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Wolf’s plan to restore Pa.’s infrastructure dependent on gas industry severance tax

Gov. Tom Wolf is nobody&#8217;s fool.He knows that investing in transportation infrastructure, fighting blight, upgrading flood protection and expanding broadband are the sort of projects many voters would support.Is there a motorist in Pennsylvania who hasn&#8217;t bemoaned the condition of our roads and bridges? Across the state, how many of us shudder at the ongoing threat posed by flooding every time the rains linger too long?What reasonable person doesn&#8217;t see the need for greater investment in the structures that link us with one another and keep us safe from nature&#8217;s wrath?We have to scratch our heads a bit, though, at Wolf&#8217;s latest plan: &#8220;Restore Pennsylvania.&#8221;The governor came to Wilkes-Barre on Thursday as part of a tour promoting the $4.5 billion, four-year initiative, which he says would be funded by a &#8220;modest severance tax.&#8221;Oh really?Wolf, a Democrat from deeply conservative York County, is a savvy politician who has won two gubernatorial contests &#8212; not to mention more than a few partisan battles during the four years and 12 days since he assumed the office.One of the high-profile battles Wolf has very clearly not won is his desire to impose a severance tax on the state&#8217;s natural gas industry. This is his fifth annual attempt.As he was speaking at the Luzerne County Emergency Management Agency Thursday afternoon about bipartisan support for his plan, House Republican leadership released a statement pouring cold water on the idea of taxing the drillers.&#8220;The governor&#8217;s proposal includes three of the worst ways to grow an economy: taxing, borrowing and uncontrolled government spending,&#8221; the release stated.&#8220;While improving Pennsylvania&#8217;s aging infrastructure is a shared goal, it cannot come at the expense of the Commonwealth&#8217;s economy and taxpayers,&#8221; it continued.&#8220;Unfortunately, the governor has not included the General Assembly in the development of this proposal. If he had, he would know that there are not enough votes to enact a new energy tax, borrow billions of dollars and spend monies on more government programs,&#8221; the statement added.While individual GOP members might disagree, we suspect it&#8217;s unlikely enough of them would break from their leadership to enact a tax that has been bitterly opposed by their party and by the extraordinarily wealthy and powerful gas industry.Why should we believe that dyed-in-the-wool conservatives will have a change of heart now?Well, in fairness, Sen. Tom Killion (R-Philadelphia), did speak in favor of the plan during an earlier event in Harrisburg. Then again, a Philly-area Republican might see the world differently than his colleagues out in gas country.At Thursday&#8217;s event, state Sen. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, said there is Republican support in the Senate, but acknowledged that getting the proposed bill through the House would be a challenge.The difference with this plan, Yudichak added, is that it removes the severance tax from the state budget process.Maybe so. But when reporter Bill O&#8217;Boyle asked the governor what alternatives would be considered if the legislature fails to approve the plan, Wolf replied: &#8220;I don&#8217;t know. There&#8217;s nowhere else to get that amount of funding.&#8221;Bingo.We are not taking a position here on the merits of a severance tax.We are reminding readers that this is a battle that is still not in the Democrats&#8217; favor.So why now does Gov. Wolf propose funding a major infrastructure initiative using the proceeds of a tax that he may never get passed?We don&#8217;t think he is a fool. We&#8217;re just not sure the promise of infrastructure funding is enough to tilt the field in his favor. &#8212; Times Leader<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Governor Tom Wolf shakes hands with state Sen. John Yudichak at a press conference Thursday at the Luzerne County EMA building. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL020119gov3.cmyk_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Governor Tom Wolf shakes hands with state Sen. John Yudichak at a press conference Thursday at the Luzerne County EMA building. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Our View: Wolf’s severance plan seems ambitious