HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — State Senate Republicans are writing a sweeping overhaul of Pennsylvania's oil and gas law that includes proposals for a new tax on Marcellus Shale gas extraction and limitations on municipal zoning ordinances that affect drilling.
Senate President Joe Scarnati said Friday the GOP plan is a sincere effort to keep the pledge Gov. Ed Rendell and lawmakers made to enact a tax by Oct. 1.
The Senate is slated to reconvene Sept. 20. A Scarnati aide says Republican senators hope to present the plan to Democrats soon and pass it this fall.
The package also proposes state regulation of gas pipelines, expanded disclosure requirements and new penalties on drillers that break the law. And it includes a provision that could force some landowners to sell their below-ground gas rights.
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