PRINTER'S NO. 787
No. 706 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY LETTERMAN, GODSHALL, HERMAN, RUDY AND MARKOSEK,
MARCH 13, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSERVATION, MARCH 13, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of December 15, 1955 (P.L.865, No.256),
2 entitled "An act requiring rents and royalties from oil and
3 gas leases of Commonwealth land to be placed in a special
4 fund to be used for conservation, recreation, dams, and flood
5 control; authorizing the Secretary of Forests and Waters to
6 determine the need for and location of such projects and to
7 acquire the necessary land," further providing for the
8 appropriation and distribution of certain royalty and rental
9 payments; and making editorial changes.
10 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11 hereby enacts as follows:
12 Section 1. The title and the act of December 15, 1955
13 (P.L.865, No.256), entitled "An act requiring rents and
14 royalties from oil and gas leases of Commonwealth land to be
15 placed in a special fund to be used for conservation,
16 recreation, dams, and flood control; authorizing the Secretary
17 of Forests and Waters to determine the need for and location of
18 such projects and to acquire the necessary land," are amended to
19 read:
20 AN ACT
21 Requiring rents and royalties from oil and gas leases of
1 Commonwealth land to be placed in a special fund to be used
2 for conservation, recreation, dams, and flood control;
3 authorizing the Secretary of [Forests and Waters]
4 Environmental Resources to determine the need for and
5 location of such projects and to acquire the necessary land.
6 Section 1. Rents and Royalties.--(a) All rents and
7 royalties from oil and gas leases of any land owned by the
8 Commonwealth, except rents and royalties received from game and
9 fish lands, shall be placed in a special fund to be known as the
10 "Oil and Gas Lease [Fund" which] Fund." Except as provided in
11 subsection (b), the fund shall be exclusively used for
12 conservation, recreation, dams, or flood control or to match any
13 Federal grants which may be made for any of the aforementioned
14 purposes.
15 (b) Thirty per centum of each rent or royalty payment to the
16 Department of Environmental Resources from any oil or gas lease
17 shall be set aside in a separate account within the "Oil and Gas
18 Lease Fund" for annual distribution by the Department of
19 Environmental Resources to the county, municipality and school
20 district where the oil or gas lease is situated. The Department
21 of Environmental Resources shall, on July 1 of each year and in
22 cooperation with the Treasury Department and the Auditor
23 General, distribute the proceeds of the separate account in the
24 following amounts and for the following purposes:
25 (1) Ten per centum of each payment shall be returned to the
26 county where it originated and shall be used, first, to plan and
27 successfully implement a solid-waste disposal system and,
28 second, to reduce county real estate taxes.
29 (2) Five per centum of each payment shall be returned to the
30 municipality where it originated and shall be used to reduce the
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1 municipal real estate taxes.
2 (3) Five per centum of each payment shall be returned to the
3 school district where it originated and shall be used to reduce
4 the school district real estate taxes.
5 (4) Ten per centum of each payment shall be paid into the
6 Well Plugging Restricted Revenue Account established pursuant to
7 the act of December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140, No.223), known as the
8 "Oil and Gas Act," and shall be used solely for the plugging and
9 sealing of abandoned wells which threaten the health and safety
10 of persons or property or pollution of the waters of this
11 Commonwealth.
12 Section 2. Utilization.--It shall be within the discretion
13 of the Secretary of [Forests and Waters] Environmental Resources
14 to determine the need for and the location of any project
15 authorized by this act. The Secretary of [Forests and Waters]
16 Environmental Resources shall have the power to acquire in the
17 name of the Commonwealth by purchase, condemnation or otherwise
18 such lands as may be needed.
19 Section 3. Appropriation.--All the moneys from time to time
20 paid into the "Oil and Gas Lease Fund" are specifically
21 appropriated to the Department of [Forests and Waters]
22 Environmental Resources to carry out the purposes of this act.
23 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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