SB 131 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Creating credit against severance tax for certain infrastructure improvements

SB 131 creates a tax credit against West Virginia's severance tax for businesses that make qualifying investments in road/highway infrastructure improvements or coal production/processing facilities. It directly affects coal industry businesses and infrastructure developers in coal-producing regions by allowing them to reduce their severance tax liability. The credit covers costs for labor, materials, and real property improvements tied to certified road projects or coal facilities, with applications required through the Transportation Secretary. Unused credits can be carried forward, and the credit may be transferred to successors. This policy aims to incentivize private investment in infrastructure and coal sector capital projects.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Jan 30, 2026

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What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to expand its scope from only coal production to include both coal and natural gas, and to add a new co-sponsor. The legislative findings were updated to reflect this broader scope, and the definitions were revised to explicitly include natural gas facilities. The text was also modernized to replace archaic terms like 'his or her' and 'designee' with gender-neutral language and specific titles.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include natural gas production and processing facilities in addition to coal facilities, and the credit name was updated to reflect this change.

SCOPE

Added 'natural gas' to the bill title, legislative findings, and all definitions regarding eligible facilities.

ELIGIBILITY

Updated the definition of 'eligible taxpayer' to include those subject to taxes under §11-13A-3a (natural gas severance tax).

DEFINITION

Replaced the term 'designee' with 'Cabinet Secretary' for the Department of Transportation and removed gendered language like 'his or her'.

Reorganized the definitions section into a numbered list for clarity and consolidated the definition of 'control'.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the credit cap for road projects from a total expenditure limit of $100,000 to a per-project credit limit of $100,000.

Updated cross-references within the bill to point to the new section numbers created by the insertion of the natural gas provisions.

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

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Key actions

Committee

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

To Finance

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors