CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming House has voted not to introduce a bill to cut the severance tax on coal production.Sponsors Rep. Eric Barlow of Gillette and Sen. Ogden Driskill of Devils Tower have said coal is increasingly coming under fire from federal government regulations. The House voted 38-21 Tuesday not to introduce the bill.

It would have cut the severance tax for surface coal from 7 percent to 6 percent and cut the tax on underground coal from 3.75 percent to 3 percent. The tax reduction would have cost the state over $40 million a year.

The bill also called for a 1.5-percent severance tax on natural gas that's flared or consumed at the production site. That would have raised about $4 million a year.

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