At a June press conference , House Speaker Mike Turzai was joined by Chamber of Commerce and oil and gas lobbyists as he took the severance tax off of the budget table. He came out against the proposal claiming that the natural gas industry already produces $200 million in revenue from the impact fee.
At the press conference, Turzai was photographed reading from an energy leader’s power point presentation, to which a House Republican spokesperson said it was used to “cite numbers.”
During the Governor’s campaign and initial budget presentation, the Governor proposed in using a severance tax to fund public education.
After a review of the House Speaker’s campaign finance reports for 2015, it appears that House Speaker Mike Turzai received over $50,000 in campaign contributions in the weeks leading up to and after his press conference from organizations who lobby on behalf of the Marcellus Shale, are natural gas drillers or are involved in the transportation of fossil fuels throughout the Commonwealth.
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