H. B. 4773
(By Delegates Doyle, Tabb and Wysong)
[Introduced February 24, 2006; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section §8A-12-17a,
relating to providing additional funding for county Farmland
Preservation Protection Programs.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated section §8A-12-17a, to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 12. VOLUNTARY FARMLAND PROTECTION PROGRAMS.
§8A-12-17a. Additional funding of county Farmland Protection
Programs.
(a) The Legislature finds that agriculture is a multilayered
industry vital to the continued growth and development of the state
and that the sustained development of thoroughbred horses is a
significant and important component of the industry for which significant areas of farmland must be preserved so that the
development of thoroughbred horses continues and thereby guarantees
the endurance of strong and vibrant economic agricultural
development in this state. Therefore, the Legislature determines
that funding for county Farmland Protection Programs from the
sources provided herein is necessary to sustaining the development
of this vital component of agriculture in this state.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section ten, article
twenty-two-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code, the amount to be
received pursuant to subdivision (6), subsection (c) of said
section ten by a racetrack which is licensed by the West Virginia
Racing Commission to conduct thoroughbred racing meetings pursuant
to article twenty-three, chapter nineteen of this code is reduced
by the amounts that are distributed as provided by subsection (c)
of this section.
(c) If a licensed racetrack is located in a county in which a
county Farmland Protection Program is established, the first three
million dollars of the amount described in subsection (b) of this
section to be received by a licensed racetrack shall be deposited
into that county's county farmland protection fund. If a county
Farmland Protection Program is established in a county or counties
of this state that are contiguous to the county in which the
racetrack is located, the next three million dollars of the amount
so described shall be deposited into that county's farmland protection fund, or, if more than one county, divided and deposited
into each of their county farmland protection funds on an equal
basis.
Note: The purpose of this bill is to provide additional
funding for county Farmland Preservation Protection Programs.
§8A-12-17a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.