Passed

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has signed an energy bill that enjoyed bipartisan support in the General Assembly and creates new rules for hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Chesapeake Energy Corp. shareholders jettisoned two board members up for reelection and approved three shareholder-initiated resolutions at the company’s annual meeting in Oklahoma City, signaling a turning point for the operator’s corporate governance and likely for the future of CEO Aubrey McClendon.

Colorado lawmakers have passed HB 1258 by a vote of 95-3. The legislation would make it easier for retail outlets to provide natural gas, propane and electric vehicle fueling. The bill, which was sent to Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is expected to sign it in May, would allow retailers to sell the three alternative vehicle fuels without Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) scrutiny. Electric vehicle recharging and liquefied natural gas fueling fell under PUC oversight; however, the other two fuels (compressed natural gas and propane) did not.

Betting that a shale gas industry may develop in the state in the future, the Illinois Senate on Thursday passed 54-0 a measure (SB 3280) to regulate hydraulic fracturing (fracking), which would require the disclosure of chemicals used in fracking operations.

When the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Act 13, its omnibus Marcellus Shale law, in February, it marked the end of three years of legislative wrangling and the beginning of a period of legal interpretation.

A Pennsylvania judge last week pushed back the start date for portions of a recently passed Marcellus Shale law to give local governments more time to adopt its standardized zoning measures, but his ruling questioned the idea that the entire law is unconstitutional.

A collection of companies and industry groups have asked to intervene in a lawsuit filed by seven Pennsylvania municipalities against recently passed shale legislation.

The House last week overwhelmingly passed legislation to exempt commercial end-users from margin requirements and ease regulations for affiliate transactions.

The House Monday overwhelmingly passed two bills that would exempt commercial end-users from margin requirements and ease regulations for affiliate transactions.