HARRISBURG — People who assist others in signing up for insurance under the 2010 federal health care law would have to register with the state and undergo a criminal background check under a bill headed to the Pennsylvania state House.

The Senate passed the bill, 27-22, along party lines. The bill would limit them from selling insurance and allow the state to fine them for violations.

Blair County Republican Sen. John Eichelberger says it's an important consumer protection step because enrollees reveal financial information when they sign up for insurance in the federally run marketplace.

However, Philadelphia Democratic Sen. Michael Stack says a federal court in Missouri struck down a similar law and it's unnecessary because Pennsylvania insurance regulators didn't field any complaints during the previous enrollment period.

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania state Senate has passed a bill that would overhaul rules requiring 150-foot buffers between construction and the edges of high-quality waterways.The bill passed, 27-22, and heads to the state House, which passed a similar version last month.Under the bill amending Pennsylvania's Clean Streams Law, builders could comply with pollution laws by using another unspecified method that has the equivalent pollution-control effect of a 150-foot buffer.Republican Sen. Lisa Baker of Luzerne County says the 150-foot buffer is making it too difficult for many people in northeastern Pennsylvania to build on their properties. She also says the 150-foot buffer distance is an arbitrary figure.

HARRISBURG — A proposal to set up a database with information on prescription drug dispensing in an effort to prevent their abuse is closer to becoming law in Pennsylvania.The House voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday for the proposal, which is aimed at helping fight illegal diversion of the substances and the practice of doctor shopping.The proposal is designed to provide doctors and pharmacists information about people who try to get narcotics from two different doctors or who go to different pharmacies to have the same prescriptions filled.