Senate Bill No. 346

(By Senators Ross, Anderson, Bowman and Boley)

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[Introduced January 28, 1999;

referred to the

Committee on Finance;

and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article seven, chapter sixty-four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to authorizing the state tax commissioner to promulgate a legislative rule relating to the valuation of public utility property for ad valorem property tax purposes.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section two, article seven, chapter sixty-four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. AUTHORIZATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF TAX AND REVENUE TO PROMULGATE LEGISLATIVE RULES.

§64-7-2.
Department of tax and revenue; tax division; and state tax commissioner.

(a) The legislative rule filed in the state register on the twenty-third day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, authorized under the authority of section five, article thirteen-j, chapter eleven of this code, modified by the tax division to meet the objections of the legislative rule-making review committee and refiled in the state register on the thirty-first day of October, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, relating to the tax division (tax credit for qualified agricultural equipment, 110 CSR 13J), is authorized.
(b) The legislative rule filed in the state register on the sixteenth day of August, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, authorized under the authority of section fifty-one, article twenty-one, chapter eleven of this code, modified by the tax division to meet the objections of the legislative rule-making review committee and refiled in the state register on the thirty-first day of October, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, relating to the tax division (personal income tax low income exclusions, 110 CSR 21.1), is authorized.
(c) The legislative rule filed in the state register on the sixteenth day of August, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, authorized under the authority of section twenty-one, article twenty-one, chapter forty-seven of this code, modified by the tax division to meet the objections of the legislative rule-making review committee and refiled in the state register on the twenty-seventh day of February, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven, relating to the tax division (charitable raffles, 110 CSR 37), is authorized.
(d) The legislative rule filed in the state register on the twenty-ninth day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, authorized under the authority of section seven-b, article six, section one, article six-g, and section five, article one-c, chapter eleven, of this code, modified by the state tax commissioner to meet the objections of the legislative rule-making review committee and refiled in the state register on the fifteenth day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, relating to the state tax commissioner (valuation of public utility property for ad valorem property tax purposes , 110 CSR 1M), is authorized with the amendments set forth below:
On page two, by striking-out all of subsection 2.5;
On page two, by striking-out all of subsection 2.7 and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection 2.7 to read as follows:
"§2.7
"Fair market value" means the highest price in terms of money that a property will bring in a competitive and open market, assuming that the buyer and seller are acting prudently and knowledgeably, allowing sufficient time for the sale and assuming that the price is not affected by undue stimulations.";
On page four, subsection 3.1, after the word "generally," by inserting the words "when the cost approach is used,";
On page four, subsection 3.1, after the word "purposes," by striking-out the period and inserting in lieu thereof a colon and the word "however,";
On page four, by striking-out all of subdivision 3.1.1, and inserting in lieu thereof new subdivision 3.1.1 to read as follows:
" 3.1.1 When the income approach is used, the unit of value shall be allocated to the state of West Virginia using operating plant data after which;"
On page five, subdivision 3.1.2, by striking-out the word "property" and inserting in lieu thereof the words
"physical plant";
On page five, by striking-out all of subdivision 4.2.1 and inserting in lieu thereof a new subdivision 4.2.1 to read as follows:
"4.2.1
Cost approach. -- Recognizing that public service corporations are predominantly cost regulated, when the cost approach is used in the valuation process, original cost less applicable depreciation shall be employed. In applying the cost approach, the Tax Commissioner shall consider three (3) types of depreciation; (a) physical deterioration, (b) functional obsolescence, and (c) economic obsolescence.";
On page five, subdivision 4.2.2 after the word "interest" by striking-out the word "expense" and inserting in lieu thereof "on long-term debt";
On page six, by striking-out all of subdivision 4.2.4;
On page six, subdivision 4.2.5 after the word "process" by changing the colon to a period and by striking-out the remainder of the subdivision;
On page eight, by striking-out all of subdivision 4.3.13;
And,
On page ten, by adding the new subsection 6.5 to read as follows:
"The Tax Commissioner, for good cause shown, may grant an extension of filing deadlines."


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the State Tax Commissioner
to promulgate a legislative rule relating to the Valuation of Public Utility Property for Ad Valorem Property Tax Purposes .

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.