Senate Bill No. 440
(By Senator Mitchell)
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[Introduced January 30, 2002; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated
section three-f, relating to the imposition of an
additional privilege tax on the severance of natural
resources to create and fund the West Virginia education
excellence fund.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-f, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13A. SEVERANCE TAXES.
§11-13A-3f. Imposition of additional tax on the privilege of severing natural resources to create a public
education excellence fund.
(a) For the privilege of engaging or continuing within this
state in the business of severing, extracting, reducing to
possession and producing for sale, profit or commercial use any
natural resource product or product listed under sections three,
three-a, three-b, three-c and four of this article, there is
hereby levied and shall be collected from every person
exercising this privilege an annual privilege tax which shall be
dedicated to the funding of the West Virginia education
excellence fund.
(b) The tax imposed in subsection (a) of this section shall
be one percent of the gross value of the natural resources
produced, as shown by the gross proceeds derived from the sale
thereof by producer.
(c) The tax imposed by this section applies to all persons
severing natural resources in this state as those resources are
defined in sections three, three-a, three-b, three-c and four of
this article, and shall be in addition to all other taxes
imposed by law.
(d) There is hereby created the West Virginia education
excellence fund. All revenues received pursuant to this section
shall be dedicated to this fund. This fund shall be managed by the West Virginia investment management board created pursuant
to section three, article six, chapter twelve of this code. No
principal amounts of the fund may be expended which would leave
a balance of less than two hundred fifty million dollars in the
fund. Beginning with the fiscal year starting the first day of
July, two thousand two, and every year thereafter, all interest
earned from the investment of the fund shall be transferred to
the general fund for the sole use of increasing funding for
public education above and beyond the amount calculated as the
preliminary computation of funds necessary to fully fund the
state schools support program for the next school year. Any
principal in excess of two hundred fifty million dollars
accumulated by the fund may be transferred to the general fund
for the sole purpose for which the interest of this fund may be
used by act of the Legislature. The express purpose of West
Virginia education excellence fund is to increase funding for
public education and funds allocated to education pursuant to
this fund may not be used to replace any funds already used to
fund public education nor may they be used to supplant any
growth in the present or future funding sources for public
education.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to impose an additional
one percent severance tax on natural resources to create and fund the West Virginia education excellence fund to produce
additional funding for public education.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.