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Summer 2010
PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGEHARRISBURG, PAPERMIT NO. 432
Sandra J. Major
State Representative
Reports to the 111
th
Legislative District
Marcellus Shale Update
e Marcellus Shale region covers up to60 percent of the Commonwealth and allof the 111th District, which is why this issuch an important issue for the residentsof my district. As this industry develops,it is my goal to fight for the interests of everyone I represent, some of whom havealready leased lands, are in the process of leasing or are opposedto drilling.To that end, I have taken part in several public hearings in-vestigating the drilling process and what measures are in placeto ensure the safety of our public drinking water resources. We,in the Legislature, are currently reviewing Pennsylvania laws andregulations relating to natural gas drilling. Pennsylvania’s Oil andGas Act was written decades ago, when the type of technology being used in today’s drilling operations was not available. Weknow deeper drilling, horizontal drilling and the process of frack-ing will require new laws and regulations, but until we take stock of what we currently have on the books, we cannot assess whatour needs are.I also voted in favor of a moratorium on leasing any additionalstate forest lands for natural gas drilling. House Bill 2235, whichpassed the House, would place a three-year moratorium on leas-ing additional state forest lands for natural gas drilling and explo-ration. is legislation also requires a study of the environmental,economic and societal impacts of leasing state lands for this in-dustry. Leases already entered into by the Commonwealth wouldnot be impacted by this legislation. is legislation is still await-ing the consideration of the Senate Environmental Resources andEnergy Committee.Natural gas drilling has the potential of being a big economicdriver in the state and could create thousands of new jobs; how-ever, we need to make sure the proper safety measures and regu-lations are in place and that our environment is properly pro-tected.e following is a sampling of legislation being considered by the General Assembly in regard to the natural gas drilling indus-try, including my House Bill 2276:•
House Bill 2276
– Current Pennsylvania law requires that aproperty owner who signs a gas/oil lease must receive a minimumroyalty payment of one-eighth or 12.5 percent. My legislation will extend the Oil and Gas ConservationLaw to development within the MarcellusShale formation, and would also excludeproduction costs from being deductedfrom royalty payments, ensure that hori-zontal drilling is not conducted under any lands where a lease between a landownerand a well operator does not exist, and provide a definition fora lease.•
House Bill 208
– is legislation provides for oil and gasleasing and extraction activity on Clean and Green land. It statesthat drilling and extraction be limited to one acre and roll-back taxes are only imposed on that one acre. Remaining eligible landcontinues to be assessed at the preferential value.•
House Bill 1205
– is legislation extends the presumptionof liability on the part of a well operator for damage to a watersupply within 2,000 feet of a well in lieu of the current 1,000feet; extends the time frame for when the damage was to haveoccurred to 24 months from the current six months; and requiresthe well operator conduct a test of water supplies within 2,000feet of a well operation prior to drilling, and to conduct, upon alandowner or water purveyor’s request, up to two follow-up tests within a 24-month period after production has commenced.•
House Bill 2609
– is legislation provides for a one-yearmoratorium on natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale forma-tion in order to provide additional time to enact appropriate lawsand regulations safeguarding health and safety.•
House Bill 2630
– is legislation provides for notificationsof well drilling operations to landowners within 5,500 feet of aproposed well. It also requires additional information to accom-pany the well permit application, such as an estimate on the timeof travel a fluid release may take to reach the nearest waterway, andan emergency preparedness plan. It prohibits well drilling within3,000 feet of a reservoir serving as a community drinking watersource and prohibits horizontal drilling under such a reservoir. It would require notifications to public water suppliers and a require-ment to disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids.Furthermore, as part of the state budget agreement, the gover-nor has asked that the General Assembly meet prior to Oct. 1 todiscuss a possible severance tax on the natural gas drilling indus-try. For updates, please visit my website,
RepMajor.com
.
On the web at w
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Trucking Industry Safety Presentation
On July 14, Rep. Major held a safety presentation for more than 125 area truck-ers and trucking business representatives. e presentation was held in response tothe influx of truckers being pulled over for inspection and being found not to be incompliance with the state’s Motor Carrier Law. e presentation focused on truck safety and the posting and bonding of state roads. Pictured above is Rion Stann,Motor Carrier Enforcement Supervisor for the Pennsylvania State Police.e House recently approved a public pension reform bill that would fulfill the state’sobligations to current workers and retirees while taking steps to reduce the long-termburden on Pennsylvania taxpayers.e reforms are aimed at two pension systems – one for public school system employ-ees and the other for all remaining state employees.ese pension systems are funded primarily through three sources: employee contri-butions, employer contributions and investment returns. e state makes the employercontribution for the state workers’ pension system. e state and local school districtsmake the employer contribution for the public school teachers’ pension system.Due to a number of factors, including the recent turmoil in the stock market, thestate and local school districts are facing a sharp increase in employer contributions tothe pension funds in the next few years.e changes included in the House bill would “smooth out” those increases while alsoimplementing pension benefit reforms, resulting in short-term relief and long-term costreductions for taxpayers.For current workers and retirees in the two pension systems, a promise made will bea promise kept. e House bill would not reduce pension benefits for these workers.In actuality, the U.S. Constitution and the Pennsylvania Constitution prohibit makingchanges to pensions for existing workers and retirees due to contractual law.e House bill also would implement pension reforms for future state workers andteachers. ese reforms include increasing the amount of time a teacher or worker mustbe employed before they are entitled to certain pension benefits. It also increases theamount of time they must serve before they can retire.Finally, future employees must choose to pay higher sums of their salaries in orderto qualify for the same pension benefits available to current pension system participants,or they can pay the same percentage of their salary into the pension system, but receivesmaller pension benefits.Together, these reforms stand to benefit taxpayers and protect current pension planparticipants. While the bill is not the final step in the long-term reform for our pension system,it does represent a solid first step and a vast improvement over the status quo. It wouldprovide the benefits promised to current teachers, workers and retirees, make significantchanges for employees hired in the future and reduce the burden on state and local tax-payers.e bill is currently in the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.
Pension System Reforms
Reduced Multiplier
– A multi-plier is a percentage rate used todetermine pension benefits. ehigher the multiplier, the greaterthe pension benefits and theheavier the burden will be on tax-payers in a defined benefit plan.e multiplier rate for most new hires would be reduced from 2.5percent to 2 percent, leading toreduced costs for taxpayers.
Increased Vesting Periods
– evesting period is the amount of time an employee must contrib-ute to their pension before quali-fying for guaranteed benefits.evesting period would be doubledfrom five years to 10 years fornew hires.
Increased Retirement Ages
–New state workers and teachers will have to work longer beforequalifying for full retirementbenefits.
House Approves Public Pension Reforms
New WebsiteAvailable forThose Choosing anElectric Supplier
Pennsylvania consumers who are shop-ping for a competitive electric generationsupplier can now access a one-stop shop website for residential, commercial andindustrial customers provided by thePennsylvania Public Utility CommissionPUC).e website includes informationabout electric shopping, what it is, how toshop and which suppliers are available, as well as the PUC’s list of competing suppli-ers and the Offi ce of Consumer Advocate’shopping Guide pricing information. A IP-code search feature is also available soconsumers can see all suppliers and offersserving a given area.For a link to the website and furtherinformation about electric rate informa-ion, visit my website at
RepMajor.com
.
w.RepMajor.com
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2010-11 State Budget
I am happy to report that the 2010-11 state budget was approved by the House of Representatives prior to the June 30 deadline. is is thefirst time that has happened during the Rendell administration.I commend the legislative leaders and governor for working togetherto get a budget done within a reasonable time frame. I think it’s impor-tant for the people of Pennsylvania to see that we can put our partisandifferences aside and work to achieve a common goal.No state budget is perfect and no one gets everything they want; how-ever, House Republicans were instrumental in reducing the governor’soriginal budget spending number by $1 billion, ending up with a $28billion state budget; and we were able to help eliminate a host of new andincreased taxes as suggested by Gov. Ed Rendell.Unfortunately, the governor was adamant about balancing the budget with $850 million in federal money that Congress had not yet approved.It now appears Pennsylvania will get just under $600 million, meaning atleast $250 million in spending will have to be cut from this budget.
272 is New Overlay Number Announced for 570 Area Code
ea code currently serving our area is expected to bemetime in 2011. In expectation of this, the Pennsyl-ic Utility Commission (PUC) approved an overlay plande service relief in the 570 area code. Te North Americanering Plan Administrator (NANPA), a neutral third-party a code relief planner for Pennsylvania, announced that the new ree-digit area code number will be 272.Once implemented, ten-digit local dialing would then apply toall telephone calls (area code plus the seven-digit telephone num-ber), as required by the Federal Communications Commission.
Lottery ProceedsProvide Millions inSupport for PA Seniors
More than $14.5 million in proceeds from thePennsylvania Lottery provided benefits to the seniorcitizens in Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming coun-ies during the 2008-09 fiscal year, according to areport recently released by the Pennsylvania Depart-ments of Revenue and Aging.ince 1971, the proceeds from the PennsylvaniaLottery have benefited programs specifically gearedoward senior citizens. Of those are the 52 Area Agen-cies on Aging and more than 600 full- and part-timesenior centers, the PACE and PACENET prescriptiondrug coverage program, shared and free rides, and theProperty Tax/Rent Rebate program.eniors in Susquehanna County benefited frommore than $5.3 million in benefits. e breakdownincludes:•Area Agency on Aging and affi liatedsenior centers – $1 million•PACE and PACENET – $1.2 million •Shared and Free Ride Program –$263,000•Property Tax and Rent Rebates –$1 million•Long-term living services through theDepartment of Public Welfare –$ 1 millioneniors in Wayne County benefited from more than6.1 million in benefits. e breakdown includes:•Area Agency on Aging and affi liatedsenior centers – $1.1 million•PACE and PACENET – $1.4 million •Shared and Free Ride Program – $402,000•Property Tax and Rent Rebates –$1.2 million•Long-term living services through theDepartment of Public Welfare –$1.1 millioneniors in Wyoming County benefited from morehan $3.1 million in benefits. e breakdown in-cludes:•Area Agency on Aging and affi liatedsenior centers – $553,000•PACE and PACENET – $905,000 •Shared and Free Ride Program – $210,000•Property Tax and Rent Rebates – $688,000•Long-term living services through theDepartment of Public Welfare – $537,000e Pennsylvania Lottery is unique in that it re-mains the only lottery in the nation that exclusively argets all of its proceeds to programs for older resi-dents. Anyone who thinks they may be eligible forPACE, PACENET or the Property Tax/Rent Rebateprogram should visit my website at RepMajor.com orcontact one of my district offi ces.
Local Seniors Benefit fromIdentity Theft Seminars
Several identity theft seminars were hosted by Rep. Major at seniorcenters around the district, including the Tunkhannock Senior Center, theLanesboro Senior Center and the Lennoxville Community Senior Cen-ter. During the seminars, Joyce O’Brien (picturedat left with Rep. Major)from the Offi ce of the Attorney General pro-vided information onthe latest tricks used by crooks, how to protectgood credit and what todo if someone’s identity is stolen.
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