"According to an investigation by The Cincinnati Enquirer, the oil and gas industry has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into campaign coffers of the Ohio legislature. Speaker Batchelder received $227,000 from the industry, about $1 out of every $10 that he raised. He steadfastly opposes the severance tax and believes it will fail. In total, the industry has given $660,000 in campaign contributions since 2010, 91.5 percent of which went to Republicans. The little revenue that is raised goes to the state, not the localities in which drilling actually occurs. That means that the state benefits, but counties and townships are left to pick up the tab. Heavy truck traffic, for instance, tears up country roads. These need to be fixed out of local budgets that do not see any revenue from drilling. Meanwhile, the state is cutting funding to counties and townships. Pubal explained that Union Township, where she is the Fiscal Officer, will have roads to repair, but the state has cut their operating budget by 75 percent."
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 01:29:56 +0000
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