H. B. 4570
(By Delegates Manchin, Doyle, Stowers, Klempa,
Crosier, Martin, Staggers and Caputo)
[Introduced February 19, 2010
; referred to the
Committee on Energy, Industry and Labor, Economic Development and
Small Business then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §31-15A-16 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to dedication of
severance tax proceeds; specifying a minimum share of coalbed
methane severance tax revenue to be distributed to producing
counties in an amount at least equal to the share received by
nonproducing counties; specifying the distribution method for
severance tax revenues for coalbed methane producing and
nonproducing counties; and specifying computation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §31-15A-16 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15A. WEST VIRGINIA INFRASTRUCTURE AND JOBS DEVELOPMENT
ACT.
§31-15A-16. Dedication of severance tax proceeds.
(a) There shall be dedicated an annual amount from the collections of the tax collected pursuant to article thirteen-a,
chapter eleven of this code for the construction, extension,
expansion, rehabilitation, repair and improvement of water supply
and sewage treatment systems and for the acquisition, preparation,
construction and improvement of sites for economic development in
this state as provided in this article.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, beginning on July 1, 1995, the first $16 million of the
tax collected pursuant to article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of
this code shall be deposited to the credit of the West Virginia
Infrastructure General Obligation Debt Service Fund created
pursuant to section three, article fifteen-b of this chapter
:
Provided, That beginning on July 1, 1998, the first $24 million of
the tax annually collected pursuant to article thirteen-a of this
code shall be deposited to the credit of the West Virginia
Infrastructure General Obligation Debt Service Fund created
pursuant to section three, article fifteen-b of this chapter.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (b) of this
section to the contrary: (1) None of the collections from the tax
imposed pursuant to section six, article thirteen-a, chapter eleven
of this code shall be so dedicated or deposited; and (2) the
portion of the tax imposed by article thirteen-a, chapter eleven
and dedicated for purposes of Medicaid and the Division of Forestry
pursuant to section twenty-a of
said article thirteen-a shall
remain dedicated for the purposes set forth in
said section twenty-a.
(d)
On or Before May 1 of each year, commencing May 1, 1995,
the council, by resolution, shall certify to the Treasurer and the
Water Development Authority the principal and interest coverage
ratio and amount for the following fiscal year on any
infrastructure general obligation bonds issued pursuant to the
provisions of article fifteen-b of this chapter.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the
contrary,
before the deposit of the proceeds of the tax on coalbed
methane
remitted by the Tax Commissioner for deposit in the West
Virginia Infrastructure Fund pursuant to section twenty-a, article
thirteen-a, chapter eleven of this code,
shall be distributed as
follows the Tax Commissioner shall undertake the following
calculations:
(1) Seventy-five percent of the moneys
so to be deposited
shall be
distributed provisionally allocated for
infrastructure
projects in the various counties of this state in which the coalbed
methane was produced;
and
(2) The remaining twenty-five percent of the moneys
so to be
deposited shall be
distributed provisionally allocated equally to
the various counties of this state in which no coalbed methane was
produced for
infrastructure projects
in accordance with subsection
(h) of this section;
(3) Moneys shall be
distributed provisionally allocated to
each coalbed methane producing county in direct proportion to the amount of tax
revenues derived from coalbed methane production in
paid by the county;
using information provided by the Tax
Commissioner as required in section twenty-a, article thirteen-a,
chapter eleven of this code and
(4) Portional adjustments.
(A) If, for any year, a coalbed methane producing county's
share of money provisionally allocated to that county is computed
to be an amount that is less than the amount provisionally
allocated to each of the coalbed methane nonproducing counties,
then for purposes of the computations set forth in this subsection,
that coalbed methane producing county shall be redesignated a
coalbed methane nonproducing county. The money that has been
provisionally allocated to that coalbed methane producing county
out of the seventy-five percent portion specified in subdivision
(1) of this section shall be subtracted out of the seventy-five
percent portion specified in subdivision (1) and added to the
twenty-five percent portion specified in subdivision (2).
(B) When the adjustment specified in paragraph (A) of this
subdivision has been made for each coalbed methane producing county
that has been redesignated as a coalbed methane nonproducing
county, then the amount remaining in the provisional seventy-five
percent portion specified in subdivision (1), as adjusted in
accordance with paragraph (A) of this subdivision, then the Tax
Division shall finalize the calculations of the amounts to be made
available for distribution by the council to the coalbed methane producing counties that have not been redesignated as coalbed
methane nonproducing counties under this subdivision, in direct
proportion to the amount of tax revenues derived from coalbed
methane production in each such county not redesignated as a
coalbed methane nonproducing county bears to the total amount of
tax revenues derived from coalbed methane production in all coalbed
methane producing counties that have not been redesignated as a
coalbed methane nonproducing county.
(C) The Tax Commissioner shall then finalize the calculation
of the total amount in the twenty-five percent portion specified in
subdivision (2), as adjusted in accordance with paragraph (A) of
this subdivision.
(f) In addition to providing a breakdown of coalbed methane
taxes paid and amount of coalbed methane produced by a county, the
Tax Commissioner shall provide to the council its preliminary and
final calculations undertaken pursuant to subsection (e) of this
section when depositing the amount of tax on coalbed methane in the
West Virginia Infrastructure Fund pursuant to section twenty-a,
article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of this code.
(g) In no case shall the total the aggregate of all coalbed
methane producing counties and all coalbed methane nonproducing
counties calculated by the Tax Commissioner exceed the amount of
tax on coalbed methane remitted by the Tax Commissioner for deposit
in the West Virginia Infrastructure Fund pursuant to section
twenty-a, article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of this code for the year.
(h) Distribution by council.
(1) For funds attributable to coalbed methane producing
counties, the Water Development Authority shall distribute the
moneys in the form of grants to project sponsors in each of those
counties in accordance with the calculations provided by the Tax
Division in subsection (e) of this section for projects approved by
the council. The council may award all or part of the amounts
available for one or more projects, based on applications made by
project sponsors in coalbed methane producing counties pursuant to
the provisions of this article.
(2) For funds attributable to coalbed methane nonproducing
counties, the Water Development Authority shall make the total
amount of moneys calculated pursuant to subsection (e) of this
section available in the form of grants to project sponsors from
one or more of the coalbed methane nonproducing counties for
projects approved by the council. The council may award all or
part of the amounts available for project sponsors for one or more
projects, based on applications made by project sponsors from
coalbed methane nonproducing counties pursuant to the provisions of
this article.
(i) Projects from counties that are deemed coalbed methane
producing counties by the Tax Division are not eligible for
distribution of moneys pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection
(h) of this section: Provided, That the council may continue to consider a pending application of a project sponsor from a coalbed
methane nonproducing county that is subsequently deemed a coalbed
methane producing county by the Tax Commissioner.
(j) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the moneys remitted by the Tax Division to the West
Virginia Infrastructure Fund are not subject to the provisions of
section eleven of this article and may not be considered by the
council when determining amount of moneys that may be disbursed
from the infrastructure fund in the form of grants pursuant to the
provisions of section ten of this article.
(k) The moneys remitted by the Tax Division on October 1,
2010, for coalbed methane project sponsors in nonproducing coalbed
methane counties for infrastructure projects that have not been
distributed may not be distributed to project sponsors in those
counties but instead shall be available for distribution for
projects pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (2) of
subsection (h) of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a minimum share
of coalbed methane severance tax revenue to be distributed to
producing counties in an amount at least equal to the share
received by nonproducing counties.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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