— Unlike most countries and state governments, the U.S. has not created a natural resources trust which could help meet volatility and spending challenges facing local and county governments.
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Best Practices
Energy development is a high-impact activity that presents opportunities and challenges for state and local governments, and there are clear lessons for how to reconcile job and revenue benefits with the impacts of rapid industrialization and population growth.
Unconventional Oil and Gas Revenues to Local Governments
— This report includes seven major energy-producing states and a new interactive adds four more (AR, LA, and PA). The study and interactive compare how local governments receive production tax revenue from unconventional oil and natural gas.
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Mark Haggerty
Time for a U.S. Natural Resources Trust?
— Compared to other nations and even U.S. states, the federal government is a conspicuous laggard in creating a natural resources trust which would allow for stable, permanent, and ever rising payments to states and local governments without risks to taxpayers.
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Mark Haggerty
Falling Oil Prices: Good for the U.S. Economy, Bad for Shale Communities?
— Lower oil prices could be great for the economy, but for the communities dependent on drilling, the price drop may prove challenging for several reasons.
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