H. B. 3039
(By Delegates Kominar, Varner, Wooton, Brown,
Eldridge and Perdue)
[Introduced March 10, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §11-13-3f of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §11-13F-1 of said
code; to amend and reenact §11-24-11 of said code; to amend
and reenact §24-2A-2 of said code; to amend and reenact
§24-3-2 of said code; and to further amend said code by adding
thereto a new section, designated §24-2A-5, all relating to
reduced rates for low-income residential customers of
privately owned water utilities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-13-3f of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §11-13F-1 of said code be amended
and reenacted; that §11-24-11 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that §24-2A-2 of said code be amended and reenacted;
that §24-3-2 of said code be amended and reenacted; and that said
code be further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated
§24-2A-5, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 11. TAXATION
ARTICLE 13. BUSINESS AND OCCUPATION TAX.
§11-13-3f. Tax credit for reducing electric, and natural gas and
water utility rates for low-income residential
customers; regulations.
(a) There shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed
by this article, the cost of providing electric,
or natural gas
or
water utility service, or
both any combination of electric, natural
gas or water utility services, at reduced rates to qualified
low-income residential customers which has not been reimbursed by
any other means.
(b) The Tax Commissioner may prescribe such regulations as may
be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, of article
thirteen-f of this chapter, and of section eleven, article
twenty-four of this chapter.
ARTICLE 13F. BUSINESS AND OCCUPATION TAX CREDIT FOR REDUCING
ELECTRIC,
AND NATURAL GAS AND WATER UTILITY RATES
FOR LOW-INCOME RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
§11-13F-1. Legislative purpose.
In order to reimburse public utilities for the revenue
deficiencies which they incur in providing special reduced
electric,
and natural gas
and water utility rates to low-income
residential customers in accordance with the provisions of article
two-a of chapter twenty-four, there is hereby provided a business and occupation tax credit for reducing electric,
and natural gas
and water utility rates for low-income residential customers.
ARTICLE 24. CORPORATE NET INCOME TAX.
§11-24-11. Credit for reducing electric,
and natural gas and
water utility rates for low-income residential
customers.
(a)
General. -- A credit shall be allowed against the primary
tax liability of an eligible taxpayer under this article for the
cost of providing electric,
or natural gas
or water utility
service, or
both any combination of electric, natural gas or water
utility services, at special reduced rates to qualified low-income
residential customers which has not been reimbursed by any other
means.
(b)
Definitions. -- For purposes of this section, the term:
(2) (1) "Cost of providing electric,
or natural gas
or water
utility service, or
both any combination of electric, natural gas
or water utility services, at special reduced rates" means the
amount certified by the public service commission under the
provisions of section
three two, article two-a, chapter twenty-four
of this code, as the revenue deficiency incurred by a public
utility in providing special reduced rates for electric,
or natural
gas
or water utility service, or
both any combination of electric,
natural gas or water utility services, as required by sections one
and five, article two-a, chapter twenty-four of this code.
(1) (2) "Eligible taxpayer" means a utility which has provided
electric,
or natural gas
or water utility service, or
both any
combination of electric, natural gas or water utility services, to
qualified low-income residential customers at special reduced
rates.
(4) (3) "Qualified low-income residential customers" means
those utility customers eligible to receive electric,
or natural
gas
or water utility service, or
both any combination of electric,
or natural gas utility services, any combination of electric,
natural gas or water utility services, under special reduced rates.
(3) (4) "Special reduced rates" means the rates ordered by the
public service commission under the authority of sections one
and
five, article two-a, chapter twenty-four of this code.
(c)
Amount of credit. -- The amount of the credit available to
any eligible taxpayer shall be equal to its cost of providing
electric,
or natural gas
or water utility service, or
both any
combination of electric, natural gas or water utility services, at
special reduced rates to qualified residential customers, less any
reimbursement of said cost which the taxpayer has received through
any other means.
(d)
When credit may be taken. -- An eligible taxpayer may
claim a credit allowed under this section on its annual return for
the taxable year in which it receives certification of the amount
of its revenue deficiency from the public service commission.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section sixteen of this
article to the contrary, no credit may be claimed on any
declaration of estimated tax filed for such taxable year prior to
July 1 of such taxable year.
Such The credit may be claimed on a
declaration or amended declaration filed on or after that date but
only if the amount certified will not be recovered by application
of the business and occupation tax credit allowed by section
three-f, article thirteen of this chapter. In
such that event,
only that amount not recovered by that credit may be considered or
taken as a credit when estimating the tax due under this article.
In no event may the eligible taxpayer recover more than one hundred
percent of its revenue deficiency as certified by the public
service commission.
(e)
Application of credit. -- The credit allowable by this
section for a taxable year is not subject to the fifty percent
limitation specified in section nine of this article.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section four, article thirteen-f
of this chapter, any unused credit may be carried over and applied
against business and occupation taxes in the manner specified in
section five, article thirteen-f of this chapter.
(f)
Copy of certification order. -- A copy of a certification
order from the public service commission shall be attached to any
annual return under this article on which a credit allowed by this
section is taken.
CHAPTER 24. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
ARTICLE 2A. REDUCED RATES FOR LOW-INCOME RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS OF
ELECTRICITY, AND GAS AND WATER.
§24-2A-2. Recovery of revenue deficiencies.
In order to provide the special reduced rates mandated by
sections one
and five of this article and still maintain the
integrity of the earnings of the utilities offering service under
these rates, the commission shall each year, beginning in the year
1984, determine, upon application by any affected utility, that
utility's revenue deficiency resulting from the special reduced
rates. Upon determining any utility's revenue deficiency, the
commission shall issue an order certifying the amount of that
deficiency. Certified revenue deficiencies shall be recovered by
the affected utilities as follows:
(1) A utility's certified revenue deficiency, if any,
resulting from the special reduced rates shall be allowed as a tax
credit against the liability of the utility pursuant to the
provisions of article thirteen-f,
of chapter eleven
of this code.
(2) After allowance of a tax credit pursuant to the provisions
of article thirteen-f,
of chapter eleven
of this code, a utility's
remaining revenue deficiency, if any, resulting from the special
reduced rates, shall be allowed as a tax credit against the
liability of the utility pursuant to the provisions of section
eleven, article twenty-four,
of chapter eleven
of this code.
§24-2A-5. Special rates for water utility customers receiving
Social Security Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families-Unemployed
Parent Program (TANF-UP) or food stamps.
(a) The commission may authorize a privately owned water
utility to voluntarily implement a rate design featuring reduced
rates and charges for service to residential utility customers
receiving (1) social security supplemental security income (SSI),
(2) temporary assistance for needy families (TANF), (3) temporary
assistance for needy families unemployed parent program (TANF-UP)
or (4) food stamps, if the food stamp recipients are sixty years of
age or older. The special reduced rates and charges offered by a
water utility to its eligible customers shall be established by the
commission at a level that is twenty five percent less than the
rate which would be applicable to such customers if they were not
receiving any of the four forms of assistance which confer
eligibility for the special reduced rates approved by the
commission. Before any individual may qualify to receive the
special reduced rates, the following requirements must be met:
(A) The special reduced rates shall apply only to current
customers or to those persons who subsequently become customers in
their own right. If an SSI, TANF, TANF-UP or food stamp recipient
is living in a household which is served under the name of a person who is not an SSI, TANF, TANF-UP or food stamp recipient, that
service may not be changed or have been changed subsequent to July
1, 2009, to the name of the SSI, TANF, TANF-UP or food stamp
recipient in order to qualify for service under the special reduced
rates.
(B) The burden of proving eligibility for the special reduced
rates shall be on the customer requesting the rates. The Department
of Health and Human Resources shall establish by legislative rules
procedures (i) to inform persons receiving any of the four forms of
assistance which confer eligibility for the special reduced rates
about the availability of the special reduced rates, (ii) to assist
applicants for the special reduced rates in proving their
eligibility therefor, and (iii) to assist water utilities offering
the special reduced rates in determining on a continuing basis the
eligibility therefor of persons receiving or applying for the
rates. The commission shall establish by legislative rules
procedures for the application for and provision of service under
the special reduced rates and for the determination and
certification of revenue deficiencies resulting from the special
reduced rates.
(b) In order to provide each eligible residential utility
customer the special reduced rates, each water utility providing
the special reduced rates shall credit against the amount otherwise
owed by each customer an amount equal to the difference between the total amount that each such customer was actually billed during the
previous month and the total amount that each customer would have
been entitled to be billed under the special reduced rates. Each
such credit shall be fully reflected on the first bill issued to
each customer after approval of each customer's application for the
special reduced rates, except in cases where the interval between
the approval and the issuance of the next bill is so short that it
is administratively impracticable to do so, in which cases the
credits shall be fully reflected on the second bill issued to each
customer after approval of that customer's application. If the
interval between the approval and the issuance of the next bill is
fifteen days or more, it shall not be considered administratively
impracticable to reflect the credit on the customer's first bill.
ARTICLE 3.
DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF PUBLIC UTILITIES SUBJECT TO
REGULATIONS OF COMMISSION.
§24-3-2. Discrimination prohibited.
No A public utility subject to the provisions of this chapter
shall may not, directly or indirectly, by any special rate, rebate,
drawback or other device or method, charge, demand, collect or
receive from any person, firm or corporation, a greater or less
compensation, for any service rendered or to be rendered, than it
charges, demands, collects, or receives from any other person, firm
or corporation for doing a like and contemporaneous service under
the same or substantially similar circumstances and conditions.
It
shall be is unlawful for any public utility subject to the
provisions of this chapter to make or give any undue or
unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person,
company, firm, corporation or locality, or any particular character
of traffic or service, in any respect whatsoever, or to subject any
particular person, firm, corporation, company or locality, or any
particular character of traffic or service, to any undue or
unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever.
Nothing in this section
shall may be construed to prevent the
commission from:
(1) authorizing or requiring any rate design
consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in article
two-a of this chapter
or (2) authorizing a private water utility to
voluntarily implement a rate design featuring reduced rates and
charges for service to qualifying low-income residential customers.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide reduced rates for
low-income residential customers of privately owned water
utilities.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.