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SB 448 West Virginia Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Creating credit against severance tax for certain infrastructure improvements

SB 448 creates a tax credit against West Virginia's severance tax for businesses that invest in road or highway infrastructure improvements or in coal and natural gas production facilities. Eligible businesses - those subject to the severance tax on coal or natural gas production - can claim the credit for qualified expenses like labor, materials, equipment, or donated property used in certified projects. To claim the credit, businesses must first apply for project certification, and unused credits can be carried forward or transferred to business successors. This policy directly encourages capital investment in energy sector infrastructure without altering tax rates or imposing new fees.
Issues: ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesCreates severance tax credit for infrastructure investments, reducing business tax liability and aligning with tax relief indicators for economic development.95% confidence ✓ EnergySupports EnergyProvides severance tax credit for coal/natural gas infrastructure investments, directly funding fossil fuel energy production infrastructure.95% confidence ✓ TransportationSupports TransportationTax credit directly incentivizes road/highway infrastructure investments, advancing transportation infrastructure funding per bill's explicit focus on eligible road/highway projects.95% confidence
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 13, 2025 Last action Feb 25, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 6 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended to expand eligibility to include natural gas production and processing facilities alongside coal, updated the credit calculation to include natural gas expenditures, and adjusted the credit application timeline to allow claims when property is first placed in service rather than just when completed. The committee substitute also refined definitions to align with related tax codes and clarified record-keeping requirements.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded from covering only coal production and processing facilities to include natural gas production and processing facilities, thereby broadening the range of industries eligible for the tax credit.
SCOPE

Expanded eligibility to include natural gas production and processing facilities in addition to coal facilities.

ELIGIBILITY

Updated the tax chapter references for eligible taxpayers to include §11-13A-3a, which covers natural gas severance tax.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the timing for claiming credits on coal and natural gas facilities from project completion to when property is first placed in service or use.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'road or highway infrastructure improvement' and clarified related person and control standards.

ENFORCEMENT

Strengthened record-keeping requirements for taxpayers to maintain detailed records of qualified property identity, cost, depreciation life, and service dates.

TIMELINE

Maintained the effective date for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Feb 25, 2025
Committee
To Finance
upper
Feb 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.