American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2016 - 33

ural Resources committees in both chambers before dying in the Finance committees. Once opponents began weighing
in with proposed amendments, Laine expresses, "I think the sponsor realized it
wasn't going to go anywhere, so he kind
of let it die. Toward the end of the session,
you pick and choose your battles and he
chose not to pick that one."
Laine adds that TOGA expects to
work with Ragan between now and next
year to "get the bill written in a way that,
if he still wants to pass it, won't affect us
negatively."
Peripheral Issue
One other piece of legislation Reiley
mentions is SB 1642 by Senator Steve
Southerland, R-Morristown. SB 1642
passed the general assembly early in the
session and was signed by Governor
William Haslam on March 24. Reilly
says the legislation exempts real property
owners from liability for back taxes if
the taxes resulted from a change in law
or assessor error.
Referring to it as a peripheral issue
for TOGA, she says the bill grew out of
a constituent's complaint about a county's
attempt to collect additional taxes on
farmland that had been under assessed
for a number of years. "While it doesn't
necessarily affect oil and gas production,
it may help someone down the road," she
remarks.
r

Pennsylvania Offering To Help
Pay For Gas Service Expansion
WEXFORD, PA.-The last piece of
Pennsylvania's long-overdue 2015-16
budget became law without the governor's signature in late April and contains
$12 million in grants for projects that
expand natural gas service, the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association reports.
According to PIOGA, the portion of
the budget package known as the fiscal
code includes a provision creating the
Natural Gas Infrastructure Development
Fund, which is to be used in grants to
pay as much as half the cost of projects
that bring natural gas service to hospitals,
businesses, economic development agencies, local governments and school districts. Applications are to receive priority
if adjoining properties can obtain natural
gas service as a result of a project.
The money comes from a fund created
in 2008 to spur alternative and renewable
energy, improve energy efficiency, and
reduce energy consumption, the association
notes.

Meanwhile, in light of the June 30
deadline to have the 2016-17 budget in
place, PIOGA reports, an analysis of
Governor Tom Wolf's spending plan reveals the latest version of his proposed
natural gas tax would be the nation's
highest.
Even though the governor's proposed
budget calls for a 6.5-percent severance
tax, the Independent Fiscal Office has
determined the effective rate to be 8.5
percent, based on the actual prices Pennsylvania producers receive for their natural
gas. Wolf's tax would rely on prices paid
at the Henry Hub, PIOGA explains, but
pricing for Pennsylvania gas at the Leidy
and Dominion South hubs averaged $1.26
an Mcf less than Henry Hub in 2015 and
projects to average $0.86 less this year.
The nonpartisan IFO calculated effective tax rates for other major gas-producing states, finding Oklahoma secondhighest at 5.4 percent, followed by West
Virginia (5.0), Arkansas (4.1), Louisiana
and Texas (3.9), and Ohio (1.1).
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FERC Grants Certiﬁcate
To Connecticut Project
HOUSTON-The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity
to Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company
LLC's proposed Connecticut Expansion
Project, which FERC says will upgrade
the company's system within New York,
Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The project consists of 13.42 miles of
24-inch and 36-inch diameter pipeline
looping in Albany County, N.Y., Berkshire
and Hamden counties in Massachusetts,
and Hartford County, Ct., minor modifications at a Massachusetts compressor
station, and installing minor appurtenant
facilities, FERC says.
Gas utilities Connecticut Natural Gas
Corp., Yankee Gas Services Co. and
Southern Connecticut Gas Co. have signed
long-term agreements with Tennessee
Gas for the additional 72,100 dekatherms
a day transportation capacity that the expansion project will add, the agency says.
Construction is scheduled for completion in the fall, with service available
for the 2016-17 heating season.
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JUNE 2016 33
American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2016

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