Four environmental groups want Pennsylvanians to remember their lawmakers'
votes on the new Marcellus Shale fee and regulatory measure.
Those organizations -- Conservation Voters of PA, Clean Water Action,
PennEnvironment and the Sierra Club -- released a voting scorecard on Tuesday,
which issued ratings to state lawmakers based on their votes on House Bill
1950, which Gov. Tom Corbett signed last month.
The document gave high marks to many Democrats, including perfect scores
for 42 state representatives and 14 senators.
Republicans didn't score higher than a 54 percent among the handful of
bill-related motions that the groups rated. Twenty out of the 30 Senate
Republicans did not vote as the environmental activists preferred on any of
the impact fee tallies under review.
Several Democrats also were scolded for their votes, including Sens. Tim
Solobay of Canonsburg and John Wozniak of Cambria County, and state Rep. Peter
Daley of California.
Solobay, who drew a 13 percent rating from the activists, responded
that the groups are entitled to their own view of the new law: "I truly
believe the positives will way outweigh any impacts."
The scorecard, available on each of the organizations' websites, is part
of their election-year canvassing efforts. "We do believe that when voters go
to the polls this fall, this is one of the most important issues that they
need to consider," said Jeff Schmidt, director of the state's Sierra Club
chapter.
