[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6285204,"mediaKeyId","2574265-914f71b53ef75493c259456369abc79b","parentId",2574265,"title","Committee approves bill exempting on‑farm feed sales from commercial‑feed distributor rules","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",1965000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2574265-914f71b53ef75493c259456369abc79b&start=1965&end=1965","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2574265-914f71b53ef75493c259456369abc79b/thumbnail_1965000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6285204/West-Virginia/Committee-approves-bill-exempting-onfarm-feed-sales-from-commercialfeed-distributor-rules","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6285204-b94b1c13a6e64d9de4359f22dacdbdbd/orig.mp4?Expires=1771137465&Signature=C8oQUJtbO7ghTpqZzxSzds1O5oacBicsmSyPzPrubSBA63snHr1ugEW-ueYDbcBYWUiEjspA88iexG~YNtVcePJQi-DxMkMdXb4EKLu~6DJOTf3uJ06NrWnlPqju4v6ErrHxodNejq5SgWep1j2BQJxKtfK73OMb19mhFAeKilDNTTqZ9ca88rKhH5LmlPhMd067P~Px1ExN2k-PULzy3RXKV3pM4RgNM90zSNyytjwNHieqcHoP5v4VnSYLqt2TPEoUB~g17isW2aoqtMNKHkow69vhJS4RkwHSulHK4s6PkU3rafVFhp0iCj8Zx~m5GcLaJ2cdOpFy~rNTlz7tXw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","West Virginia Legislature","date","2025-03-12T00:00:00Z","article","The Senate Agriculture Committee approved a committee substitute for Senate Bill 686 to amend West Virginia’s commercial feed law so that a person selling products or commodities produced entirely on their own farm would not be considered a distributor of commercial feed.

Committee counsel summarized the substitute: “Senate bill 6 86 relates generally to the West Virginia commercial feed law. The bill amends that law… to provide that a person who sells products or commodities that are produced entirely on their own farm property is not considered a distributor of commercial feed under the law.” Counsel added that the committee substitute before members made “purely technical changes to the bill’s language and to the subdivision numbering therein.”

The committee also discussed a fiscal note: counsel reported that the Department of Agriculture’s fiscal note showed no anticipated increase in expenses and “minimal, if any, revenue.” A senator urged the chair to request a waiver from the bill’s second committee reference to Senate Finance, arguing the measure posed little fiscal impact. The chair indicated the clerk had confirmed the fiscal note should be available through chamber systems and that he would request a waiver at the appropriate time.

Committee action: with no amendments offered, the committee agreed to the committee substitute and voted to report SB 686 to the full Senate with the recommendation that it do pass, under the original double committee reference (first to Finance). The committee carried the motions by voice vote and the chair declared the ayes to have it.

Context: the substitute narrows the regulatory scope of the commercial feed statute so small-scale producers who sell feed or commodities produced entirely on their property are not subject to distributor requirements. The transcript records no public witnesses opposing the change and no further substantive amendments in committee.

Next steps: the substitute will be reported to the full Senate with the committee’s recommendation that it pass and with any second reference handled per chamber rules.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","WV Senate Agriculture Committee in Session Mar 12, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Bill 686 was approved in committee; the substitute amends the West Virginia commercial feed law to clarify that producers selling products produced entirely on their own farm are not distributors under the law, and the fiscal note reports no anticipated expense increase.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature WV, West Virginia","taxId",77714,"location","West Virginia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_46":81,"_48":82,"_50":83,"_52":84,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":85,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":86,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6285207,"Committee amends farm-appraisal bill to let corporate owners count separate tracts toward $20,000 threshold",449,1597000,2046000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2574265-914f71b53ef75493c259456369abc79b&start=1597&end=2046","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2574265-914f71b53ef75493c259456369abc79b/thumbnail_1597000.jpg","/articles/6285207/West-Virginia/Committee-amends-farm-appraisal-bill-to-let-corporate-owners-count-separate-tracts-toward-20000-threshold","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6285207-dd3213d73cf844d6ade45c38618bbcd7/orig.mp4?Expires=1771137465&Signature=M1~CLMlSpE6V~JLfnXCmIKDS-Vn145a~Qc7h9OKtnNO~kkANJgwU365kFCRNbU-72HIkJrf2Zm40BJRBIKpVpy7obeau5SGaE69MRiFKVSdnDHpJM069Oc1z6twhrpTgmu1SyqG0-0nsp~HfvNHkVZmkVKpOvzQQO-XXTy3n8EDjRYywe31w8d6S4Im0LRbj31TBSVhrcjG1vlsuqUiOh36JOi9l~fkg7u5K-eicjuY3PJrXbxMRnkSfu6zvsqoT69-C2GoVQq9TWs1cIOsvlyoUV9TznMbm4TuMUb84B0CDhIp2ZCyma37UQEty5nQBaku-rK1rq1CYTTXz0SrQuA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The West Virginia Senate Agriculture Committee approved a committee substitute for Senate Bill 618 and adopted an amendment to allow corporate owners to aggregate separate parcels of farmland when determining eligibility for the reduced method of farm property appraisal if the aggregated parcels generate at least $20,000 in annual agricultural sales.

Committee counsel told members that SB 618 “adds a new subsection that provides that even if a corporate owner of farm property is not engaged in farming as its principal activity… it can still qualify for the reduced method of appraisal if any parcel of farm property that it owns generates at least $20,000 from the sale of agricultural products on an annual basis.” The bill rephrases the added subsection for clarity and removes a redundant rule-making provision.

Why it matters: West Virginia’s existing appraisal rule generally requires an individual or corporation to be “engaged in farming” as a principal activity—commonly interpreted as earning more than 50% of business receipts from farming—to qualify for the reduced farm valuation. The committee substitute creates an alternative pathway for corporate owners to qualify based on a $20,000-per-year agricultural-sales threshold.

Questions in committee focused on whether the change would encourage corporate farming and how parcels owned by the same corporate entity would be treated. The Senator from Jefferson asked whether the bill would “in any way… encourag[e] corporate farms.” The lead sponsor responded that the change was not intended to create new corporate farms but to help existing owners who farm as part of a larger business structure and who struggle to meet a strict 50% threshold.

During committee discussion, a senator proposed and the committee adopted an amendment clarifying that multiple separate parcels owned by a single corporate owner may be tallied together to meet the $20,000 threshold even if the tracts are not contiguous. Committee counsel explained: “if they all tallied together, hit the $20,000 mark, then they are eligible for the reduced property valuation method.” The junior senator from the second spoke in favor of the amendment, saying it “would add flexibility to what this bill is trying to help and solve.”

Process and next steps: the committee agreed to the committee substitute as amended and voted to report it to the full Senate with the recommendation that it do pass, with the original double committee reference preserved (first to the Committee on Finance). Members noted a fiscal note had been requested; the transcript records that no tax-department representative was present to address fiscal impacts at the committee meeting.

The committee’s actions were carried by voice vote and recorded as adopted; no roll-call vote tally of individual members was included in the transcript.","A committee substitute for SB 618 was amended to allow a corporate owner to aggregate multiple noncontiguous farm parcels when determining eligibility for a reduced farm property appraisal if those parcels together generate at least $20,000 in annual agricultural product sales.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_46":93,"_48":94,"_50":95,"_52":96,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":97,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":98,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6285212,"Senate committee approves bill to classify commercial solar farms as nonagricultural for appraisal and liability rules",168,1207000,1375000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2574265-914f71b53ef75493c259456369abc79b&start=1207&end=1375","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2574265-914f71b53ef75493c259456369abc79b/thumbnail_1207000.jpg","/articles/6285212/West-Virginia/Senate-committee-approves-bill-to-classify-commercial-solar-farms-as-nonagricultural-for-appraisal-and-liability-rules","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6285212-c0752f65b761d4da7ca0faa1d434c280/orig.mp4?Expires=1771137465&Signature=ixr9sS4csyXLOSZ~6vTmiGYli7lyYctOeebVEJ99a2Majj~fUmIEKN5U2FluIErs6PL0EsNi-rQR~TY0wdFWSiUN7NJV00XgK2FV6sQyAgR39YNnRVxRbs3cFvpF3jxRB~dcKos0lVhBd~OnHJ6LvIw96Y5EK1amXqQsynapZ1ORikkNipDWToanA4uUFnW0vt2AUpovLXGm4ob2Bodf12ytNt~PtBsUt9fXbji1teg0lYivX~iHXD0YDvkbtKMRLrHhWSt3ortySPNQPR1uMK4hICxo0-W8eTa7e32uwg4itJb3TO1IxxNwPDB69F2KzKFjLr7BJgp7K38KDXjjWg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The West Virginia Senate Agriculture Committee approved a committee substitute for Senate Bill 295 at its meeting to clarify that certain solar electric generation facilities are not considered farming operations for purposes of property appraisal and selected civil-liability protections.

Committee counsel told members that “Senate bill 295 relates to clarifying the non agricultural status of solar farms and amends 2 sections of code.” The substitute would amend two code sections—one in Chapter 11 (appraisal of farm property) and one in Chapter 19 (preservation of agricultural production)—to specify that acreage hosting solar facilities that sell electricity commercially, or that use electricity for purposes other than supporting a residence or farming operations, is not farm property for appraisal purposes.

The nut graf: the change affects whether land with commercial solar installations qualifies for West Virginia’s reduced method of calculating farm property market value and alters the scope of civil protections that apply to agricultural operations under the identified Chapter 19 provision.

Under the substitute explained to the committee, the Chapter 11 amendment would make acreage ineligible for the reduced farm appraisal method if the solar facility “sells electricity commercially or otherwise uses the electricity on the property for any purposes other than supporting a residence or for farming operations.” The substitute preserves a carve-out: a farm does not lose its farm classification when panels are installed solely on a farm residence, a barn, or another structure used for farm purposes. Counsel also reported that the bill removes the introduced provision that would have allowed solar arrays elevated to permit pasture grazing underneath to retain agricultural status.

Committee action: hearing no amendments, the committee agreed to the substitute on a voice vote and later voted to report the committee substitute to the full Senate with the recommendation that it do pass, under the bill’s original double committee reference (first to the Committee on Finance). The motions were made and carried by voice vote; the transcript records standard committee voice votes (“aye”/“no”) and the chair declaring the ayes to have it. The vice chair moved the report; no roll-call tally of individual yea/nay votes was recorded in the transcript.

Supporters and opponents: the transcript contains no extended public comment or witness testimony for or against the substitute beyond the committee counsel’s explanation; no member-level floor debate altering the bill’s central provisions was recorded.

What happens next: the committee ordered the committee substitute reported to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass, subject to any second reference to Senate Finance according to the normal double-reference process.

The committee then moved on to other agenda items.","The West Virginia Senate Agriculture Committee approved a committee substitute for SB 295 to clarify that commercial solar generation facilities are not farm property under two chapters of state code, with limited exceptions for panels on residences or farm structures.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee approves bill exempting on‑farm feed sales from commercial‑feed distributor rules

Committee amends farm-appraisal bill to let corporate owners count separate tracts toward $20,000 threshold

Senate committee approves bill to classify commercial solar farms as nonagricultural for appraisal and liability rules