Introduced Version
House Bill 2430 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2430
(By Delegates Manypenny and Canterbury)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §11-3-9a, relating to
exempting the construction or addition of active solar energy
systems from real and personal property taxation; defining
terms; providing a partial exclusion for certain equipment;
and determining who may claim the exemption.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-3-9a, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3. ASSESSMENTS GENERALLY.
§11-3-9a. Solar energy systems exempt from taxation.
_____(a) All property, real and personal, resulting from the
construction or addition of any active solar energy system, as
defined in subsection (b) of this section, is exempt from taxation.
_____(b) (1) "Active solar energy system" means a system that uses
solar devices, that are thermally isolated from living space or any
other area where the energy is used, to provide for the collection,
storage or distribution of solar energy.
_____(2) "Active solar energy system" does not include solar
swimming pool heaters or hot tub heaters.
_____(3) Active solar energy systems may be used for any of the
following:
_____(A) Domestic, recreational, therapeutic or service water
heating;
_____(B) Space conditioning;
_____(C) Production of electricity;
_____(D) Process heat; or
_____(E) Solar mechanical energy.
_____(c) An active solar energy system that uses solar energy in
the production of electricity includes storage devices, power
conditioning equipment, transfer equipment and parts related to the
functioning of those items. In general, the use of solar energy in
the production of electricity involves the transformation of
sunlight into electricity through the use of devices such as solar
cells or other solar collecting equipment. However, an active solar
energy system used in the production of electricity includes only
that equipment used up to, but not including, the stage of
conveyance or use of the electricity. For the purpose of this subsection, the term "parts" includes spare parts that are owned by
the owner of, or the maintenance contractor for, an active solar
energy system that uses solar energy in the production of
electricity and that were specifically purchased, designed, or
fabricated by or for that owner or maintenance contractor for
installation in an active solar energy system that uses solar
energy in the production of electricity, including those parts in
the tax appraisal exclusion created by this section.
_____(d) An active solar energy system that uses solar energy in
the production of electricity also includes pipes and ducts that
are used exclusively to carry energy derived from solar energy.
Pipes and ducts that are used to carry both energy derived from
solar energy and energy derived from other sources are active solar
energy system property only to the extent of seventy-five percent
of their full cash value.
_____(e) An active solar energy system that uses solar energy in
the production of electricity does not include auxiliary equipment,
such as furnaces and hot water heaters, that use a source of power
other than solar energy to provide usable energy. An active solar
energy system that uses solar energy in the production of
electricity does include equipment, such as ducts and hot water
tanks, that is utilized by both auxiliary equipment and solar
energy equipment, i.e., dual use equipment. That equipment is
active solar energy system property only to the extent of seventy-five percent of its full cash value.
_____(f)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision in this code, for
purposes of this section, "the construction or addition of any
active solar energy system" includes the construction of an active
solar energy system incorporated by the owner-builder in the
initial construction of a new building that the owner-builder does
not intend to occupy or use. The exclusion from "newly constructed"
provided by this subsection applies to the initial purchaser who
purchased the new building from the owner-builder, but only if the
owner-builder did not receive an exclusion under this section for
the same active solar energy system and only if the initial
purchaser purchased the new building prior to that building
becoming subject to reassessment to the owner-builder. The assessor
shall administer this subdivision in the following manner:
_____(A) The initial purchaser of the building shall file a claim
with the assessor and provide to the assessor any documents
necessary to identify the value attributable to the active solar
energy system included in the purchase price of the new building.
The claim shall also identify the amount of any rebate for the
active solar energy system provided to either the owner-builder or
the initial purchaser by the Public Service Commission, an
electrical corporation, a local publicly owned electric utility or
any other agency of the State of West Virginia.
_____(B) The assessor shall evaluate the claim and determine the portion of the purchase price that is attributable to the active
solar energy system. The assessor shall then reduce the new value
established as a result of the change in ownership of the new
building by an amount equal to the difference between the following
two amounts:
_____(i) That portion of the value of the new building attributable
to the active solar energy system; and
_____(ii) The total amount of all rebates, if any, described in
paragraph (A), subdivision (1) of this subsection that were
provided to either the owner-builder or the initial purchaser.
_____(C) The extension of the new construction exclusion to the
initial purchaser of a newly constructed new building shall remain
in effect only until there is a subsequent change in ownership of
the new building.
_____(2) The Tax Commissioner shall prescribe the manner,
documentation and form for claiming the new construction exclusion
set forth in this subsection.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt the construction
or addition of active solar energy systems from real and personal
property taxation. The bill defines terms. The bill provides a
partial exclusion for certain equipment. The bill determines who
may claim the exemption.
This section is new; therefore, it has been completely
underscored.