PRINTER'S NO. 2379
No. 384 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY BELFANTI, DeWEESE, ALLEN, GOODMAN, ARGALL,
BLACKWELL, EACHUS, FREEMAN, GERGELY, McGEEHAN, RAMALEY,
SURRA, BAKER, BALDWIN, BARRAR, BASTIAN, BEBKO-JONES, BELARDI,
BENNINGHOFF, BOYD, BUNT, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, CAUSER,
CORRIGAN, COSTA, CRAHALLA, CREIGHTON, DALEY, DONATUCCI,
FABRIZIO, FICHTER, FORCIER, FRANKEL, GEIST, GEORGE,
GILLESPIE, GINGRICH, GOOD, GRUCELA, HARHAI, HASAY, HERSHEY,
HESS, JAMES, KIRKLAND, LEDERER, LESCOVITZ, LEVDANSKY, MAJOR,
MANN, MARKOSEK, McGILL, McILHATTAN, R. MILLER, MUSTIO, MYERS,
PALLONE, PETRARCA, PICKETT, PISTELLA, READSHAW, REICHLEY,
ROBERTS, ROSS, RUBLEY, SAINATO, SANTONI, SATHER, SAYLOR,
SCAVELLO, SHANER, B. SMITH, SOLOBAY, STABACK, STERN,
R. STEVENSON, TANGRETTI, THOMAS, TIGUE, TRUE, WALKO, WANSACZ,
WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD AND YUDICHAK, JUNE 29, 2005
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JUNE 29, 2005
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the week of June 26 to July 2, 2005, as "Coal Mining
2 Safety Week" in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, The House of Representatives recognizes the
4 important contributions of coal mining to the history and
5 vitality of this Commonwealth and its economy; and
6 WHEREAS, The House of Representatives considers the safety of
7 coal miners and the coal mining industry a high priority; and
8 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania was the fourth largest producer of coal
9 in the nation in 2003, producing 63,792,000 short tons of coal;
10 and
11 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's coal mining industry employed 6,926
1 workers in 2003; and
2 WHEREAS, According to the National Mining Association, the
3 monetary value of Pennsylvania's coal production in 2003 was
4 $1,706,416,000; and
5 WHEREAS, The Bureau of Workers' Compensation of the
6 Department of Labor and Industry reported that mining had the
7 highest injury and illness rate of all major industries in this
8 Commonwealth; and
9 WHEREAS, The Mine Safety and Health Administration reported
10 5,155 work-related injuries and 30 fatalities among coal miners
11 nationwide in 2003; and
12 WHEREAS, Coal miners are routinely exposed to the risk of
13 incidents such as the Quecreek accident, in which nine miners
14 were trapped in a Somerset, Pennsylvania, mine for three days in
15 July 2004, or the underground fires that have burned in
16 Centralia, Pennsylvania, since 1961; therefore be it
17 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
18 week of June 26 to July 2, 2005, as "Coal Mining Safety Week" in
19 Pennsylvania to recognize the important contributions of the
20 coal mining industry, to raise awareness of the dangers coal
21 miners face and to strive toward improving safety in this vital
22 industry.
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