Will Fee's Chances Improve This Fall? Probably

House Republican leaders have scuttled their plans to debate a natural gas drilling impact fee today. Instead, spokesman Steve Miskin says the chamber will wait until the fall to take up the measure.
Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati had been the main driver behind a push to pass a fee alongside the budget, but his staff says they’re now resigned to wait a few more months.
Supporters of a severance tax/impact fee could be forgiven for flinching at the news. After all, they’ve been here before. This time last year, Senate Republicans, House Democrats and Governor Ed Rendell agreed to pass a severance tax by June 30th. They even wrote language into the fiscal code vowing to consider both the tax and the creation of an independent fiscal office.
But when the House eventually passed its bill, Democrats jacked up the rate so the levy would have been the highest in the country. Senate Republican leaders considered that a deal breaker, and simply ran out the legislative session’s clock, without considering the measure.
The tax failed to become law after a handshake agreement and in an atmosphere where Democrats controlled the House and governor’s office. So now that the GOP controls all three branches, it has even less a chance of becoming law, right?
Not necessarily. With more and more Pennsylvania voters supporting some sort of tax or fee – last month’s Quinnipiac Poll put the number at 69 percent – rank-and-file Republicans are feeling increased pressure to get something passed. A low-level fee is much more likely than a full-blown tax sending money to the state’s General Fund, but expect a serious push by Republicans to pass a measure – and take away a Democratic campaign issue – this fall.

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