H. B. 2391
(By Delegates Kelley, Jenkins, Evans, Campbell and
Kominar)
[Introduced January 26, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article thirteen-e,
relating to creating the "Good Neighbor Water Expansion
Act"; requiring water utilities to solicit voluntary
contributions from customers; providing for the use of the
contributions; and providing a credit to the personal income
tax.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article thirteen-e, to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 13E. GOOD NEIGHBOR WATER EXPANSION ACT.
§16-13E-1. Short title.
This article may known as the "Good Neighbor Water Expansion
Act of 1999."
§16-13E-2. Solicitation of contributions.
(a) Every public utility supplying potable water shall
include on its regular billing statement a form that solicits
voluntary contributions from the customer to be used for
expanding water service to households that do not have a water
utility service available.
(b) The customer may designate and return with the
customer's payment, or separately, an amount in excess of the
amount billed, to be deposited and used as provided in this
article.
(c) Public utilities supplying potable water in the county
are no longer required to include the solicitation required by
the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, in billing
statements sent to customers in a county when:
(1) Water utility service is available to all households
throughout the county; and
(2) There are no bonds outstanding that are being repaid, in
whole or in part, from contributions made under this article.
§16-13E-3. Credit from personal income tax.
The customer is allowed a tax credit from taxes imposed on
the customer under the provisions of article twenty-one, chapter
eleven of this code, for payments made under this article. The amount of the credit allowed is the sum of the total annual
amount contributed by the customer not to exceed one thousand two
hundred dollars, plus five percent of the total annual amount
contributed. The credit may not exceed the total tax imposed on
the customer under the provisions of article twenty-one, chapter
eleven of this code.
§16-13E-4. Use of contributions.
(a) All contributions collected by a public utility
supplying potable water that is not a public service district
shall be forwarded to the county commission of the contributor's
county of residence. The county commission shall deposit funds
received in a special account. The funds may only be:
(1) Used for the direct payment of costs incurred in
expanding water service to unserved areas; or
(2) Dedicated to the retirement of revenue bonds issued
under the provisions of article nineteen or article twenty,
chapter eight of this code, after the effective date of this
article, if, in addition to meeting other requirements contained
in this code, the sale of the bonds has been approved by a vote
of county residents after placement on the ballot by the county
commission.
(b) All contributions collected by a public utility
supplying potable water that is a public service district shall
be deposited in a special account. The funds may only be:
(1) Used for the direct payment of costs incurred in
expanding water service to unserved areas; or
(2) Dedicated to the retirement of revenue bonds issued
under the provisions of article thirteen-a, chapter sixteen of
this code, after the effective date of this article, if, in
addition to meeting other requirements contained in this code,
the sale of the bonds has been approved by a vote of district
residents after placement on the ballot by the county commission.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to promote voluntary
contributions to assist in providing water service in areas
without water service. A tax credit is given as an incentive to
make the contributions.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.