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WEST virginia legislature
2024 regular session
Committee Substitute
for
Senate Bill 512
By Senator Rucker
[Originating in the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources; reported February 6, 2024]
A BILL to amend and reenact §11-1A-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §19-19-2 of said code; all relating to clarifying when solar farms are not agricultural operations or in the business of farming for purposes of agricultural production and taxation; and clarifying the definition of “Agricultural operation”.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
(a) With respect to farm property, the Tax Commissioner shall appraise such property so as to ascertain its fair and reasonable value for farming purposes regardless of what the value of the property would be if used for some other purpose, and the value shall be arrived at by giving consideration to the fair and reasonable income which the property might be expected to earn in the locality wherein situated, if rented. The fair and reasonable value for farming purposes shall be deemed to be the market value of such property for appraisement purposes.
(b) A person is not engaged in farming if he or she is primarily engaged in forestry or growing timber. Additionally, a corporation is not engaged in farming unless its principal activity is the business of farming, and in the event that the controlling stock interest in the corporation is owned by another corporation, the corporation owning the controlling interest must also be primarily engaged in the business of farming: Provided, That the business of farming does not include the development, operation, or ownership of a solar farm, unless the solar arrays are elevated such that pasture animals may graze underneath: Provided, however, That any farm acreage on which solar arrays are not raised and the electricity generated from those solar arrays, excluding net metering, is sold commercially will not be considered farming for appraisement purposes, but only to the extent of such acreage: Provided further, That a farm will not lose its classification for appraisement purposes if solar panels are installed solely on the residence, barn, or other building or facility related to farming.
For the purposes of this article:
(a) "Agriculture" shall mean the production of food, fiber and woodland products, by means of cultivation, tillage of the soil and by the conduct of animal, livestock, dairy, apiary, equine or poultry husbandry, and the practice of forestry, silviculture, horticulture, harvesting of silviculture products, packing, shipping, milling, and marketing of agricultural products conducted by the proprietor of the agricultural operation, or any other legal plant or animal production and all farm practices.
(b) "Agricultural land" shall mean any amount of land and the improvements thereupon, used or usable in the production of food, fiber or woodland products of an annual value of $1,000 or more, by the conduct of the business of agriculture, as defined in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) "Agricultural operation" shall mean any facility utilized for agriculture: Provided, That "agricultural operation" does not include the development, operation, or ownership of a solar farm, unless the solar arrays are elevated so that pasture animals may graze underneath: Provided, however, That “agricultural operation” does not include any farm acreage on which solar arrays are not raised and the electricity generated from those solar arrays, excluding net metering, is sold commercially, but only to extent of such acreage: Provided, further, That farm property will not lose its classification as an “agricultural operation” if solar panels are installed solely on a farm residence, barn, or other building or facility related to farming.
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