HARRISBURG -- When state legislators return here today to kick around issues for the fall session, they can be forgiven for having a sense of deja vu.

They really have seen most of these proposals before.

While Gov. Ed Rendell has called a special session for the fall to address energy conservation and ways to reduce the state's dependence on Middle East oil, a lot of other major issues will also be competing for attention from lawmakers and the public.

They include:

A potential smoking ban for work places and public places. The biggest rub will be whether smoking should be banned -- or allowed -- in taverns and casinos. Such a ban was debated at length by the Senate and House this summer without an accord being reached.

A new open records law. One question will be how broad to permit citizen access to public records, or whether to make exceptions to protect pieces of private information. This got brief attention this past spring, with more debate put off until later in the year.

The Jonas Salk Legacy Fund. The item, which Mr. Rendell failed to get approved this summer, would shift $35 million from the state's annual tobacco settlement allotment to fund new biotechnology labs at state universities.

A new way to get funding to clean up hazardous waste sites. A move to shift $40 million from a statewide parks, recreational and library fund for such site cleanups caused an uproar from environmentalists several months ago. Now there's a proposal to shift $40 million from the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax for the cleanups.

A strict campaign finance law. Should Pennsylvania join many other states that sharply limit the amounts donors can give to candidates?

A new source of cash to repair highways, bridges and mass transit. Congressional Republicans are trying hard to block the imposition of tolls on Interstate 80, which is a key element of Act 44. The Legislature passed such a measure in July, expecting it to generate almost $1 billion a year for transportation improvements, but now it is in danger of foundering. And Mr. Rendell is urging legislators to adopt his plan to generate $1.7 billion a year by leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private operator.

Mr. Rendell proposed an energy plan when he made his budget address in February, but a lot of it didn't get action before legislators took their summer break in mid-July.

A key element was a new $850 million bond fund to help homeowners pay for adding solar panels to their homes, buying energy-efficient appliances and installing "smart" electric meters, which would give cheaper electric rates for usage at off-peak hours, such as after midnight.

The governor had no luck, however, getting legislators to go for a $5.40 annual surcharge on homeowners' electric bills as a way of paying off the bonds. Republicans complained it was just another new tax and strongly opposed it.

Mr. Rendell plans to address the Legislature on energy matters next Monday, but legislative Republicans and a group concerned about Pennsylvania's forests are getting a jump on him today.

The House Republican Energy Task Force, which includes Reps. Mike Turzai of Bradford Woods and Scott Hutchinson of Venango, will unveil its own plan "to address Pennsylvania's emerging energy crisis" at a Capitol news conference this morning.

Few details were given last week, but Republicans said their plan will "include measures to lower energy costs for consumers, create new jobs and protect Pennsylvania's environment."

Mr. Rendell has been pushing for expanded use of solar power, wind power and new types of biofuels, such as ethanol -- made from corn or wood chips -- to lessen the need for buying Middle Eastern oil. He estimates state residents now spend $30 billion a year on gasoline and fuels brought from overseas.

As part of an "energy independence strategy," Mr. Rendell is hoping that 1 billion gallons of biofuels can be produced and consumed in Pennsylvania by 2017.

Building windmills has generated opposition from people in several Western and Central west-central and north-central Pennsylvania counties.