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NANTICOKE &mdash; Sen. John Yudichak this week urged Department of Community & Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin to promote energy tax credits to help jump-start the state&rsquo;s economy.
				As part of a Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing featuring Davin&rsquo;s agency (DCED), Yudichak noted that the General Assembly last year approved Act 66, the Local Resource Manufacturing Tax Credit.
				&ldquo;The initiative has the potential to attract petrochemical manufacturers and create 5,000 new jobs in northeastern Pennsylvania, by taking advantage of an abundant and affordable supply of natural gas,&rdquo; said Yudichak, I-Swoyersville, chair of the Senate Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee.
				&ldquo;We have a few companies currently looking at Pennsylvania, but I was surprised to learn that national site selectors &mdash; which meet regularly with DCED &mdash; were not aware of the tax credits.&rdquo;
				Davin indicated that the agency is in its sixth year of meeting regularly with site selectors and that the Act 66 tax credit remains a priority.
				Yudichak also stressed the importance of job creation as Pennsylvania rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that the computer data center industry has the ability to generate $5.8 billion in economic impact, as well as create 30,000 new jobs here.
				&ldquo;In neighboring states like Virginia, which has a sales tax exemption to promote computer data center development, thousands of new jobs are being created annually,&rdquo; Yudichak said. &ldquo;We need to create jobs and support the technological infrastructure that is so important to our healthcare industry and educational institutions, as well as so many others.&rdquo;
				Expressing concern about a projected job loss in northeast Pennsylvania, Yudichak implored Davin and other economic development experts to analyze plans to divert water from the Delaware River Basin Commission to New York.
				&ldquo;Water is essential to life; water is essential to tourism,&rdquo; Yudichak said. &ldquo;Hundreds of businesses are tied to the Lehigh River &#8211; if this happens, it kills the tourism industry and thousands of jobs.&rdquo;
				Concerns were voiced regarding the state Facility Closure Transition Program, which was recently rolled-out in Luzerne County and a dozen counties statewide. Locally, Luzerne County witnessed the closure of two state facilities &mdash; SCI Retreat and White Haven Center &mdash; resulting in the loss of more than 800 union jobs.
				&ldquo;We need a long-range plan to recover from the loss of $100 million in annual economic impact to our region,&rdquo; Yudichak said.
				The lawmaker thanked the administration for its pivotal role in conjunction with the Solomon Creek Flood Protection Project in Wilkes-Barre. With municipalities experiencing financial woes as a result of the pandemic, Yudichak encouraged the department to examine existing funding sources &mdash; such as the Commonwealth Financing Authority, PENNVEST or Local Share Account gaming funds &mdash; to assemble a greater pool of resources for communities with long-neglected infrastructure projects.

Yudichak urges DCED to promote energy tax credits to jump-start economy