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Pennsylvania State Senate
04/26/2024 07:05 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20170&cosponId=23739
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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2017 - 2018 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: April 25, 2017 04:23 PM
From: Senator John T. Yudichak and Sen. Thomas H. Killion
To: All Senate members
Subject: Fair and Responsible Natural Gas Severance Tax
 

In the near future, we plan to introduce legislation to implement a fair and responsible severance tax on natural gas extraction that invests in the popular Growing Greener program, additional environmental protection programs, and job creation in Pennsylvania.

Our legislation would establish a severance tax that would generate new revenue and ensure that all current Act 13 of 2012 impact fee beneficiaries are held harmless. While the rate would be assessed on the gross value of natural gas severed at the wellhead, it would contain a mechanism to ensure that collections do not exceed a set annual threshold that is indexed to inflation.

The new revenue generated by this measure would be divided in three ways in order to:
  • Provide new funding to the Department of Environmental Protection to ensure adequate staffing levels and delivery of services.
  • Provide targeted funds to Growing Greener programs, including programs that address immediate needs for water quality, such as assistance for municipal storm sewer system upgrades, and programs that drive local economic development, like abandoned mine and brownfield reclamation.
  • Provide tax credits that further promote job creation and incentivize investment in Pennsylvania's natural gas infrastructure and the development of downstream business opportunities in transportation, manufacturing, and petrochemical markets.
With strategic investments from a fair and responsible severance tax, Pennsylvania can rival any state in the nation as the keystone state of energy jobs – creating new jobs from the well pad to the electric grid to the manufacturing floor.

We hope that you will join us in co-sponsoring this important proposal. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.