Bill > SB592

This bill, the West Virginia Short Line Railroad Modernization Act, establishes a tax credit program for eligible taxpayers, which include short line railroad companies (classified as Class II or Class III by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board) and owners or lessees of rail sidings or industrial tracks connected to these railroads. The program offers a nonrefundable tax credit, allowing eligible taxpayers to claim 50% of their qualified expenditures for either railroad infrastructure maintenance and capital improvements ("qualified short line railroad maintenance expenditures") or for new rail infrastructure and improvements like acquiring rights-of-way, constructing new track, or rehabilitating inactive track ("qualified new rail infrastructure expenditures"). There are limitations on the credit amount, with maintenance expenditures capped based on the number of railroad track miles operated, and new infrastructure expenditures limited to $2 million per project and $5 million in total annually. To claim the credit, eligible taxpayers must submit a certificate or application to the West Virginia Department of Revenue, which will issue a tax credit certificate if requirements are met. Unused credits can be carried forward for up to five years and can also be transferred or sold to other taxpayers. The Act mandates a review and accountability report every two years starting in 2029 to evaluate the program's cost-effectiveness, and it will become effective on January 1, 2027, with a sunset date of July 1, 2031, unless reenacted by the Legislature.

Budget and Finance

http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=592&year=2026&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill