Pennsylvania’s Senate will vote on its leadership-sponsored impact fee this afternoon or evening, but after being amended in committee last night, the legislation looks much different than the bill we’ve been covering since it was introduced in May. What’s in the new bill? A 20-year impact fee that begins at $50,000-per-well. It drops to $40,000 [...]
Today, Pennsylvania’s state Capitol is Shale Central. The Senate will likely vote on SB 1100, which the Appropriations Committee amended yesterday to create a much broader impact fee structure than Governor Corbett’s proposed ten-year formula. The Senate measure now begins at $50,000-per-well. It gradually lowers to a $10,000-a-year fee, but stays in place for twenty, [...]
With both the House and Senate back in session this week, the debate over legislation enacting an impact fee will likely take several twists and turns over the coming days. House Republican leadership plans on voting on the Corbett Administration-sponsored HB 1950 either today or tomorrow. But according to Capitolwire, the measure’s section “superseding and [...]
PoliticsPA is reporting the SEIU is buying radio air time, to support an amendment to the House Republican impact fee, HB 1950: The SEIU Pennsylvania State Council is backing an proposal by Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks) that would assess a 4.7 percent tax on Marcellus shale gas drilling, with 44 percent of revenue directed to [...]
Governor Corbett says language in HB 1950 “superseding and preempting” municipal drilling regulations isn’t meant to usurp authority from local governments, but rather to strengthen preexisting laws. In a letter distributed to lawmakers, Corbett points out a section of the 1984 Oil and Gas Act already overrides local ordinances, but municipalities have been able to [...]
The House will vote on its impact fee, HB 1950, this week, according to Republican spokesman Steve Miskin. The measure is on the chamber’s Monday calendar, though the more than 100 amendments that have been filed will likely delay a vote until Tuesday, at the earliest. Ahead of the House debate, the left-leaning Pennsylvania Budget [...]
Environmental groups are weighing in with suggestions to improve HB 1950 and SB 1100, the two dueling impact fee bills in front of the General Assembly. The Times-Tribune has more: The Pennsylvania Environmental Council and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation recommended against exempting gas operations from local land-use ordinances, advised that impact fee funds be dedicated [...]
A new Carnegie Mellon University study puts a price tag on what it costs to plug an abandoned Marcellus Shale well – and argues both impact fees in front of the General Assembly fall short, when it comes to the amount of money they require drillers to post up front. From the Post-Gazette: Plugging an [...]
A Westmoreland County township doesn’t like language in HB 1950 “superseding and negating” local drilling ordinances. More from the Tribune-Review: Upper Burrell is staunchly opposing state Marcellus shale bills that could supersede local drilling regulations. Township supervisors Monday unanimously passed a resolution opposing “state intervention with local zoning regulations.” The township opposes House Bill 1950 [...]
Looking the details of the new House Republican impact fee, which is backed by Governor Corbett? Check out StateImpact’s new topic page on the measure, which includes an annotated copy of the legislation. Among the sections we’ve highlighted: Language “superseding and preempting” municipal drilling zoning A redistribution of revenue from drilling on state forest land [...]
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