Signed by Governor Tom Corbett

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with Senate amendments and pass a bill that authorizes natural resource development on state-owned lands.

Highlights:

• Authorizes the Department of General Services of the Commonwealth to contract or lease state-owned and state system lands in order to mine and remove valuable resources including coal, oil, natural gas, coal bed methane and limestone from the land (Sec. 3).

• Defines “state-owned land” as land owned by the Commonwealth excluding the following (Sec. 2):
• Land administered by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources;
• Land administered by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission;
• Land administered by the Pennsylvania Game Commission; and
• State system land.

• Defines “state system land” as land owned or controlled by the State System of Higher Education (Sec. 2).

• Appropriates royalties from leases or contracts on state-owned land to the following (Sec. 5):
• 60 percent of royalties to be deposited in the Oil and Gas Lease Fund;
• 25 percent of royalties to be paid to the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority; and
• 15 percent of royalties to be returned to the agency whose land the resources were found on.

• Appropriates royalties from leases or contracts on state system land to the following (Sec. 5):
• 50 percent of royalties are given to the university where the resources were found;
• 35 percent of royalties to be allocated to state universities whose land has no contracts or leases; and
• 15 percent of royalties to be given to all 14 state universities for the waiving of tuition and other related costs.

• Requires all contracts exceeding $1000 to meet both of the following requirements (Secs. 3 & 5):
• To be advertised once a week for 3 weeks in local newspapers before the contract or lease is granted; and
• To be advertised for 3 weeks on the system’s publicly accessible internet website.

• Prohibits the state from leasing or contracting state system university land without the written permission of the university president (Sec. 4).

Full Bill Text