State Rep.

Brian Ellis, R-11th, co-chairman of the House Natural Gas Caucus, this week highlighted the economic success in communities by the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation."Pennsylvania has the opportunity to be a leader in developing clean burning energy that is desperately needed throughout the nation," Ellis said."This is being realized without government subsidies, tax-increment financing or other incentives that are too often required for economic development initiatives. Drilling in the Marcellus Shale gives us enormous opportunities to put people back to work and give a vital boost to our communities."The shale, a layer of rock that holds a vast reservoir of gas, is luring some of the country's largest gas producers to Pennsylvania.Drilling activity is under way on the Marcellus Shale in at least 18 counties, primarily in the northern and southwest where the shale is thickestDuring Gov. Ed Rendell's annual budget address, Ellis noted, the governor proposed a severance tax on gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale. Rendell said the levy would generate $110 million in tax revenues for the commonwealth.But not only would the tax impose severe financial constraints on the natural gas industry, Ellis said, but it would also prevent the creation of jobs."The General Assembly must enact policies that encourage economic development to help Pennsylvania recover from the current recession," Ellis said."This opportunity in the Marcellus Shale has the potential to be a major economic boon to our economy and the last thing we should do is impede its forward movement."——-—The state Senate this week approved two measures sponsored by Sen.

Jane Orie, R-40th, that would halt a costly new graduation test and ensure that students with severe allergies have access to life-saving medication.One of Orie's bills would prohibit the Department of Education from imposing any new statewide requirement for high school graduation without legislative approval.The measure seeks to stop a $201 million contract the department signed with an out-of-state company to develop a new end-of-year testing plan called the Keystone Exams.Under the department's original proposal, all students would be required to pass 10 subject area tests to graduate.Orie has been a critic of the test, which she says is an unnecessary and duplicative mandate that erodes local control, won't improve student learning and is extremely costly at a time when the state cannot afford new untested programs.The Senate, meanwhile, also approved another Orie-sponsored, education-related bill intended to help students with severe allergies gain access to medications they need in school.Students with severe allergies could carry epinephrine medication with them in school with the permission of their physicians and parents."This legislation is necessary because allergic reactions can happen at any time — on the playground, in class, or in the cafeteria — and a student with a severe reaction must have instant access to their medication," Orie said."This bill could help to save lives by providing students access with the medicine they need, when they need it."Both bills now go to the state House for consideration.