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GOP Lawmakers Want County Money From Drilling Tax
By: Associated Press
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A pair of Republican state lawmakers is pushing for Ohio's shale-gas rich counties to get a portion of the money generated from a proposed tax hike on oil and gas drillers.
State Reps. Jay Hottinger and Al Landis, respectively of Newark and Dover, said in a statement Thursday that local communities must be compensated for road, bridge and infrastructure impacts from the shale boom.
A proposal moving through the Legislature calls for severance-tax increases of 1 percent, then 2 percent, on horizontally drilled wells, with proceeds funding a statewide income-tax cut.
Hottinger said county funds should be set aside first.
The legislation replaces a scuttled tax plan proposed last year by Gov. John Kasich. The new package would generate an estimated $2 billion over 10 years.