The Pennsylvania Supreme Court stated at the outset that this decision is the “final resolution” of a dispute about amendments to the Fiscal Code by the General Assembly that diverted to the General Fund revenues generated from oil and gas leases on state forest and game lands. The matter turned on the Court’s interpretation of Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, typically referred to as the Environmental Rights Amendment. And for those keeping score, this is the fourth time this matter appeared before the Supreme Court. The Court held that revenue streams, consisting of large upfront bonus payments, yearly rental fees, and interest penalties for late payments represent the sale of trust assets and must be returned to the corpus of the trust and not the General Fund.v
