A local lawmaker is confident a bill passed this week by the state Senate to bring consistency to the state's Clean and Green law will successfully make its way through the House as well.
State Rep. Garth Everett, R-Muncy, said he has no problems with the legislation requiring roll-back taxes to be levied only on portions of land that fall under non-agricultural or related use.
"I don't have any problems with it (the Senate bill). I think it should pass as is," he said.
Roll-back taxes are levied on property enrolled in the state's Clean and Green program when the property owner falls short of the program's requirements and, according to the Web site for the law firm Tressler Saunders, can be assessed for the prior seven years.
Everett said he has heard about the issue from concerned landowners including farmers, who face financial burdens for land use not otherwise exempt from the roll-back taxes.
Many counties across the state have addressed the issue, but many others, including Lycoming County, have been waiting to see what the state will do, he said.
That has meant an inconsistent interpretation of Clean and Green statewide with respect to roll-back taxes.
"Farmers and landowners need this bill to become law so that there isn't any confusion on how the Clean and Green Program operates," said state Sen. E. Eugene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township, the bill's chief sponsor. "Farmers continue to be under financial pressure, and I am hopeful this bill will alleviate a substantial burden caused by a roll-back tax on all property enrolled in the program."
Yaw spokesman Adam Pankake added that development and use of Tier 1 alternative energy on any land use category of Clean and Green would be kept under preferential assessment if more than half of the energy annually generated is used for agriculture.
With natural gas development becoming a bigger issue regionally, Clean and Green has been among the biggest issues among Yaw's constituents.
The law will help determine the amount of roll-back taxes levied on landowners who lease property for gas drilling, Pankake noted.
State Rep. Rick Mirabito, D-Williamsport, said it's a bill he likely would support.
"It's a positive piece of legislation for our rural residents," he said.
