04/15/24 - 66 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/msuwtctm
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Rendell, General Assembly Leave 2010 With Environmental Work Unfinished
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The General Assembly and Gov. Rendell left dozens of environmental initiatives on the table when they finished the legislative session this year, chief among them reneging on a commitment in law to adopt a Marcellus Shale natural gas severance tax. Here's a quick summary of the items left undone.
$4.5 Billion Budget Deficit
Gov. Rendell said FY 2010-11 should end June 30 with a $63 million shortfall while Senate Democrats said incoming Gov.-Elect Tom Corbett and the next General Assembly will face a $4.5 billion budget deficit.
Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) and Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia), Minority Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee said the loss of federal stimulus money, the new pension legislation and a projected case load increase of 3 to 5 percent in the case loads at the Department of Public Welfare will result in a $4.5 billion budget deficit the incoming Corbett Administration must handle.
Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre), Majority Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said there is at least a $3.8 billion structural deficit the new General Assembly and Governor will have to deal with. He agreed, however, the deficit could easily top $4 billion and said, "The next budget will be rough."
Marcellus Shale Severance Tax
The General Assembly and Gov. Rendell made a commitment in the Fiscal Code bill-- Senate Bill 1042-- passed as part of the budget in July to pass a Marcellus Shale natural gas severance tax by October 1 and to allocate the revenue between the Commonwealth, counties and municipalities and environmental initiatives.
As everyone knows, no severance tax made it to the Governor's desk.
Where the issue goes from here is in considerable doubt.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) told a PCN interviewer there is no point in passing a severance tax next year in the face of very clear opposition by the new Governor Tom Corbett. On the other hand, he said, the needs of the communities being impacted by drilling and for funding environmental programs remain.
Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) publicly floated the idea of a drilling impact fee to help communities cope with the costs imposed by drilling as one way to deal with the opposition of Gov.-Elect Corbett.
The proposal would not fund environmental programs like Growing Greener which ran out of money this year. There is also some concern drilling companies would look to an impact fee to pay for some of the repairs they pay for directly now.
Other Unfinished Legislative Initiatives Click here for a list of other environmental legislative initiatives which were pending at the end of the 2010 legislative session.
Click here for a list of environment-related bills signed into law in 2010.
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1/3/2011 |
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