Governor Mary Fallin isn’t the only state leader in the U.S. to target energy as a means to solve a state’s revenue crisis.
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed a natural gas production tax. It’s part of a plan to streamline state government and also balance the budget.
But some suggest he might only be setting up what could lead to a standoff over how much the energy industry should contribute to state government.
It was in 2014 when Wolf, a Democrat made campaign promises to tax the gas industry and do something about environmental problems. But he ran into opposition from the Republican-controlled legislature and it voted down his ideas.
His latest proposal, laid out in a State-of-the-State address this week would have drillers pay 6.5 percent of the value of production but they would also be allowed to take credit for the impact fees already being paid.
The proposed tax could bring in $293.8 million in fiscal 2017-18 and climb to $703.4 million by 2021-22. It would also mainly apply to modern shale drilling because owners of the older convention wells would be exempt.