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The budget signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Ed Rendell did not include a severance tax on natural gas extraction, but language in the budget states the governor and General Assembly will work to enact a tax by October 1.
Details, including rates and structure, will be worked out over the summer and would be enacted on January 11, according to the Governor’s Office.
Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said Tuesday that the budget represents a positive step toward creating jobs, revenue and long-term energy affordability.
“To do this, and do it right, we need an updated and modernized regulatory and legislative framework, and a fair tax strategy that keeps our state ahead of the curve in attracting the investment needed to bring these resources to the surface,” Klaber stated.
Klaber said it would be wrong to enact a tax without having a comprehensive plan. “It’s going to take a commitment from our legislators,” she said.
The Marcellus Shale is not the only shale play in the country, and things need to proceed in a way which keeps PA “ahead of the curve with investments,” Klaber said.
Spending in the 2010-11 budget is $280 million lower than spending in the 2008-09 General Fund budget of two years ago.
PreK-12 education received 35.4 percent of the funding.
The total budget expenditures is $28.04 billion. The state received $2.75 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The governor set aside $10 million for the Arlen Specter Library at Philadelphia University and another $10 million for the John P. Murtha Center for Public Policy at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
This budget was signed with the expectation of two more quarters-worth of funding from the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, which has not been signed into law by the U.S. Congress. If Congress does not pass the FMAP funding, the state will be forced to make further spending cuts.
The budget was signed relatively on time this year, compared to last year’s 101-day budget impasse.
The budget signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Ed Rendell did not include a severance tax on natural gas extraction, but language in the budget states the governor and General Assembly will work to enact a tax by October 1.
Details, including rates and structure, will be worked out over the summer and would be enacted on January 11, according to the Governor’s Office.
Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said Tuesday that the budget represents a positive step toward creating jobs, revenue and long-term energy affordability.
“To do this, and do it right, we need an updated and modernized regulatory and legislative framework, and a fair tax strategy that keeps our state ahead of the curve in attracting the investment needed to bring these resources to the surface,” Klaber stated.
Klaber said it would be wrong to enact a tax without having a comprehensive plan. “It’s going to take a commitment from our legislators,” she said.
The Marcellus Shale is not the only shale play in the country, and things need to proceed in a way which keeps PA “ahead of the curve with investments,” Klaber said.
Spending in the 2010-11 budget is $280 million lower than spending in the 2008-09 General Fund budget of two years ago.
PreK-12 education received 35.4 percent of the funding.
The total budget expenditures is $28.04 billion. The state received $2.75 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The governor set aside $10 million for the Arlen Specter Library at Philadelphia University and another $10 million for the John P. Murtha Center for Public Policy at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
This budget was signed with the expectation of two more quarters-worth of funding from the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, which has not been signed into law by the U.S. Congress. If Congress does not pass the FMAP funding, the state will be forced to make further spending cuts.
The budget was signed relatively on time this year, compared to last year’s 101-day budget impasse.
