Top Marcellus Shale Resource Releases Updated Analysis of Industry Related Legislation

Marcellus Minutes Notes Bills Introduced to Date Have Reached 100

Harrisburg, PA, September 09, 2011 - With the fall session set to resume, 100 Marcellus Shale related bills have been introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. This avalanche of bills in 2011 far outstrips the General Assembly’s pace during the two year session that ended in December of 2010. “In the entire 2009 – 2010 legislative session, Pennsylvania lawmakers introduced 83 bills. Two of those proposals eventually became law,” stated Tim Bittle, the creator and author of the Marcellus Minutes newsletter and website. Marcellus Minutes, a division of Bigley and Blikle, LLC, is a nonpartisan, subscription-based news and information service that has provided vital information to the state government, the Marcellus Shale industry and the general public for more than three years.

“As the industry convenes a sold out conference in Philadelphia, legislators continue to drop in bills to regulate it. Also, the first voting session held since Governor Tom Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission has released its 96 recommendations will convene later this month,” noted Bittle. “As the industry further develops in Pennsylvania, legislative interest in regulating Marcellus Shale activities has dramatically increased and we expect that to continue.”

The range of legislation regulating the Marcellus Shale industry includes fiscal and tax matters, water quality, property owner rights, and industry safety. The Commonwealth’s Oil and Gas Act contains the basic legislative framework for the industry’s regulation. Bills amending the Oil and Gas Act form the greatest number of new legislative proposals in this legislative session and the past two sessions.

Bittle further noted that when the industry was in its nascent stage in Pennsylvania, only two bills amending the Oil and Gas Act were introduced during the 2007 – 2008 legislative session. This tally increased to 21 bills during the 2009 – 2010 legislative session. In the current session, 20 bills amending the Oil and Gas Act have been introduced with more expected to come.

“As with other hot issues, the Marcellus Shale industry is drawing legislative fire from all quarters. But like most issue areas, only a fraction of the introduced legislation will become law,” Bittle stated.

To assist lawmakers, the industry and interested parties, Bittle has posted on the Marcellus Minutes website (www.marcellusminutes.com) a helpful document identifying the plethora of Marcellus Shale related bills that await legislative action.

Highlights and Points of Interest Regarding the 96 Marcellus Shale Related Bills:

62 are House Bills

38 are Senate Bills

55 were introduced by Republicans

45 were introduced by Democrats

13 bills would impose a severance tax or local impact fee

4 bills would impose a drilling moratorium of one type or another

Marcellus Minutes is an information-packed resource that provides subscribers with the latest state government news, including reports on General Assembly and Administration actions as well as a legislative committee hearing testimony and bill tracking. Marcellus Minutes also provides news and information from around the Commonwealth about this natural gas formation. Subscribers receive full access to the Marcellus Minutes website and a weekly newsletter via email.

Contact:
Tim Bittle
Marcellus Minutes
4075 Linglestown Road
PMB 356
Harrisburg, PA 17112
(717) 360-0394
tim@bigleyandblikle.com
http://www.marcellusminutes.com

This release was published on openPR.