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SB 439 West Virginia Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Relating to taxation of wind power projects

This bill repeals a specific tax provision (§11-6A-5a) that previously applied to wind power projects in West Virginia. It removes the existing tax treatment for wind energy facilities from the state code. The repeal directly affects developers and operators of wind power projects in the state by eliminating this specific tax requirement. The bill makes a concrete change to the tax code without adding new provisions or rates.
Issues: ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesRepeals tax provision for wind projects, providing tax relief to developers, aligning with tax relief support indicator.90% confidence ✓ EnergySupports EnergyRepealing tax on wind projects removes financial barrier, promoting renewable energy development per bill's explicit repeal of §11-6A-5a.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 18, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended from an 'Introduced Version' to a 'Committee Substitute' version. The primary change is that the bill's purpose was simplified from clarifying tax treatment to repealing the existing law entirely. The detailed tax provisions regarding wind turbines being classified as personal property versus real property were removed.
Scope change
The bill's scope changed from amending existing tax code to completely repealing the specific section (§11-6A-5a) that governed wind power project taxation.
SCOPE

The detailed provisions that classified wind turbines and towers as personal property subject to pollution control facility tax treatment were removed.

DEFINITION

The specific definition of what constitutes a 'wind turbine and tower' for tax purposes was removed.

TIMELINE

The provision setting a salvage valuation cap of 79% effective July 1, 2007, was removed.

REQUIREMENT

The bill was changed from amending existing law to repealing the entire section governing wind power project taxation.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Feb 18, 2025
Committee
To Finance
upper
Feb 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Chris Rose
Chris Rose
RRepublican
WV
2
Co
Photo of Craig Hart
Craig Hart
RRepublican
WV
6
Co
Photo of Darren Thorne
Darren Thorne
RRepublican
WV
15