House Bill 2703 came before the Senate committee for reconsideration following it’s rejection by the committee on Friday morning.
When the bill was originally rejected by the committee, Chair, Sen. Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, addressed his fellow Senators and stated that a large reason for the rejection was due to nobody coming before the committee to answer questions concerning the bill. Blair explained that if an individual familiar with the legislation would come before the committee, a fellow member could motion for reconsideration.
Per the Chair’s request, following the committee’s agenda, Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, motioned for the bill to be reconsidered which received unanimous compliance from his fellow members. Following counsel’s explanation of the bill, which relates to the refund of excise taxes collected from petroleum products, a representative from the Oil Marketers and Grocers Association came before the committee to answer questions.
According to the associations Director of Government Affairs, Daniel Hall, under current code a petroleum dealer can apply for evaporation tax refunds established through calculations from the state operators. Under the current code, dealers can collect up to $2,500-$3,000 on fuel tax returns annually; if passed, House Bill 2703 would allow for dealers to collect up to $10,000.
Following discussion between Hall and the committee, Sen. Dave Sypolt, R-Preston, motioned to amend the proposed legislation in order to reinstate certain sections of the bill removed by the House prior to the bill’s passage. Senator Tarr supported the motion by stating that after reviewing the various versions of the bill, he believed the reinstated language would aid in strengthening the bill. Ultimately the amendment was adopted by members and the bill was reported to the full Senate with the recommendation of passage.
Prior to review of 2703, the committee also rejected House Bill 2967, which permits a county to retain excise taxes when transferring a title of real estate. If passed, the bill would result in a multiple phase county collection drawn from the state income tax and ultimately result in a total loss of $13 million over the course of a decade.
The bill’s language establishes that beginning in 2020, 10 percent of a county’s income tax would be given to the county and increase by another 10% every July 1 for the subsequent years till 2029.
Deputy Revenue Secretary for the Department of Revenue, Mark Muchow, came before the committee following the bill’s explanation and stated that the bill would result in a significant loss of revenue over the course of the next decade, particularly in regards to K-12 education and the state’s police officers.
Following the secretary’s statement, the committee motioned to reject the bill.
Also reported to the Senate was House Bill 2515 which would exempt the sale and installation of mobility enhancing equipment derived from the state’s sales and use tax.
