"The forensic examination of the Harrisburg incinerator raises numerous concerns as to the role that the debt of a municipal authority can play in the financial distress of a community," said Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Blair County, chairman of the committee.

"With regard to the Harrisburg incinerator project, the laws designed to protect taxpayers from undue debt failed," Eichelberger said. "The committee needs to determine whether that failure was due to a lack of compliance with those laws, or whether changes are needed to strengthen them."

The capital city is buried beneath more than $326 million of incinerator debt.

The August hearing, which is expected to be the first of multiple sessions on the subject, will be in Hearing Room 1 in the North Office Building.