House adopts Steele’s resolution to audit potential revenue from severance tax on oil and gas

Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus    November 14, 2023 | 5:16 PM

HARRISBURG, June 29 – State Rep. Mandy Steele, D-Allegheny, recently celebrated adoption of her first resolution, H.R. 131, which provides for an audit on Pennsylvania’s impact fee in the oil and natural gas industry.

The impact fee, implemented in 2012, assesses fees per well in Pennsylvania. All other major oil and natural gas-producing states utilize a severance tax based on the volume of gas extracted.

“With global temperatures up 1.1 degrees since industrialization first began, we do not have time to exclude the oil and natural gas industry from the conversations about climate change,” Steele said. “Instead, we must act collaboratively to decarbonize our economy, one of the biggest challenges we face in Pennsylvania today. We have an opportunity to set Pennsylvania up as a worldwide energy leader in the coming carbon neutral economy, and that path begins with gathering as much information as we can about the current lay of the land.”

The resolution was drafted with input from industry members within the Marcellus Shale Coalition, members of the labor force and colleagues on both side of the aisle, she noted. It also seeks to ensure that Pennsylvania’s impact fee is the fairest, cleanest way to move Pennsylvania toward a net-zero emissions economy.

Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the country.