Meet Joe Scarnati

Background

Joe Scarnati is the Pennsylvania state Senate’s President Pro Tempore, a post he’s held since November 2006. The Republican represents Jefferson, Cameron, Elk, McKean, Potter and Tioga counties, as well as portions of Clearfield and Warren. He was first elected to the Senate in 2000.

When Catherine Baker Knoll died in November 2008, Scarnati became lieutenant governor. He held both titles until January 2011, when Republican Jim Cawley was sworn in as LG.

Scarnati occupies an interesting position, when it comes to the taxation of Marcellus Shale drilling. When the Democrat-controlled House passed severance tax bills in 2009 and 2010, Scarnati and other Senate Republican leaders killed the proposals, arguing their tax rates were prohibitively high. But now that fiscally conservative Republicans have taken control of both the House and governor’s office, Scarnati is the one leading the charge for an impact fee on drilling. He wants to impose an annual levy on every well in Pennsylvania, and use the revenue to fund local governments and environmental cleanup efforts.

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September 26, 2012

Top Republican Floats Proposal To Create Marcellus Shale Health Panel

Early versions of the law that became Act 13 earmarked money for research into natural gas drilling’s medical impact, but the final version didn’t set any money aside for health-related studies. At the time, Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati’s top staffer, Drew Crompton, supported the move. He warned a study could be “dangerous” if [...]

February 7, 2012

Political Pressure Led Philadelphia Democrats To Back Impact Fee

Why did a liberal Democrat who once called the Senate’s Marcellus Shale impact fee “absurd” end up voting for the bill? Senator Vincent Hughes said he was threatened. The man who allegedly did the threatening, Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, framed the discussions a different way. Scarnati said the negotiations were aimed at generating [...]

February 6, 2012

Conference Committee Approves Impact Fee, Setting Table For Final Votes

Republicans Joe Scarnati (l) during Monday night's conference committee vote

This time tomorrow, legislation overhauling Pennsylvania’s natural gas drilling regulations and imposing a per-well impact fee may be headed to Governor Corbett’s desk. A joint House-Senate conference committee approved a 174-page bill tonight. Senate rules allow a vote on the plan first-thing tomorrow morning. The House requires a 24-hour wait on all votes, which means [...]

January 31, 2012

Scarnati Says Impact Fee Agreement Is Approaching

An impact fee update from Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, via the AP: HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s highest-ranking state senator says he thinks an agreement on a sweeping bill to impose a fee on the booming natural gas drilling industry can be finished in a week, right before Gov. Tom Corbett unveils his budget plan. Senate [...]

January 3, 2012

The Latest Impact Fee Deadline: Before Corbett’s Budget Address

From Pennsylvania Public Radio’s Mary Wilson, the first Marcellus Shale impact fee update of 2012. Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, who’s been pushing for a locally-distributed levy on drilling for more than a year now, says negotiations need to wrap up before Governor Corbett’s February budget address, or the fee may not happen. “I [...]

November 10, 2011

Common Cause Report Details Campaign Contributions From Drillers

Common Cause is out with a new study today, documenting how much money natural gas companies have donated to politicians in Washington and Harrisburg. This is far from an objective report – Common Cause is straightforward in its opposition to hydraulic fracturing, and repeatedly warns of its dangers throughout the document. The group derides Pennsylvania’s [...]

November 1, 2011

House Measure Preempts Local Drilling Regulations

The debate over whether or not to impose an impact fee on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania is about to be ramped up a few notches. A new House proposal – unveiled tonight and primed for a Wednesday morning committee vote – would strip municipalities of their right to regulate drilling and drilling-related activities. “All [...]

October 31, 2011

Senate Impact Fee Bill Still A Work-In-Progress; Vote Delayed Two Weeks

Last Wednesday, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Jake Corman laid out an optimistic timeframe for a vote on a natural gas impact fee. “Hopefully we can have an agreed-to product by Monday, and get it out of here Monday and vote it on the floor Tuesday,” he said, as the panel unanimously approved language strengthening environmental [...]

Exclusive: Impact Fee Vote Delayed

The Pennsylvania State Senate will not vote on an impact fee bill this week, as initially planned. Instead, top Democrats and Republicans will continue to hash out the measure’s details behind closed doors, with the goal of introducing a bill in mid-November. UPDATE: Read a more detailed version of this story here. In an interview [...]

October 28, 2011

Four Factors To Watch For As Senate Vote On Impact Fee Nears

Next week, the state Senate will hold a vote on a natural gas drilling impact fee. Top Republicans and Democrats are hashing out the measure’s final details this weekend, with the goal of introducing the new language in committee on Monday, and holding a floor vote on Tuesday. Part one of the bill, covering environmental [...]