Adjourning

The Pennsylvania state Senate met briefly Tuesday before adjourning until Jan. 17, but it did not discuss legislation to impose a fee on unconventional natural gas drilling. Until the Senate takes action on House Bill 1950 the legislation cannot proceed to a conference committee for a process where members of both chambers and both parties will hammer out differences. Although current lawmakers are in office until November, many have urged the General Assembly to pass something before Gov. Tom Corbett announces his budget priorities in early February. The six-member committee would include three senators and three representatives, with two members of each chamber coming from the majority party and one coming from the minority.