Senate Bill No. 738
(By Senators Plymale, Scott, Schoonover and Love)
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[Introduced February 23, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article nineteen,
chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to providing
certain percentages of the moneys derived from the excise
tax on bottled soft drinks to be split among the state's
medical schools.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article nineteen, chapter eleven of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 19. SOFT DRINKS TAX.
§11-19-2. Excise tax on bottled soft drinks, syrups and dry
mixtures; disposition thereof.
(a) For the purpose of providing revenue for the construction, continued maintenance and operation of a four-year
school of medicine, dentistry and nursing of West Virginia
University, a four-year school of medicine at Marshall University
and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, an excise
tax is hereby levied and imposed on and after midnight of the
last day of June, one thousand nine hundred fifty-one, upon the
sale, use, handling or distribution of all bottled soft drinks
and all soft drink syrups, whether manufactured within or without
this state, as follows:
(1) On each bottled soft drink, a tax of one cent on each
sixteen and nine-tenths fluid ounces, or fraction thereof, or on
each one-half liter, or fraction thereof contained therein.
(2) On each gallon of soft drink syrup, a tax of eighty
cents, and in like ratio on each part gallon thereof, or on each
four liters of soft drink syrup a tax of eighty-four cents, and
in like ratio on each part four liters thereof.
(3) On each ounce by weight of dry mixture or fraction
thereof used for making soft drinks, a tax of one cent or on each
28.35 grams, or fraction thereof, a tax of one cent.
(b) Any person manufacturing or producing within this state
any bottled soft drink or soft drink syrup for sale within this
state and any distributor, wholesale dealer or retail dealer or
any other person who is the original consignee of any bottled
soft drink or soft drink syrup manufactured or produced outside this state, or who brings such drinks or syrups into this state,
shall be liable for the excise tax hereby imposed. The excise
tax hereby imposed shall not be collected more than once in
respect to any bottled soft drink or soft drink syrup
manufactured, sold, used or distributed in this state.
(c) All revenue collected by the commissioner under the
provisions of this article, less such costs of administration as
are hereinafter provided for, shall be paid by him or her into a
special medical school fund, which is hereby created in the state
treasury, to be allocated as follows: used solely for the
construction, maintenance and operation of a four-year school of
medicine, dentistry and nursing, as otherwise provided by law.
(1) Twelve million dollars per annum to the four-year school
of medicine, dentistry and nursing of West Virginia University;
(2) The remaining funds collected per annum pursuant to this
article to be divided equally between the four-year school of
medicine at Marshall University and the West Virginia School of
Osteopathic Medicine until the amount received by each of these
two schools equals twelve million dollars per annum;
(3) Thereafter, the remaining funds collected per annum
pursuant to this article shall be divided equally among the four- year school of medicine, dentistry and nursing of West Virginia
University, the four-year school of medicine at Marshall
University and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.
(d) Except as noted in subsection (c) above, all funds
received pursuant to this section will be used solely for
construction, maintenance and operation of the schools herein
described.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to add Marshall
University School of Medicine and The West Virginia School of
Osteopathic Medicine to the schools receiving moneys from the
collection of soft drink taxes. Currently only the WVU Schools
of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing receiving funding from this
tax. The bill would allocate the first $12 million collected to
WVU, and then split the remaining funds collected each year
equally between Marshall University School of Medicine and the
West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine only until each of
these schools receives $12 million per year. Thereafter, any
remaining funds collected would be split equally between all
three schools.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.