Eights bills were reported out of the Senate finance committee following brief discussion Monday afternoon.
Despite the lengthy agenda, members were able to review the proposed legislation and adopt multiple amendments to address techincal errors found within the bills. Of the passed legislation were House Bills: 2001, 2452, 2550, 2579, 2667, 2992, 3135 and 3144.
- House Bill 2001 relates to exempting social security benefits from personal income tax
- House Bill 2579 relates to the collection of tax and the priority of distribution of an estate or property in receivership
- House Bill 3144 is intended to create the North Central Appalachian Coal Severance Tax Rebate Act.
While reviewing 3144, Sen. Corey Palumbo, D-Kanawha, raised concern over the absence of a fiscal note which has been drafted to create a new tax rebate. Deputy Secretary for the Department of Revenue, Mark Muchow, came before the committee to address the Senator’s concern and explained that it’s hard to establish a a solid number for a rebate drawn from the state’s coal field.
Muchow further stated that although it’s difficult to establish a solid number for fiscal, he predicted the initial start up administration cost for the bill would be around $70,000.
Although it was on the committee’s agenda, House Bill 2831, which intends to aid in finding and declaring certain claims against the state and its agencies to be moral obligations, was motioned to be laid over by Sen. Dave Sypolt, R-Preston.
