The following article was published in the Marcellus Drilling News and distributed Saturday morning via Twitter by Drew Crompton, Chief Of Staff for Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson)--
“Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati have betrayed the Marcellus gas industry and should be tossed out on their rear-ends in the next election.
“Corman, Scarnati and other so-called Republicans in the PA Senate leadership have signed on to promote a severance tax plan to “close” the budget gap THEY CREATED by idiotically passing a bloated spending plan they couldn’t pay for.
“Now, caving to pressure from a tax-and-spend liberal media and tax-and-spend Democrat Party, PA Senate Republicans have opened a door that should never have been opened.
“PA’s Marcellus drillers already pay the equivalent of a 9.16 percent severance tax–highest in the country (called an impact fee).
“This new plan leaves the impact fee in place, AND places a severance tax on top of it, guaranteeing LESS drilling (and less tax money) for PA, not more.
“How utterly stupid is that?
“Last night 19 members of the PA Senate Appropriations Committee voted on a plan that, among other things, puts a 2 cents per thousand cubic feet severance tax on all natural gas produced, which, according to the wizards of smart in the Senate, will raise an extra $108 million.
“Today the package goes to the full Senate for a vote, where it is expected to pass. It then goes to the House.
“If a severance tax is passed (big if), Gov. Wolf can finally “check a box on a campaign promise” to give away other people’s money to teacher’s unions.
“Our only line of defense now is the steel backbone of PA House Speaker Mike Turzai and the House Republicans, to hold the line and reject the severance tax proposal coming from the Senate…"
In response, Crompton’s Tweet said, “We knew this would be whispered. I didn’t think it would be printed. All the shale provisions are nonseverable.”
Nonseverable means if one provision of the Tax Code bill is declared unconstitutional, then the severance tax and the whole set of Tax Code amendments passed by the Senate related to DEP permitting "reforms" will become null and void.
That’s why the most onerous provisions related to DEP’s permit programs were put in the Tax Code bill in the first place-- as a trade off.
Click Here for an image of the article. Click Here for an image of Crompton’s Tweet.
The Rest Of The Article Says...
If you subscribe to the Marcellus Shale News, this is what a key part of the remainder of the article says--
“We sincerely hope and trust the drilling industry will put big money behind challengers to Corman, Scarnati and the other traitors in the PA Senate. In fact, we have the list of names from the Republicans on the budget committee who voted “yes” to a severance tax, so you know who to vote (and contribute) against next time around.”
The article goes on to list the Republican “traitors” and the “four brave Republicans who voted against this insanity, worthy of your support in the next election” -- Senators Argall, Langerholc, Martin and Wagner.
Click Here for an image of the article not included in the free view and from which this quote was taken.
The article goes on to list the Republican “traitors” and the “four brave Republicans who voted against this insanity, worthy of your support in the next election” -- Senators Argall, Langerholc, Martin and Wagner.
Click Here for an image of the article not included in the free view and from which this quote was taken.
(Photo: Illustration from the article in Marcellus Shale News.)
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