SB 118 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Establishing Forest Carbon Registry

SB 118 establishes a West Virginia Forest Carbon Registry managed by the Division of Forestry to track properties involved in carbon offset agreements or projects. It requires landowners, developers, and purchasers to register details like property boundaries (via GIS shapefiles), contact information, and project terms within 60 days of agreement. Existing agreements must be recorded by July 1, 2027, with county courthouses filing memorandums to ensure transparency during title searches. The bill directly affects forestland owners and entities participating in carbon credit programs, aiming to standardize documentation and accountability for carbon sequestration projects across the state.

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Jan 20, 2026

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What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised from an 'Introduced Version' to a 'Committee Substitute,' which significantly altered the registry's scope, reporting deadlines, and penalty structure. The most critical change is the shift in liability: the original draft exempted landowners from liability if a developer failed to comply, while the new version holds the landowner jointly responsible for the developer's failures. Additionally, the reporting deadline was extended from 60 to 120 days, and the financial penalties for non-compliance were reduced.

Scope change

The scope of the registry was expanded to explicitly include whether agreements prohibit timber harvesting, and the list of required registry data was modified to include only landowners and developers (removing purchasers from the mandatory data list).

ENFORCEMENT

Removed the exemption protecting landowners from liability for a developer's failure to comply with the law; landowners are now responsible for the developer's non-compliance.

Reduced civil penalties for non-compliance from a tiered system of $2,500/$5,000/suspension to a flat $1,000 for the first offense and $2,000 for subsequent offenses.

TIMELINE

Extended the deadline for submitting required information to the registry from 60 days to 120 days after executing an agreement or project.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement to the registry to record whether an agreement prohibits timber harvesting for the life of the project.

Removed 'purchasers' from the list of parties required to provide contact information to the registry.

FISCAL

Established a cap on administrative fees, limiting them to no more than $50 per forest carbon project.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 20, 2026

Committee

To Finance

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Committee

Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors