H. B. 2135
(By Delegates Manypenny, Marshall, Guthrie,
Moore, Martin, Fleischauer and Talbott)
[Introduced January 12, 2011; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §11-6D-1, §11-6D-2, §11-6D-3, §11-6D-4,
§11-6D-5, §11-6D-6 and §11-6D-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, all relating to a tax incentive for plug-in
electric drive motor vehicles; defining terms; specifying
initial availability of the credit and duration of the credit;
providing eligibility for the credit; providing calculation of
the amount of the credit; and updating language to apply only
to plug-in electric drive motor vehicles.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-6D-1, §11-6D-2, §11-6D-3, §11-6D-4, §11-6D-5, §11-6D-
6 and §11-6D-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6D. PLUG-IN ELECTRIC DRIVE MOTOR VEHICLES TAX CREDIT.
§11-6D-1. Legislative findings and purpose.
Consistent with the public policy as stated in section one,
article two-d, chapter twenty-four of this code, the Legislature hereby finds that the use of alternative fuels,
including
electricity, is in the public interest and promotes the general
welfare of the people of this state insofar as it addresses serious
concerns for our environment and our state's and nation's
dependence on foreign oil as a source of energy. The Legislature
further finds that
this state has an abundant supply of alternative
fuels and an extensive supply network and that by encouraging the
use of
alternatively-fueled plug-in electric drive motor vehicles,
the state will be reducing its dependence on foreign oil and
attempting to improve its air quality.
However, because the cost of motor vehicles which utilize
alternative-fuel technologies, including electricity, remains high
in relation to motor vehicles that employ more traditional
technologies, citizens of this state who might otherwise choose an
alternatively-fueled a plug-in electric drive motor vehicle are
forced by economic necessity to continue using motor vehicles that
are fueled by more conventional means. Therefore, in order to
encourage the use of alternatively-fueled plug-in electric drive
motor vehicles and possibly reduce unnecessary pollution of our
environment and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy,
there is hereby created an alternative-fuel a plug-in electric
drive motor vehicles tax credit.
§11-6D-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, the following terms have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
(a) "Alternative fuel" includes:
(1) Compressed natural gas;
(2) Liquified natural gas;
(3) Liquified petroleum gas;
(4) Methanol;
(5) Ethanol;
(6) Fuel mixtures that contain eighty-five percent or more by
volume, when combined with gasoline or other fuels, of the
following:
(A) Methanol;
(B) Ethanol; or
(C) Other alcohols;
(7) Coal-derived liquid fuels; and
(8) Electricity, including electricity from solar energy.
(b) "Alternative-fuel motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle
that as a new or retrofitted or converted fuel:
(1) Operates solely on one alternative fuel;
(2) Is capable of operating on one or more alternative fuels,
singly or in combination; or
(3) Is capable of operating on an alternative fuel and is also
capable of operating on gasoline or diesel fuel.
(1) "New qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle" means
a motor vehicle:
(A) The original use of which commences with the taxpayer;
(B) Which is made by a manufacturer;
(C) Which is acquired for use or lease by the taxpayer and not
for resale;
(D) Which is treated as a motor vehicle for purposes of title
II of the Clean Air Act;
(E) Which has a gross vehicle weight rating of less than
fourteen thousand pounds; and
(F) Which is propelled to a significant extent by an electric
motor which draws electricity from a battery which:
(i) Has a capacity of at least four kilowatt hours; and
(ii) Is capable of being recharged from an external source of
electricity.
(2) "Motor vehicle" means any vehicle which is manufactured
primarily for use on public streets, roads and highways and which
has at least four wheels. The term does not include a vehicle
operated exclusively on a rail or rails.
§11-6D-3. Credit allowed for
alternative-fuel new qualified plug-
in electric drive motor vehicles; application against
personal income tax or corporate net income tax;
effective date.
The tax credit provided in this article may be applied against
the tax liability of a taxpayer imposed by the provisions of either article twenty-one or article twenty-four of this chapter, but in
no case may more than one credit be granted for the same
alternative-fuel new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle
as defined in subdivision
(b)(1), section two of this article.
This credit
shall be is available for those tax years beginning
after
the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-
seven June 30, 2011.
§11-6D-4. Eligibility for credit.
(a) A taxpayer is eligible to claim the credit against tax
provided in this article if he or she:
(a) (1) Converts a motor vehicle that is presently registered
in West Virginia to
operate:
(1) Exclusively on an alternative fuel as defined in
subdivision (a), section two of this article; or
(2) In a dual fuel mode, as defined in paragraph (6),
subdivision (a), section two of this article; or a qualified plug-
in electric drive motor vehicle which, for the purposes of this
subdivision means any new plug-in electric drive motor vehicle as
defined in subdivision (1), section two of this article, without
regard to paragraphs (A) and (B), and that conversion is made
before December 31, 2011; or
(b) (2) Purchases from an original equipment manufacturer or
an after-market conversion facility a new
dedicated or dually
fueled alternative-fuel qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle for which the taxpayer then obtains a valid West Virginia
registration.
(c) (b) The credit provided in this article
is not available
to and may not be claimed by any taxpayer under any obligation
pursuant to any federal or state law, policy or regulation to
convert to the use of
alternative fuels for any motor vehicle plug-
in electric drive motor vehicles.
§11-6D-5. Amount of credit.
(a) The total amount of any credit allowed under this article
is limited by and subject to the provisions set forth in this
subsection and subsections (b)
and (c)
and (d) of this section and
may not exceed:
(1) In the case of a motor vehicle conversions or
retrofitting,
the actual cost of converting from a traditionally-
fueled motor vehicle to an alternatively-fueled motor vehicle ten
percent of the actual cost of the conversion; or
(2) In the case of a new purchase, the
incremental difference
in cost between an alternative-fuel motor vehicle and a comparably
equipped motor vehicle that employs traditional fuel technology.
sum of $2,500 plus $417 for each kilowatt hour of capacity in
excess of five kilowatt hours. The amount determined under this
subdivision may not exceed $5,000.
(b)
The maximum total credit allowed for a converted or
retrofitted electric plug-in vehicle is $4,000. The maximum total credit allowed for
an alternative-fuel a new qualified plug-in
electric drive motor vehicle is
$7,500.
(1) For a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of not more than
ten thousand pounds, $3,750.
(2) For a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of more than ten
thousand pounds up to twenty-six thousand pounds, $9,250;
(3) For a truck or van with a gross vehicle weight of more
than twenty-six thousand pounds, $50,000; and
(4) For a bus capable of seating at least twenty adults,
$50,000.
(c) Subject to the limitations set forth in subsection (a) of
this section, a taxpayer who is otherwise entitled to a credit
against tax who claims the credit provided for in this article on
the basis of any alternative-fuel motor vehicle that operates
exclusively on electricity is entitled to an additional credit of
ten percent of the credit which is otherwise allowed under
subsection (b) of this section.
(d) (c) The maximum incremental credit allowed per year is one
third of the credit attributable to five vehicles with the
cumulative credit over a
three-year period not to exceed one third
of the credit attributable to fifteen vehicles.
§11-6D-6. Credit to be apportioned over three-year period.
The credit against tax for any
alternative-fuel plug-in
electric drive motor vehicle provided for in this article may be taken by a taxpayer claiming the credit only in three equal
increments over a three-consecutive tax-year period, so that in any
tax year in which a taxpayer is entitled to the credit, only one
third of the total credit allowed for a
certain alternative-fuel
qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle under section five
of this article may be taken.
§11-6D-7. Duration of availability of credit.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, the tax
credit provided in this article shall expire by operation of law
ten years after the effective date of
the amendments to this
article
during the 2012 regular session of the Legislature.
Provided, That Any eligible taxpayer who makes a valid claim for
the credit before that expiration is entitled to claim and receive
the remaining one-third increment or increments of the total credit
allowed under section five of this article for the tax year or
years ensuing after the expiration of this article until the total
amount of credit allowed has been exhausted.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a tax credit for
new or converted qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
