Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/bill_status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb465%20intr.htm&yr=2011&sesstype=RS&i=465
Timestamp: 2018-04-24 14:05:07
Document Index: 222620373

Matched Legal Cases: ['§5', '§5', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§24', '§5', '§5', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§24', '§11', '§5', '§5', '§11', '§11', '§11']

(By Senators McCabe, Kessler (Acting President),
Browning, Unger, Snyder, Stollings, Plymale, Wells, Palumbo, Beach, Klempa, Yost and Foster)
[Introduced February 8, 2011; referred to the Committee on Energy, Industry and Mining; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §5B-2H-1 and §5B-2H-2; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-1C-11c; to amend and reenact §11-6D-1, §11-6D-2, §11-6D-3, §11-6D-4, §11-6D-5, §11-6D-6, §11-6D-7 and §11-6D-8 of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-6D-9; to amend and reenact §11-6F-2 and §11-6F-3 of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-13A-5b; to amend and reenact §11-13R-3 of said code; to amend and reenact §11-13S-3 of said code; to amend and reenact §11-15-8d of said code; and to amend and reenact §24-2F-3 of said code, all relating generally to the Marcellus Gas and Manufacturing Development Act of 2011; providing short title; making legislative findings and declarations; amending and reinstating alternative-fuel motor vehicles tax credit and providing credit for alternative-fuel refueling facilities; making legislative findings; stating legislative purpose; defining terms; allowing credit for purchase of alternative-fuel motor vehicles, conversion of vehicles to alternative-fuel motor vehicles and for commercial and residential alternative-fuel refueling facilities; providing for expiration of credits; requiring Tax Commissioner to promulgate rules and design forms; providing for carryover of unused credits and for recapture of credits; amending definition of “manufacturing” for purposes of special method for appraising qualified capital additions to manufacturing facilities for property tax purposes; providing new rules for treatment of certified capital addition property; setting baseline for oil and gas severance tax collections; providing for excess distribution and deposit of excess collections; amending definition of “research and development” for purposes of strategic research and development tax credit; amending definition of “manufacturing” for purposes of manufacturing investment tax credit; providing additional exception to limitation on right to assert sales and use tax exemptions; and clarifying meaning of “natural gas” for purposes of Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard Act.
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §5B-2H-1 and §5B-2H-2; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-1C-11c; that §11-6D-1, §11-6D-2, §11-6D-3, §11-6D-4, §11-6D-5, §11-6D-6, §11-6D-7 and §11-6D-8 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-6D-9; that §11-6F-2 and §11-6F-3 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-13A-5b; that §11-13R-3 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §11-13S-3 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §11-15-8d of said code be amended and reenacted; and that §24-2F-3 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
This article shall be known and cited as the “Marcellus Gas and Manufacturing Development Act”.
Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary and to facilitate the equal and uniform taxation of oil and natural gas drilling rigs throughout the state, the State Tax Commissioner shall annually compile a schedule of oil and natural gas drilling rig values based on the wholesale values shown in a nationally recognized guide or bulletin published during the calendar year that includes the assessment date, using the appropriate depth rating assigned to the drawworks by its manufacturer and the actual condition of the drilling rig. The State Tax Commissioner shall furnish the schedule to each assessor and it shall be used by him or her as a guide in placing the assessed values on all oil and natural gas drilling rigs in his or her county. This section applies to assessment years beginning on and after July 1, 2011.
Consistent with the public policy as stated in section one, article two-d, chapter twenty-four of this code, the Legislature hereby finds that the use of alternative fuels is in the public interest and promotes the general welfare of the people of this state insofar as it addresses serious concerns for our environment and our state's and nation's dependence on foreign oil as a source of energy. The Legislature further finds that this state has an abundant supply of alternative fuels and an extensive supply network and that, by encouraging the use of alternatively-fueled motor vehicles, the state will be reducing its dependence on foreign oil and attempting to improve its air quality. The Legislature further finds that the wholesale cost of fuel for certain alternatively-fueled motor vehicles is significantly lower than the cost of fueling traditional motor vehicles with oil based fuels.
However, because the cost of motor vehicles which utilize alternative-fuel technologies remains high in relation to motor vehicles that employ more traditional technologies, citizens of this state who might otherwise choose an alternatively-fueled motor vehicle are forced by economic necessity to continue using motor vehicles that are fueled by more conventional means. Additionally, the availability of commercial and residential infrastructure to support alternatively-fueled vehicles available to the public is inadequate to encourage the use of alternatively-fueled motor vehicles. Therefore, in order to encourage the use of alternatively-fueled motor vehicles and possibly reduce unnecessary pollution of our environment and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy, there is hereby created an alternative-fuel motor vehicles tax credit and an alternative-fuel infrastructure tax credit.
(7) (5) Coal-derived liquid fuels; and
(8) (6) Electricity, including electricity from solar energy.
(1) An original equipment manufacturer plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that can operate solely on electric power and that is capable of recharging its battery from an on-board generation source and an off-board electricity source; and
(2) A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle conversion that provides an increase in city fuel economy of seventy-five percent or more as compared to a comparable nonhybrid version vehicle for a minimum of twenty miles and that is capable of recharging its battery from an on-board generation source and an off-board electricity source. A vehicle is comparable if it is the same model year and the same vehicle class as established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and is comparable in weight, size, and use. Fuel economy comparisons shall be made using city fuel economy standards in a manner that is substantially similar to the manner in which city fuel economy is measured in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 C.F.R. 600 as in effect on January 1, 2011.
(e) “Qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling infrastructure” means property owned by the applicant for the tax credit and used for storing alternative fuels and for dispensing such alternative fuels into fuel tanks of motor vehicles, including but not limited to, compression equipment, storage tanks and dispensing units for alternative fuel at the point where the fuel is delivered: Provided, That the property is installed and located in this state and is not located on a private residence or private home.
(f) “Qualified alternative fuel vehicle home refueling infrastructure” means property owned by the applicant for the tax credit located on a private residence or private home and used for storing alternative fuels and for dispensing such alternative fuels into fuel tanks of motor vehicles, including but not limited to, compression equipment, storage tanks and dispensing units for alternative fuel at the point where the fuel is delivered or for providing electricity to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles or electric vehicles: Provided, That the property is installed and located in this state.
The tax credit credits for the purchase of alternative-fuel motor vehicles or conversion to alternative-fuel motor vehicles, qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling infrastructure and qualified alternative fuel vehicle home refueling infrastructure provided in this article may be applied against the tax liability of a taxpayer imposed by the provisions of either article twenty-one, article twenty-three or article twenty-four of this chapter but in no case may more than one credit be granted for the same alternative-fuel motor vehicle as defined in subdivision (b), section two of this article. This credit shall be available for those tax years beginning after June 30, 1997 January 1, 2011.
(2) In a dual fuel mode, as defined in paragraph (6), subdivision (a), section two of this article; as a bi-fueled alternative-fuel motor vehicle; or
(b) Purchases from an original equipment manufacturer or an after-market conversion facility or any other automobile retailer, a new dedicated or dually fueled bi-fueled alternative-fuel motor vehicle for which the taxpayer then obtains a valid West Virginia registration; or
(c) (d) The credit provided in this article is not available to and may not be claimed by any taxpayer under any obligation pursuant to any federal or state law, policy or regulation to convert to the use of alternative fuels for any motor vehicle.
(a) The total amount of any credit allowed under this article for an alternative-fuel motor vehicle is limited by and subject to the provisions set forth in this subsection and subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section and may not exceed: (1) In the case of a motor vehicle conversions or retrofitting, the actual cost of converting from a traditionally- fueled motor vehicle to an alternatively-fueled motor vehicle; or (2) in the case of a new purchase, the incremental difference in cost between an alternative-fuel motor vehicle and a comparably equipped motor vehicle that employs traditional fuel technology.
(b) The maximum total credit allowed for an alternative-fuel motor vehicle is:
(1) For a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of not more than ten thousand pounds, three thousand seven hundred fifty dollars;
(2) For a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of more than ten thousand pounds up to twenty-six thousand pounds, nine thousand two hundred fifty dollars;
(3) For a truck or van with a gross vehicle weight of more than twenty-six thousand pounds, fifty thousand dollars; and
(4) For a bus capable of seating at least twenty adults, fifty thousand dollars.
(d) The maximum incremental credit allowed per year is one third of the credit attributable to five vehicles with the cumulative credit over a three-year period not to exceed one third of the credit attributable to fifteen vehicles.
The credit against tax for any alternative-fuel motor vehicle provided for in this article may be taken by a taxpayer claiming the credit only in three equal increments over a three-consecutive tax-year period, so that in any tax year in which a taxpayer is entitled to the credit, only one third of the total credit allowed for a certain alternative-fuel motor vehicle under section five may be taken.
(a) For taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2011 but prior to January 1, 2014, the amount of the credit allowed under this article for qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling infrastructure is equal to an amount of fifty percent of the total costs directly associated with the construction or purchase and installation of the alternative fuel vehicle refueling infrastructure up to a maximum of $250,000: Provided, That if the qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling infrastructure is generally accessible for public use, the amount of the credit allowed will be multiplied by 1.25 and the maximum amount allowable will be $312,500. The amount of credit allowed may not exceed the cost of construction of the alternative fuel vehicle refueling infrastructure.
(f) When the taxpayer is a pass-through entity treated like a partnership for federal and state income tax purposes, the credit allowed under this article for the year shall flow through to the equity owners of the pass-through entity in the same manner that distributive share flows through to the equity owners and in accordance with any legislative rule the Tax Commissioner may propose for legislative approval in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer this section.
The tax credit provided in this article shall expire by operation of law ten years after the effective date of this article: Provided, That any eligible taxpayer who makes a valid claim for the credit before that expiration is entitled to claim and receive the remaining one-third increment or increments of the total credit allowed under section five of this article for the tax year or years ensuing after the expiration of this article until the total amount of credit allowed has been exhausted.
No person is eligible to receive a tax credit under this article for: (i) An alternative-fuel motor vehicle purchased after December 31, 2021; (ii) a vehicle converted to an alternative-fuel motor vehicle after December 31, 2021; or (iii) the construction or purchase and installation of qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling infrastructure or qualified alternative fuel vehicle home refueling infrastructure occurring after December 31, 2021.
(b) The Tax Commissioner is authorized to promulgate shall promulgate new rules for the administration of this article consistent with its provisions and in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code after the effective date of the amendments to this article. Such rules shall include rules relating to the necessary documentation required to be filed in order to take the tax credits allowed in this article.
(c) Within one year following prior to the expiration of the credit established in this article, the State Tax Commissioner shall provide a written report to the Legislature setting forth the utilization of the credit, the benefit of the credit and the overall cost of the credit.
(b) (c) "Manufacturing facility" means any factory, mill, chemical plant, refinery, warehouse, building or complex of buildings, including land on which it is located, and all machinery, equipment, improvements and other real property and personal property located at or within the facility used in connection with the operation of the facility in a manufacturing business.
(c) (d) "Personal property" means all property specified in subdivision (q), section ten, article two, chapter two of this code and includes, but is not limited to, furniture, fixtures, machinery and equipment, pollution control equipment, computers and related data processing equipment, spare parts and supplies.
(d) (e) "Qualified capital addition to a manufacturing facility" means all real property and personal property, the combined original cost of all of the property which exceeds $50 million to be constructed, located or installed at or within two miles of a manufacturing facility owned or operated by the person making the capital addition that has a total original cost before the capital addition of at least $100 million. Provided, That If the capital addition is made in a steel, chemical or polymer alliance zone as designated from time-to-time by executive order of the Governor, then the person making the capital addition may for purposes of satisfying the requirements of this subsection join in a multiparty project with a person owning or operating a manufacturing facility that has a total original cost before the capital addition of at least $100 million if the capital addition creates additional production capacity of existing or related products or feedstock or derivative products respecting the manufacturing facility, is a source of raw materials for the operating manufacturing facility, or converts coal to a gas or liquid for its use in heating, manufacturing or generation of electricity. Beginning July 1, 2011, wherever the number “100” is used in this subsection, the number “20” shall be substituted and where the number “50” is used, the number “10” shall be substituted.
(e) (f) "Real property" means all property specified in subdivision (p), section ten, article two, chapter two of this code and includes, but is not limited to, lands, buildings and improvements on the land such as sewers, fences, roads, paving and leasehold improvements.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the value of certified capital addition property, for purposes of ad valorem property taxation under this chapter, shall be is its salvage value, which for purposes of this article is five percent of the certified capital addition property's original cost. For capital additions certified on or after July 1, 2011, the value of the land before any improvements shall be subtracted from the value of the capital addition and the unimproved land value shall not be given salvage value treatment.
§11-13A-5b. Distribution of oil and gas severance tax for maintenance of highways and permitting and inspection of shale gas wells.
(a) Effective July 1, 2011, a baseline for the imposition of the severance tax on oil and gas that is deposited in the General Revenue Fund and that is distributed to counties and municipalities as provided in section five-a of this article is established at $64.8 million.
(b) The State Treasurer shall apportion any net collections in excess of the baseline as follows:
(1) Ten percent of the excess shall be distributed as provided in section five-a of this article; and
(2)Two million dollars shall be distributed into a special revenue account hereby created within the State Treasury and known as the “Marcellus Shale Permit Fund” as an interest bearing, nonexpiring special revenue account. The Marcellus Shale Permit Fund shall be separate and apart from the General Revenue Fund and shall be administered by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Expenditures from the special revenue account shall be for the purposes set forth in this section and made in accordance with appropriations from the Legislature and pursuant to the provisions of article three, chapter twelve of this code and after the fulfilment of the provisions of article two, chapter eleven-b of this code: Provided, That for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, expenditures are authorized from collections. Moneys in the Marcellus Shale Permit Fund not expended at the close of the fiscal year do not lapse or revert to the General Fund but are carried forward to the next fiscal year. Interest earnings on the revolving fund becomes a part of the revolving fund and do not lapse or revert to the General Fund. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection shall use the moneys in the Marcellus Shale Permit Fund for the purposes of paying for additional costs associated with permitting activity in the marcellus shale.
(3) The remaining balance after the distributions in subdivision (1) and (2) of this subsection shall be divided pro rata among the General Fund and the State Road Fund.
(c) This section shall have no force or effect after June 30, 2016.
For purposes of this article, "control", with respect to a corporation, means ownership, directly or indirectly, of stock possessing fifty percent or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of the stock of the corporation entitled to vote. "Control", with respect to a trust, means ownership, directly or indirectly, of fifty percent or more of the beneficial interest in the principal or income of the trust. The ownership of stock in a corporation, of a capital or profits interest in a partnership or association or of a beneficial interest in a trust is determined in accordance with the rules for constructive ownership of stock provided in section 267(c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, other than paragraph (3) of that section.
(12) "Taxpayer" means any person subject to the tax imposed by article twenty-three or twenty-four of this chapter or both. In the case of a sole proprietorship subject to neither the tax imposed by article twenty-three nor the tax imposed by article twenty-four, the term "taxpayer" means any sole proprietor who is subject to the tax imposed by article twenty-one of this chapter.
(13) "This code" means the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended.
(7) "Property purchased for manufacturing investment" means real property, and improvements thereto, and tangible personal property but only if the property was constructed or purchased on or after the first day of January, two thousand three, January 1, 2003, for use as a component part of a new, expanded or revitalized industrial facility. This term includes only that tangible personal property with respect to which depreciation, or amortization in lieu of depreciation, is allowable in determining the federal income tax liability of the industrial taxpayer, that has a useful life, at the time the property is placed in service or use in this state, of four years or more. Property acquired by written lease for a primary term of ten years or longer, if used as a component part of a new or expanded industrial facility, is included within this definition.
(a) Persons who perform "contracting" as defined in section two of this article or persons acting in an agency capacity may not assert any exemption to which the purchaser of such contracting services or the principal is entitled. Any statutory exemption to which a taxpayer may be entitled shall be is invalid unless the tangible personal property or taxable service is actually purchased by such taxpayer and is directly invoiced to and paid by such taxpayer. This section shall not does not apply to purchases by an employee for his or her employer, purchases by a partner for his or her partnership or purchases by a duly authorized officer of a corporation, or unincorporated organization, for his or her corporation or unincorporated organization so long as the purchase is invoiced to and paid by the employer, partnership, corporation or unincorporated organization.
(b) Transition rule. -- This section shall not does not apply to purchases of tangible personal property or taxable services in fulfillment of a purchasing agent or procurement agent contract executed and legally binding on the parties thereto prior to September 15, 1999. Provided, That This transition rule shall not does not apply to any purchases of tangible personal property or taxable services made under such a contract after August 31, 1991 and this transition rule shall not does not apply if the primary purpose of the purchasing agent or procurement agent contract was to avoid payment of consumers sales and use taxes. However, Effective July 1, 2007, this section shall not does not apply to purchases of services, machinery, supplies or materials, except gasoline and special fuel, to be directly used or consumed in the construction, alteration, repair or improvement of a new or existing building or structure by a person performing "contracting", as defined in section two of this article, if the purchaser of the "contracting" services would be entitled to claim the refundable exemption under subdivision (2), subsection (b), section nine of this article had it purchased the services, machinery, supplies or materials. Effective July 1, 2009, this section shall not does not apply to purchases of services, computers, servers, building materials and tangible personal property, except purchases of gasoline and special fuel, to be installed into a building or facility or directly used or consumed in the construction, alteration, repair or improvement of a new or existing building or structure by a person performing "contracting", as defined in section two of this article, if the purchaser of the "contracting" services would be entitled to claim the exemption under subdivision (7), subsection (a), section nine-h of this article. Effective July 1, 2011, this section does not apply to purchases of services, machinery, supplies or materials, except gasoline and special fuel, to be directly used or consumed in the construction, alteration, repair or improvement of a new or existing natural gas compressor station or gas transmission line having a diameter of twenty inches or more by a person performing "contracting", as defined in section two of this article, if the purchaser of the "contracting" services would be entitled to claim the refundable exemption under subdivision (2), subsection (b), section nine of this article had it purchased the services, machinery, supplies or materials.
(8) "Electric utility" means any electric distribution company or electric generation supplier that sells electricity to retail customers in this state. Unless specifically provided for otherwise, for the purposes of this article, the term "electric utility" may not include rural electric cooperatives, municipally-owned electric facilities or utilities serving less than thirty thousand residential electric customers in West Virginia.
(E) Infrastructure and modernization projects that help promote energy efficiency, reduce energy losses or shift load from periods of higher demand to periods of lower demand, including the modernization of metering and communications, (also known as "smart grid”), distribution automation, energy storage, distributed energy resources and investments to promote the electrification of transportation.
(15) "Waste coal" means a technology by which electricity is produced by the combustion of the by-product, waste or residue created from processing coal, such as gob.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to enact the Marcellus Gas and Manufacturing Development Act of 2011 which encourages and facilitates the development of oil and gas wells and the downstream uses of natural gas in this state and economic development in this state associated with production and various downstream uses.
§5B-2H-1, §5B-2H-2, §11-1C-11C, §11-6D-9 and §11-13A-5b are new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.