Panel endorses methane-capture tax-credit bill conceptually, seeks fiscal limits
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Summary
Lawmakers conceptually approved a tax-credit framework to capture methane from active and abandoned coal mines, but asked sponsors and finance staff to work out annual limits and whether a grant model might be preferable.
Senators in subcommittee voted to report conceptually a bill establishing a tax-credit program to subsidize methane-capture projects at active and abandoned coal mines.
Sponsor Senator Hackworth said the program is a narrowly targeted economic incentive to capture methane that would otherwise vent into the atmosphere, converting harmful emissions into economic value for Southwest Virginia. The bill creates a three-tier tax-credit structure and, as written, includes an aggregate program cap of $10 million and a per-taxpayer cap of $6 million. Legislative fiscal staff confirmed the current draft would represent a $10 million revenue loss to the state and said the sponsor and industry would work with finance staff to set practical annual limits and expiration terms.
Committee members discussed converting the design to a grant program and reducing the per-year cap. The sponsor and committee agreed to report the substitute and move the matter forward conceptually so budget staff and industry representatives can negotiate year-by-year limits. The motion to report the bill conceptually passed unanimously.
