In an effort to help counties, municipalities and school districts with their budgets, and to keep property taxes low, I have co-sponsored H.B. 10 that would allow counties to assess value to natural gas, oil and coal-bed methane. Click here to read the release.

This assessment would be against the developer or driller, not the landowner or farmer on whose property the wells are located, and all of the funds generated from this bill would go to local entities. The state would not receive any revenue under this legislation.

This bill could a great revenue source for us. The Marcellus Shale underlies approximately two-thirds of the state (54 of 67 counties) and portions of New York, West Virginia and Ohio at a depth of 5,000 to 8,000 feet. It is believed to hold trillions of cubic feet of natural gas.

Recent technological advances, which have provided the ability to extract from the Marcellus Shale natural gas formation, vastly increased estimates for the assessed value of gas and oil in Pennsylvania from between $10 billion and $20 billion, to closer to $1 trillion.

House Bill 10 is supported by the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs and Pennsylvania School Boards Association and has 28 co-sponsors.

Please sign the below petition to lend your support to this important legislation that I believe could generate local revenue for the 83rd Legislative District.

Yes, I support H.B. 10

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