Severance tax proposal comes up short
Rank and file House Democrats and the Pennsylvania conservation community rejected a bill that proposed a natural gas severance tax because it did not include significant funding from the tax revenue for environmental programs. House Bill 325 was amended to include a severance tax in the House Appropriations Committee Monday night, but never came to a vote due to strong opposition in the majority Democratic caucus led by Finance Committee Chair Dave Levdansky (D-Allegheny).
PennFuture has been leading the struggle to enact the severance tax for two years. Funding for Growing Greener and other important environmental programs is ending, so we need a meaningful portion of the revenue to go to Growing Greener and other programs that protect and enhance our natural resources, assist local governments with the costs and burdens of drilling, and provide funding for wildlife management agencies.
Responsible budget solutions
A severance tax should be part of a broader revenue package that includes extending the cigarette tax to cigars and smokeless tobacco, and closing tax loopholes that allow corporations to avoid taxes by opening holding companies in states like Delaware.
There may be creative ways to structure how revenue from a severance tax gets distributed that will recognize and deal with this year's budget shortfall. One proposed amendment would give the first $50 million of severance tax revenue to the state's General Fund for the 2010-11 fiscal year. Then 50 percent of any revenue above $50 million would go to the General Fund, with significant funding allocated for environmental programs.
You can't make this stuff up
Representative Stan Saylor (R-York) can usually be counted on to vigorously oppose new taxes. But now, he wants to tax the sun and wind. He filed an amendment that would impose a severance tax on wind energy as we extract part of the breeze from the air, and on solar energy as we extract sunshine from the sky.
Or this
The Pennsylvania Chamber of (some) Business and Industry is bringing a denier of evolution to deny global warming at a conference in June. The Chamber has chosen Dr. Roy Spencer, a credentialed climate scientist to address whether global warming exists or is natural or man-made. As the audience listens to his presentation, it should keep in mind his views on evolution, "I finally became convinced that the theory of creation actually had a much better scientific basis than the theory of evolution, for the creation model was actually better able to explain the physical and biological complexity in the world..."
Preserving history, creating jobs
This week the Pennsylvania Works! coalition unveiled a pair of studies demonstrating the economic benefits of preserving historic buildings in Pennsylvania's two largest metropolitan areas. The southwestern Pennsylvania study was conducted in conjunction with the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh, while the southeastern Pennsylvania study was conducted with the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.
The studies make it clear why the Senate should pass House Bill 42, which would create incentives for restoring historic residential and commercial properties. Representative Bob Freeman (D-Northampton) is the sponsor of House Bill 42, and Senator Dave Argall (R-Schuylkill) is spearheading the effort in the Senate.
Protecting water, land and property owners
This week the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee approved Chair Camille "Bud" George's (D-Clearfield) House Bill 2213 that provides significant protections for drinking water, high quality and exceptional value streams and property owners from the impacts of natural gas drilling. It would also clarify and protect the ability of local governments to reasonably regulate oil and gas activities.
Another fledgling start up joins Marcellus Shale drillers
Royal Dutch Shell is the latest little company that can't afford a severance tax to join in the Marcellus Shale gas rush. It paid $4.7 billion to acquire East Resources and its Marcellus Shale holdings.
The drillers' note from Epstein's Mother
This week the drilling industry released their second self-funded, self-vetted study of the benefits, but not the costs of the development of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. We think you'll really enjoy reading our response to the study in this week's PennFuture Facts.
Philadelphia, the green city
Greenworks Philadelphia is getting an impressive present for its first birthday! After only a year of work on the city's sustainability plan, Philadelphia was named winner of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Business Civic Leadership Center's Siemens Sustainable Community Award in the large-community category.
Many of the Next Great City coalition's recommendations were incorporated into the Greenworks Philadelphia, and Next Great City has been actively working to see the shared goals of the coalition and the Mayor's Office of Sustainability realized. Since Greenworks' launch in April 2009, tremendous progress has been made on a number of these fronts, from the passage of new green building requirements for city controlled and funded buildings, to the implementation of a recycling incentive program. PennFuture and the Next Great City coalition look forward to continuing to serve as key partners in the effort to make Philadelphia the greenest city in the nation.
Does this spotlight make our butts look big?
Check it out for yourself. We're In the Spotlight at the Heinz Endowments website. Look for our daily blogs 'n' 'at (as Pittsburghers might say).
Podcast of the Week: Global Warming – The folks suffering aren't the ones creating it
It was an incredible honor to have Dr. Robert Bullard as featured speaker PennFuture's Global Warming Conference on May 2 in Pittsburgh.
This video podcast demonstrates why Dr. Bullard is so respected across the globe as the Father of Environmental Justice. He clearly lays out the case for fighting global warming as a justice issue, outlining how intertwined the drive for social equity is with environmental protection, and how urgently we must act.
PennFuture works every day to make a difference for Pennsylvania's environment and economy. Isn't it time to join us and make a difference yourself? Go to our secure website to join PennFuture, and make sure you sign up for our publications. And remember, you can make sure you don't miss any podcasts by subscribing to them through iTunes.
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