Senate Bill No. 458
(By Senators Helmick, McCabe, Tomblin (Mr. President), Browning,
White, Chafin and Stollings)
____________
[Introduced February 3, 2010; referred to the Committee on
Energy, Industry and Mining; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact §31-15A-16 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to dedication of
severance tax proceeds; specifying a minimum share of coalbed
methane severance tax revenue be distributed to producing
counties in an amount at least equal to the share received by
nonproducing counties; and specifying computation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §31-15A-16 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15A. WEST VIRGINIA INFRASTRUCTURE AND JOBS DEVELOPMENT
ACT.
§31-15A-16. Dedication of severance tax proceeds.
(a) There shall be dedicated an annual amount from the collections of the tax collected pursuant to article thirteen-a,
chapter eleven of this code for the construction, extension,
expansion, rehabilitation, repair and improvement of water supply
and sewage treatment systems and for the acquisition, preparation,
construction and improvement of sites for economic development in
this state as provided in this article.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, beginning on July 1, 1995, the first $16 million of the
tax collected pursuant to article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of
this code shall be deposited to the credit of the West Virginia
Infrastructure General Obligation Debt Service Fund created
pursuant to section three, article fifteen-b of this chapter
:
Provided, That beginning on July 1, 1998, the first $24 million of
the tax annually collected pursuant to article thirteen-a of this
code shall be deposited to the credit of the West Virginia
Infrastructure General Obligation Debt Service Fund created
pursuant to section three, article fifteen-b of this chapter.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (b) of this
section to the contrary: (1) None of the collections from the tax
imposed pursuant to section six, article thirteen-a, chapter eleven
of this code shall be so dedicated or deposited; and (2) the
portion of the tax imposed by article thirteen-a, chapter eleven
and dedicated for purposes of Medicaid and the Division of Forestry
pursuant to section twenty-a of said article thirteen-a shall
remain dedicated for the purposes set forth in said section twenty-a.
(d) On or before May 1 of each year, commencing May 1, 1995,
the council, by resolution, shall certify to the
T
reasurer and the
Water Development Authority the principal and interest coverage
ratio and amount for the following fiscal year on any
infrastructure general obligation bonds issued pursuant to the
provisions of article fifteen-b of this chapter.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the
contrary, the tax on coalbed methane remitted by the Tax
Commissioner for deposit in the West Virginia Infrastructure Fund
pursuant to section twenty-a, article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of
this code shall be distributed as follows: For all distributions
made on or after January 1, 2010, a provisional computation shall
be made whereby:
(1) Seventy-five percent of the moneys so deposited shall be
distributed provisionally allocated for distribution for
infrastructure projects in the various counties of this state in
which the coalbed methane was produced; and
(2) The remaining twenty-five percent of the moneys so
deposited shall be distributed provisionally allocated for
distribution equally to the various counties of this state in which
no coalbed methane was produced for infrastructure projects.
Moneys shall be distributed provisionally allocated for
distribution to each coalbed methane producing county in direct
proportion to the amount of tax revenues derived from coalbed methane production in paid by the county using information provided
by the Tax Commissioner as required in section twenty-a, article
thirteen-a, chapter eleven of this code.
(3) Portional
a
djustments and distribution of moneys.
(A) If, for any year, a coalbed methane producing county's
share of money provisionally allocated for distribution to that
county, based on the proportion of tax revenues derived from
coalbed methane production in the county, is computed to be an
amount that is less than the amount provisionally allocated for
distribution to each of the coalbed methane nonproducing counties,
then for purposes of the computations set forth in this subsection,
that coalbed methane producing county shall be redesignated a
coalbed methane nonproducing county. The money that has been
provisionally allocated for distribution to that coalbed methane
producing county out of the seventy-five percent portion specified
in subdivision (1) of this section shall be subtracted out of the
seventy-five percent portion specified in subdivision (1) and added
to the twenty-five percent portion specified in subdivision (2).
(B) When the adjustment specified in paragraph (A) of this
subdivision (3) has been made for each coalbed methane producing
county that has been redesignated as a coalbed methane nonproducing
county, then the amount remaining in the provisional seventy-five
percent portion specified in subdivision (1), as adjusted in
accordance with paragraph (A) of this subdivision (3), shall be
distributed to the coalbed methane producing counties that have not been redesignated as coalbed methane nonproducing counties under
this subdivision (3), in direct proportion to the amount of tax
revenues derived from coalbed methane production in each such
county not redesignated as a coalbed methane nonproducing county
bears to the total amount of tax revenues derived from coalbed
methane production in all coalbed methane producing counties that
have not been redesignated as a coalbed methane nonproducing
county, using information provided by the Tax Commissioner as
required in section twenty-a, article thirteen-a chapter eleven of
this code.
(C) The amount in the twenty-five percent portion specified in
subdivision (2), as adjusted in accordance with paragraph (A) of
this subdivision (3), shall be distributed equally to the coalbed
methane nonproducing counties, which shall include those coalbed
methane producing counties redesignated as coalbed methane
nonproducing counties in accordance with paragraph (A) of this
subdivision (3). In no case shall the total amount distributed in
any fiscal year to the aggregate of all coalbed methane producing
counties and all coalbed methane nonproducing counties exceed the
amount of tax on coalbed methane remitted by the Tax Commissioner
for deposit in the West Virginia Infrastructure Fund pursuant to
section twenty-a, article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of this code
for the year.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to cause a minimum share of severance tax to be distributed to coalbed methane producing
counties by requiring that less productive coalbed methane
producing counties have a share at least equal to nonproducing
counties.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
