential; and
WHEREAS, In 2007, the Pennsylvania Game Commission initiated
a Pennsylvania Piping Plover and Common Tern Recovery
partnership, including the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,
United States Army Corps of Engineers, United States Department
of Agricultural Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and
local nongovernmental organizations, including Erie Bird
Observatory and Western Pennsylvania Conservatory, to dedicate
resources to piping plover habitat preparation, monitoring and
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conservative action; and
WHEREAS, Presque Isle State Park and Western Pennsylvania
Conservancy removed invasive vegetation and enhanced piping
plover habitat in 2011 and thereafter; and
WHEREAS, Habitat protection and enhancement for piping plover
supports many rare plant