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Pennsylvania House And Senate Pass Natural Gas Drilling Regulation Bills

HARRISBURG, Pa (CBS) - Both the Pennsylvania House and Senate have now passed different bills to regulate and impose fees on the state's natural gas drilling industry.

The state Senate passed a natural gas drilling bill earlier this week and the House passed its own bill on Thursday. Debate in the House mirrored debate in the Senate, with Democrats like Greg Vitali of Delaware County complaining that the measure is too lax on the environment and too light on fees to be imposed on the industry.

"This turkey's not done. Stick a fork in it, it's not done," Vitali said. "I think we put it back in the oven and we all go home for Thanksgiving."

Allegheny County Republican Mike Turzai, the House majority leader, defended the bill as the best way of making sure the drilling industry thrives.

"For those of us who are supposedly shills of big corporations: Corporations big and small employ people."

The stage is now set for House and Senate leaders to craft a compromise that can be approved by both chambers, with their goal to send a bill to the governor next month.

Reported by Tony Romeo, KYW Newsradio 1060

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