Severance Tax

Gov. Tom Wolf on April 30 was joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers to announce the introduction of legislation that would create a severance tax on energy extraction operations in Pennsylvania. Senate Bill 1000, and its companion, House Bill 2253, would generate revenue from the natural gas industry.

The proposed severance tax would generate an estimated $248.7 million in the next fiscal year alone, according to a statement from the Wolf administration. The press release also argues that Pennsylvania is the only gas-producing state in the nation without a severance tax, and that Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Alaska all get revenue from that source.

“Since day one of my term as governor, I have fought to enact a reasonable severance tax that would give Pennsylvanians their fair share of the energy boom that is powered by resources that belong to all of us,” Wolf said. “I, along with this bipartisan coalition, am here to call on the House and Senate to pass these bills and get them to my desk so that they can become law and Pennsylvanians can begin to get the benefits that other states have had for years.”

Drug Formulary

Wolf on April 27 vetoed legislation that would have required the state Department of Labor and Industry to implement an evidence-based drug formulary for Pennsylvania's workers' compensation program, The Associated Press reported.

Wolf said in a statement that Senate Bill 936 would have saved money for businesses and insurers, but wouldn't have improved health outcomes or helped fight abuse of pain medication.

In his veto message, he said the bill would not combat the opioid crisis because opioids are often the least-expensive treatment options and the proposed formulary would steer doctors toward prescribing the least expensive option.

Curt Schroder, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, said the veto would open the door for “plaintiffs' law firms opening pharmacies across Pennsylvania as they try to cash in on billing injured workers for prescriptions, in addition to taking a third of their recovery.”

The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Don White, R-Indiana, along with Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, and Sen. Mike Regan, R-York. In a memorandum to colleagues, the sponsors said the legislation came in response to media reports revealing that workers' compensation firms had ownership stakes in pharmacies to which they sent their clients for medication.

Special Elections

Wolf said that special elections to fill vacancies in the state's congressional delegation would be held concurrently with the Nov. 6 general election.

Former U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, R-Pennsylvania, announced his immediate resignation from Congress on April 27. Meehan, who represented parts of suburban Philadelphia, said in a statement he would reimburse $39,000 in public money used to settle a sexual harassment claim against him, The Associated Press reported.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pennsylvania, whose district is centered in the Lehigh Valley, has also announced his plan to leave Congress before the end of his term, but is still serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Wolf said the scheduling would save money that would be spent on separate special elections. But Pennsylvania Republican Party chairman Val DiGiorgio said concurrent special and general elections would maximize voter confusion and leave hundreds of thousands of persons unrepresented in Congress.

Government Reform

State House of Representatives Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, asked his colleagues on May 2 to sign on to a package of three bills to reform government operations in the state. In a memorandum to his fellow House members, Reed said his effort was aimed at “reforming and reinventing how Harrisburg operates.”

Reed said the state should move to institute redistricting through an independent commission, replacing the current system of drawing new lines through the political process. In the last two decades, Pennsylvania has been at the forefront of national debates over claims of partisan gerrymandering.

Second, the majority leader called for term limits for persons chairing standing committees of the state House. Under Reed's proposal chairmen and chairwomen could remain in those posts for a maximum of six years. Reed also said the state should accommodate voters who are not affiliated with a political party to vote in primary elections. Currently one must be a registered Democrat or Republican to vote in a major-party primary election. •