Senate Democrats Not Satisfied with Marcellus Shale Legislation

The Pennsylvania state Senate has passed House Bill 1950, the Marcellus Shale legislation.  This version looks very much like the original legislation (Senate Bill 1100) passed earlier by the Senate and incorporates very few of the changes made to the bill in the House.  As with the earlier bill, Senate Democrats attempted to add amendments that would have increased the impact fee from 50 thousand dollars to 75 thousand dollars per well, and would have eliminated a provision that subjected local zoning laws to state review if drilling companies took issue with them.  Both amendments were defeated prior to the bill's passage.  The bill now goes to the House for concurrence; if the House refuses to agree with changes made by the Senate, the bill will go to a House/Senate conference committee to iron out the differences.