Feb. 05, 2016
HARRISBURG – The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will hold an informational meeting next week to discuss natural gas severance tax proposals, including one sponsored by Rep. Kate Harper (R-Montgomery).
The meeting will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 8, in the House Majority Caucus Room at the State Capitol in Harrisburg. The meeting will be streamed live at
KateHarper.net.
“I have always been in support of a severance tax on natural gas drilling, as long as it is fair and competitive with what is assessed in neighboring states,” Harper said. “The natural gas industry, particularly drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation, holds great promise for our state’s economy and the environment, so it is important that we get it right.
“I welcome the opportunity to talk with members of the committee about the benefits of my proposal and how we move forward with adopting a long overdue severance tax,” she added.
Harper’s
House Bill 82, first introduced last year, would impose a 3.5 percent severance tax on top of the existing impact fee, which was enacted in 2012. The fee is designed to help communities where drilling takes place address impacts on things like roads, housing and other infrastructure, but it also supports a variety of statewide environmental programs. The impact fee has generated more than $850 million so far, and every community – even Montgomery County, which does not have a single gas well – is benefitting from these funds.
Because the impact fee is working well, Harper’s proposal would leave the fee in place and then dedicate additional severance tax revenue to paying down the state’s growing pension liabilities.
“Pension costs are a significant contributor to growing school property taxes because our schools have to keep up with those pension obligations, and it’s having the same effect on state spending,” Harper said. “In addition to making reforms to our pension system, we need to start paying down the unfunded liability, and severance tax revenue is a good start.”
Representative Kate Harper
61st District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Rep. Harper’s Blue Bell Office
610.277.3230
KateHarper.net /
Facebook.com/RepKateHarper
kharper@pahousegop.com