House Speaker applauds advancement of Energize PA bill

Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) applauded Tuesday the advancement of House Bill 1100, part of the House Republican Energize PA legislative package, by the House and the Senate.

“House Bill 1100 will help bring more family-sustaining jobs to our Commonwealth,” Turzai said. “These opportunities will benefit many workers and families in the state, especially our skilled tradespersons.”

The measure passed 157-35 in the House and 39-11 in the Senate.

House Bill 1100 is prime sponsored by Rep. Aaron Kaufer (R-Luzerne) and seconded by Turzai. It aims to facilitate job and economic growth by taking advantage of Pennsylvania’s natural gas resources.

“The bill is similarly structured to the tax credit incentive passed in 2013, when I was majority leader, that brought Shell Polymer to Pennsylvania,” Turzai said. “The Beaver County ‘cracker plant’ currently employs nearly 7,000 skilled tradespersons on the largest construction site in North America. House Bill 1100 will tailor these tax credits so that they are well-suited to other communities in Pennsylvania.”

The cracker plant in Beaver County is being constructed on a brownfield site. House Bill 1100 would allow for the repurposing of abandoned manufacturing sites in other communities.

“We call on Gov. Wolf to recognize the broad, bipartisan support for this bill and to sign it into law,” Turzai said. “Pennsylvania workers deserve these opportunities. There will be jobs building such facilities, permanent jobs at each facility, jobs at upstream providers who provide materials and services, and jobs at downstream providers who use the materials produced.”