Robber Barons Need to Pay the Piper.

You may have seen me in front of Harts Grocery Store for two days getting folks to sign up. It took seven hours to get forty signatures, but it was well worth it to me. We must stop these "robber barons" gas companies or at least make them pay the piper.

The Natural Gas Severance Tax Act proposes to increase the severance tax on natural gas extracted from within the State of Arkansas to 7% of the market value of the gas at the time it is extracted from the ground.

As of now, natural gas companies are drilling in our state, taking out a natural resource and only paying 6 cents per Mcf (one thousand cubic foot). Meanwhile, Oklahoma charges 20 cents per Mcf and Texas receives 16 cents per Mcf. These gas companies are hauling out natural gas in heavy trucks, raping our land, taking an ecological treasure and leaving behind broken down roads in their wake. Not to mention the car and truck repairs we must pay out of our pockets because we have to travel our destroyed roads.

If this bill appears on the November ballot and passes, the gas companies will pay us at least a portion of what our gas is worth. The tax funds collected by the director of the Department of Finance and Administration will ultimately be distributed in a manner that will result in 5% being deposited into the state treasury as general revenues. The remaining 95% shall be deposited as special revenues and distributed with $20,000,000 going to the State Aid Street Fund, annually, and the remainder being distributed as currently provided by the Arkansas State Highway Distribution Law, with 70% to the State Highway and Transportation Department Fund, 15%to the County Aid Fund and !5% to the Municipal Aid Fund.

Severance tax revenues in Arkansas for the period of November 2009 through October 2010 were $54.6 Million. If this proposed Natural Gas Severance Tax Act had been in effect the total revenues would have been $250 Million! Our state's roads and highways would be on their way to looking pretty good if this act had passed two years ago.