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Governor Tom Wolf together with a coalition of bipartisan lawmakers introduced severance tax legislation to give Pennsylvania citizens their fair share of revenues from the natural gas industry.

On Monday, Gov. Wolf encouraged the members of the Pennsylvania legislature to pass Senate Bill 1000 and House Bill 2253. He said the legislation will create a “reasonable, commonsense severance tax” in the state.

In a statement, the governor said he’s been fighting to enact a reasonable severance tax to give Pennsylvanians their fair share of the energy boom. State lawmakers should pass the bills and he would sign them into law. He wants Pennsylvanians to start getting the benefits from the booming natural gas industry. The governor noted that citizens from other states have been enjoying such benefits for years.

Severance tax legislation will provide Pennsylvania billions in new revenue

Currently, Pennsylvania is the only gas-producing state in the country without severance tax. Other states including Alaska, Louisiana, and Texas are collecting billions of dollars from oil and gas industries to build and fix infrastructures and keep taxes low.

Pennsylvania will obtain billions in new revenue by passing the severance tax legislation. The governor’s office estimated that the state will generate $248.7 million in revenue over the next fiscal year alone. Thus, it could help the state address critical budget needs and keep the current impact fee.

According to State Sen. John Yudishak, the severance tax and permitting reforms in the Senate Bill 1000 are “fair to taxpayers.” The bill “unleashes the full potential of the natural gas industry to create jobs statewide.

On the other hand, State Rep Bernie O’Neill said, “This modest proposal strikes the right balance between asking drillers to pay their fair share and giving them room to grow and continue providing jobs and economic benefits to our state.”

In addition, O’Neill said the state will use the new revenue to support education, human services, environmental programs and more.

Meanwhile, State Rep. Jake Wheatley said he is always working toward a fair tax policy. He believes that “Pennsylvania shouldn’t be the only gas producing state in the country without a severance tax…” Wheatley is the Democratic Chairman of the House Finance Committee.