We have a brief respite, but are still in a dangerous position. The Pennsylvania House continued to debate and vote on amendments to House Bill (HB) 1401 yesterday–the Frankenstein bill introduced by RINOsaur Gene DiGirolamo (“Republican” from the Philadelphia area) that would tack a 3.2% severance tax on top of the existing ~5% impact tax (called a “fee”) already levied on Marcellus drillers, thereby effectively killing any new Marcellus drilling in the state (see PA Frankenstein House Bill Merges Severance Tax & Minimum Royalty). Debate on the bill began Monday, making quick progress (see Disastrous PA Severance Tax Bill Debated in House, Makes Progress). More progress was made yesterday. Some amendments to the bill passed, some failed–and then the House “abruptly adjourned” late last night without voting on the full bill itself. They got outta Dodge. The House returns to Harrisburg for more voting on Dec. 4th, so we have nearly two weeks of a reprieve before the battle begins again. It is vital this bill NOT PASS–for the future of Marcellus drilling in PA. Below is a list of the amendments that have, so far, passed and not passed, and how they tweak and change the overall Marcellus-killing HB 1401 bill…
We have a brief respite, but are still in a dangerous position. The Pennsylvania House continued to debate and vote on amendments to House Bill (HB) 1401 yesterday–the Frankenstein bill introduced by RINOsaur Gene DiGirolamo (“Republican” from the Philadelphia area) that would tack a 3.2% severance tax on top of the existing ~5% impact tax (called a “fee”) already levied on Marcellus drillers, thereby effectively killing any new Marcellus drilling in the state (see 