Senate Finance Committee forwards slate of supplemental appropriations and tax changes to full Senate
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Summary
The West Virginia Senate Finance Committee approved a series of voice-voted motions to report multiple supplemental appropriations and a tax exemption change to the full Senate with recommendations they pass, including appropriations for forestry, emergency management, senior services, agriculture and an exemption affecting forestry equipment estimated to reduce revenue by about $1.1 million annually.
The West Virginia Senate Finance Committee on an unspecified date voted by voice to report a package of supplemental appropriations and a committee substitute for a tax-change bill to the full Senate with recommendations that they pass.
Committee counsel told the panel that the committee substitute for House Bill 44 16 would add two sections of code effective July 1, 2026: one classifying forestry equipment used in harvesting, processing or transporting forest products as Class I for ad valorem tax purposes and a second exempting sales and service of forest equipment from sales tax. "Tax indicates this would result in the revenue decrease of about $1,100,000 annually, but that's mostly counties," the committee counsel said.
Other bills the committee reported included: Senate Bill 7 87 (a $600,000 supplemental to the Department of Commerce, Division of Forestry); Senate Bill 7 91 (a $230,000 supplemental to the Division of Emergency Management); Senate Bill 8 29 ($167,400 to the Department of Administration equipment appropriation); Senate Bill 8 32 (a $266,879 supplemental to the Bureau of Senior Services, agreed to with a technical committee substitute); Senate Bill 8 73 ($388,463 to personal services and benefits for the Division of Economic Development); Senate Bill 10 43 (increasing Department of Agriculture fee-fund spending authority by a combined $4,000,000 across line items); and Senate Bill 10 84 (a transfer and appropriation of roughly $8,051 for a West Virginia women's suffragist monument in the Department of Tourism, Division of Culture and History).
The committee handled each item with brief counsel explanation and a motion from the vice chairman to report the bill to the full Senate with the recommendation it pass; the chair then called voice votes that carried. The committee did not record roll-call tallies in the transcript; each approval was noted as a voice vote.
The committee also advanced other measures on the agenda, including bills affecting education savings definitions and several health- and workforce-related grant and loan programs. All actions were reported to the full Senate for further consideration.
The committee adjourned after completing the agenda items.