On February 24, 2020, the Chamber and its Greater Philadelphia Energy Action Team joined the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, the Laborers’ District Council of Metropolitan Philadelphia & Vicinity, and the Laborers’ District Council of Western Pennsylvania to submit the following letter urging Governor Wolf to sign HB 1100, legislation that would create the Energy and Fertilizer Manufacturing Tax Credit Program, into law.

Dear Governor Wolf,

On behalf of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia and its Energy Action Team, the Laborers’ District Council of Western Pennsylvania, and the Laborers’ District Council of Metropolitan Philadelphia & Vicinity, we urge you to sign HB 1100 into law, which would create the Energy and Fertilizer Manufacturing Tax Credit Program.

The Commonwealth’s access to abundant, affordable natural gas represents a significant and strategic opportunity. This natural resource has the ability to create jobs, strengthen our competitiveness, and foster a robust quality of life across the state. House Bill 1100 supports this opportunity by incentivizing manufacturing jobs to locate in Pennsylvania.

Increasing the manufacturing of the products supported by the tax credit will have far-reaching economic benefits from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. House Bill 1100 would position counties in the “dry gas” regions of the Marcellus Shale to develop a petrochemical manufacturing corridor and help make other brownfield locations across the state with access to pipelines and transportation infrastructure more attractive to potential development.

Attracting these facilities would provide significant investment while creating local union-building trade jobs and permanent, long-term manufacturing jobs for our state. Increasing in-state opportunity in this area will spur additional economic activity as the final products manufactured in Pennsylvania will reach global marketplaces. Additionally, the added feedstocks created by eligible tax credit recipients can attract value-added producers interested in co-locating on newly developed sites or locating in the Commonwealth to be in proximity.

With the overwhelming support of HB 1100, the business and labor community, as well as the legislature, recognize the need for a proactive strategy to grow our manufacturing presence in Pennsylvania. For this reason, we urge you to sign HB 1100 into law.

Rob Wonderling
President & CEO, The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia

Matt Smith
President, Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce

Philip Ameris
President, Business Manager, Laborers’ District Council of Western PA

Ryan N. Boyer
Business Manager, Laborers’ District Council of Metropolitan Philadelphia & Vicinity