Every now and again an elected Democrat surprises us. Such is the case with Ohio State Rep. Jack Cera, Democrat from Bellaire (Belmont County), OH. In December of last year, Rep. Jack Cera was peddling the party line that Ohio needs to raise its severance tax, and we took him to task for it (see Don’t Know Jack: Politician Lobbies for High OH Severance Tax). However, Jack has seen the light. Don’t get us wrong, he’d still vote for a high severance tax in a heartbeat (zebras can’t change their stripes). But Jack has wised up, just a bit. Instead of working for a high severance tax that isn’t going to happen any time soon, Jack is now proposing to reallocate the existing severance tax under a different formula. In House Bill 540 (full copy below), Jack wants to funnel more money to those communities–in his district, of course–that are actually affected by shale drilling. Makes sense that communities with trucks lumbering over their roads, and more emergency services being used, and more strain on the local county clerk’s office, should see more of the tax revenue come to them to offset those impacts. In other words, Jack is proposing a system pretty much like what former PA Gov. Tom Corbett (a Republican) set in place in the Keystone State: an impact fee. See–Democrats can learn!…
