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Committee advances bill to let businesses seek late fuel tax refunds with small penalty
Summary
The Public Works and Highways committee voted to advance HB 14-85, which would let private entities apply for late refunds of the 18¢/gallon road-toll tax with a fee of 5% or $50 (whichever is greater) and a once-every-3-years limit on waivers; sponsor and a constituent described a court win that prompted the change.
The Public Works and Highways committee voted in executive session to pass House Bill 14-85, a measure that would allow private entities to seek late refunds of the state’s 18¢-per-gallon road-toll tax while imposing a modest penalty.
Representative Tom Corman, the bill’s sponsor, told the panel HB 14-85 is a constituent-driven fix to an unintended gap in RSA provisions that currently allow only political subdivisions to obtain a late-filing waiver. ‘‘This bill would open up the prospect of a late request, but with the fee if you’re not an agency of a political subdivision,’’ Corman said in his introduction.
Robert Moses, owner of Bridal Lumber Company, described the company’s experience seeking a $4,218 refund after an office error delayed their filing. ‘‘We filed late. I mean, we were late,’’ Moses said. He told the committee the Department of Safety’s hearings officer initially denied their request but a superior court later ruled in the company’s favor, directing the state to refund the amount and prompting the sponsor to correct the statute.
Under the bill, a non-political-subdivision claimant who applies late would pay either 5% of the refund or $50, whichever is greater, and no one could receive a waiver more than once every three years. Representative members asked whether the statute specified a fixed late-window; Corman and Moses said the RSA currently delegates waiver timing to the commissioner and that a typical claimant would know within a year if a refund was missing.
The committee recorded a roll-call recommendation in executive session to pass HB 14-85 with fiscal note (committee tally recorded 13 in favor, 0 opposed, 3 not voting). The committee placed the bill on its consent calendar for further House consideration.
What happens next: HB 14-85 was reported out of committee with a favorable recommendation and will appear on the committee’s consent calendar for scheduling before the full House. The bill text cites RSA provisions; any procedural or timing questions about late waivers would be resolved by the Department of Safety under current hearing procedures.
