Senate committee backs reporting of bill to create West Virginia Short Line Railroad Modernization Act

The Senate Transportation Infrastructure Committee voted to report Senate Bill 7‑22 to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass, sending the measure first to the Committee on Finance for its second reference.

The bill would establish the West Virginia Short Line Railroad Modernization Act and two state tax credits for eligible short‑line railroads — defined in the bill as class 2 or class 3 railroads located wholly or partly in West Virginia. Counsel to the committee, Mariah, told members the proposal would allow a maintenance credit limited to $5,000 multiplied by the number of miles of track a railroad owns, leases, or operates in West Virginia, and a separate new‑project credit equal to 50% of qualified new rail infrastructure expenditures, capped at $2 million per project and $5 million annually.

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