New Senate State Forest Leasing Plan Goes Back To House

The Senate passed yet another Fiscal Code bill this morning-- House Bill 1614 (Belfanti-D-Columbia) amended to include most of the provisions from Senate Bill 1042, a Fiscal Code bill passed earlier by the Senate and now in the House.
However, the State Forest natural gas leasing provisions are different from that bill. In this version there are no acreage limits, no minimum bids/royalties, only the transfer of $60 million in FY 2009-10 and the specific language requiring the General Assembly to appropriate funds to DCNR, up to $50 million.
The House now has the opportunity to concur in these provisions or take final action on Senate Bill 1042 and return it to the Senate.