This Week Last Chance to Pass PA Royalty Bill – Slim to No Chance

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Grunge Stempel rot LAST CHANCEWe've written a number of stories about Pennsylvania House Bill (HB) 1391 that would guarantee landowners receive a 12.5% minimum royalty on the gas extracted from their land, regardless of post-production costs. The issue has led to what MDN calls a civil war between landowners (particularly in Bradford County, PA) and the drilling industry. The clock is ticking and this week is it for this legislative session in PA. If supporters of HB 1391 don't get the bill passed this week, it will have to be reintroduced and go through the entire process again next year. Supporters like Doug McLinko, a Bradford County commissioner, have warned of serious consequences for the industry if the bill doesn't get passed. The industry appears to have convinced enough lawmakers to keep the bill bottled up so it doesn't come to the floor for a vote, which riles landowners. HB 1391's supporters in the legislature are sounding like it's already over for this year, and that they will have to fight again next year. We're concerned what this ongoing situation will do for what has, in the past, been good relations between landowners and drillers. That relationship appears to be souring, at least for some landowners...

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