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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Eugene DePasquale |
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DePasquale: bill to encourage wind power systems moves forward
HARRISBURG, June 9 – State Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York, said the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee today approved a bill he co-authored that would encourage the development of the wind power industry in Pennsylvania.
"This bill would help further our efforts at cleaner sources of energy while keeping farmers in the Clean and Green program," DePasquale said. "It would prevent disastrous rollback taxes on entire farms that were merely offering a portion of their land for this vital clean energy resource."
Clean and Green is a state program that encourages land preservation by providing lower tax assessments on land that is used only for agricultural use or is preserved as open space or forest land. Under current law, if a landowner decides to convert any portion of land enrolled in Clean and Green to some other use, the owner must pay rollback taxes on the entire tract of land – not just the portion of newly designated land.
DePasquale said H.B. 984, which was sponsored by Rep. David Kessler, D-Berks, would allow properties enrolled in Clean and Green to be leased for wind power generation systems, provided the leased land is accessible and not sold or subdivided. Roll-back taxes would apply to the land leased for the wind power generation system; the remainder of the tract would remain eligible for preferential assessment. Currently, land enrolled in the Clean and Green program cannot be converted to other uses without subjection to certain penalties.
The bill is expected to receive a vote in the full House of Representatives soon.
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