Severance Tax to Come Up for Vote Today: Call Now!

By MB -
(from our friends at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center)

A severance tax bill is now going to the House floor for a vote today, September 28. SB1155 sets a competitive tax rate and has no front-end exemptions. It is expected to raise $120 million in the first six months of 2011 and $326 million in Fiscal Year 2011-12. A vote is scheduled for 3 pm. Please contact your legislators right now!

The final bill allocates the first $75 million in funds raised this fiscal year to the General Fund. $70 million will make up for Pennsylvania's reduced FMAP allocation, and $5 million will go to the Department of Labor and Industry for worker training. The legislation also includes an annual $10 million job tax credit.

After the first $75 million this year and for all future years, funds are distributed as follows:

  • 60% to the General Fund
  • 40% to environmental programs and local governments

SB 1155 will provide a stable source of new funds for health care, human services, and education well into the future, protect the environment and compensate communities affected by natural gas drilling.

Please call to ask lawmakers to support funding for important human services through the severance tax.  You can visit the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center's Severance Tax Action page for more details.

image courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shaleusa2.jpg

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Overlooked and Undercounted: Struggling to Make Ends Meet in Pennsylvania

By -
Image
Census data tells us that 13% of Pennsylvania households live in poverty. In reality, even more households don’t have the income they need to reach self-sufficiency. One in four Pennsylvania households – over 846,000 – lack enough income to cover just the necessities. Since 1997, PathWays PA has worked with Dr. Diana Pearce and the University of Washington to calculate  The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Pennsylvania . Over the last 23 years,  The Self-Sufficiency Standard of Pennsylvania  has documented the continuing increase in the real cost of living, illuminating the economic crunch experienced by so many families today. Since 2010, PathWays PA and the University of Washington have also issued three versions of the  Overlooked and Undercounted  report, which looks at the number of households living above and below self-sufficiency. You can now use the interactive materials below to find out what it takes to be self-sufficient in your county. Click here  to read the 2020 O
Read more

Mini-Budget Update-Supporting the American Community Survey

By MB -
Image
(via The Census Project ) Next Tuesday, June 19 is an important date to mark on your calendar. The Congressional Joint Economic Committee is holding a public hearing on the economic impact of eliminating the American Community Survey (ACS) at 2:30 p.m., in Room 210 of the Canon House Office Building. Witnesses that will be speaking in opposition to the move to eliminate the ACS are Vincent Barabba, former director of the Census Bureau in two GOP administrations and Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Association of General Contractors and also representing the National Association of Business Economists. It is very important that we pack the congressional hearing room! If you cannot come, please urge your colleages to come. If you represent a non-DC organization contact your friends in Washington and urge them to attend. Also on Tuesday of next week some of our congressional supporters will be holding a noon press conference in the so-called House Triangle right outside the Cap
Read more

Overlooked and Undercounted in the Media (#media)

By MB -
Image
Below are all of the places we've seen Overlooked and Undercounted in the month of May! If you know of anywhere else, please let us know! You can also listen to the audio from our May 11 Conference Call on our website . May 21, 2009 - New Report Says 1 in 5 PA Families Live in Poverty May 21, 2009 - LTE: Clarifying ‘Overlooked And Undercounted’ Study May 19, 2009 - Caught in a trap: State and federal governments must help working poor May 16, 2009 - Study: Local poverty estimates too conservative May 15, 2009 - Study: Pa. Families Above Poverty Level, But Still Struggling May 12, 2009 - Study: 1 in 5 PA Families Struggling to Make Ends Meet May 12, 2009 - Report: Many PA families struggling May 12, 2009 - PathWays PA Releases New Report on Self-Sufficiency Standard May 12, 2009 - Poverty worse in PA than reported: study May 11, 2009 - 1 in 5 PA Households Can't Make Ends Meet May 11, 2009 - Study: 1 in 5 PA residents can't make ends meet May 11, 2009 - 1 in
Read more