Gas impact fee bill wins in House

HARRISBURG – The state House of Representatives on Thursday passed GOP-backed House Bill 1950, which imposes an impact fee on gas drillers.

The bill passed 107-76 and now moves to the Senate for consideration.

State Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-Butler Township, was the only legislator from Luzerne County to vote in favor of the bill, which would levy a $40,000-per-well fee in the first year of production that would decline $10,000 each year in the second through fourth years and remain at $10,000 through the 10th year. About 75 percent of the revenue would go to local governments, and 25 percent to statewide initiatives.

“This legislation is a fair compromise for the people of Pennsylvania and the natural gas industry,” Toohil said. “I believe it protects both our citizens and the environment and, at the same time, allows for continued job growth in an industry that holds such great economic promise for our state.”

State Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, said she prided herself “on voting with my constituents on this issue” when she cast a no vote. “Of the hundreds of comments I have received, not one person suggested I should vote for this legislation.”

Boback said the bill does not go far enough to protect the water and air, and “usurps the rights of local governments. While I did support amendments to increase local control in comparison to the original language, these revisions did not go far enough.”

Boback said the bill fails to address gas pipelines laid in non-drilling counties. Luzerne County, in which pipelines and compressor stations are planned, “deserves an opportunity to collect an impact fee and rectify any problems caused by the industry,” she said.

State Reps. Phyllis Mundy, D-Kingston, and Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, respectively called the bill “an early Christmas present for big oil and gas” and “a bad bill for the taxpayers.”

Mundy said the bill “raises little revenue from corporations that are making huge profits from the Commonwealth’s natural resources, erodes local control over drillers and gives the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources nearly unfettered power to take land for this industry” through eminent domain.

Pashinski said the bill’s effective maximum tax rate of 1 percent per well was “extremely low” compared to other natural gas producing states, such as Texas’ 5.5 percent and West Virginia’s 6 percent rates.

“Polls show the public overwhelmingly supports a fair tax on drillers, but this bill is nothing more than political cover for many Republicans,” he said.

The Senate on Tuesday separately passed a companion bill that removed more authority over drilling from local government. The two bills must now be reconciled.

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Most area legislators oppose the measure as favoring drillers. Next stop is Senate.

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