Gov. Tom Wolf on April 30 was joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers to announce the introduction of legislation that would create a severance tax on energy extraction operations in Pennsylvania. Senate Bill 1000, and its companion, House Bill 2253, would generate revenue from the natural gas industry.

The proposed severance tax would generate an estimated $248.7 million in the next fiscal year alone, according to a statement from the Wolf administration. The press release also argues that Pennsylvania is the only gas-producing state in the nation without a severance tax, and that Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Alaska all get revenue from that source.