County auditors, school officials and utilities warn House Bill 15 would shift tax burden from generation‑hosting counties to urban areas

County auditors, school officials and several utilities told the House Energy Committee that House Bill 15, as drafted, would move tax revenue away from counties that host generation facilities and toward counties with more transmission infrastructure, with harmful consequences for local schools, emergency services and county governments.

Paul Knipp, Lawrence County auditor, said the bill “proposes eliminating the public utility personal property or PUP tax on electric generation properties while increasing, the PUP assessment rate by 4% for electric transmission properties.” He told the committee Lawrence County’s single natural‑gas peaking plant carries a public utility personal property (PUP) value he said is “a little over $219,000,000,” and that the county would face a net valuation loss he estimated at roughly $30,800,000 under the bill’s structure. Knipp said the Rock Hill Local School District alone would lose about $1,900,000 annually and that the county’s general fund, EMS, fire and other local entities face multi‑hundred‑thousand‑dollar losses.

Robbie Jackson, Gallia County…