West Virginia 2024 Regular Session Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 9 R · 1 D cosponsors

SB 397 — Exempting high tunnels and greenhouses from personal property taxes

Last action — To Finance

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House of Delegates
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced January 11, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 16 sponsors

    1 primary, 15 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (9 R · 1 D) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

12 added · 17 removed

Plain-language change summary

The updated version of SB 397 has clarified that both heated and unheated "high tunnels" and "greenhouses" are exempt from personal property taxes. This change simplifies the language by removing unnecessary details and streamlining the definition. It matters because it makes it easier for farmers to understand the tax exemption, potentially encouraging more agricultural practices that utilize these structures, thus supporting local farming.

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Previous
Latest
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION Introduced FISCAL Senate Bill 397 NOTE By Senators Hamilton, Caputo, Chapman, Deeds, Martin, Maynard, Plymale, Rucker, Stover, Taylor, Woelfel, Woodrum, Trump, Jeffries, Karnes, and Smith [Introduced January 12, 2024;
CS for SB 397 WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 397 By Senators Hamilton, Caputo, Chapman, Deeds, Martin, Maynard, Plymale, Rucker, Stover, Taylor, Woelfel, Woodrum, Trump, Jeffries, Karnes, and Smith [Originating in the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources;
referred to the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources;
reported January 10, 2024] CS for SB 397 A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-1C-5b, relating to exempting high tunnels and greenhouses, whether heated or unheated, from personal property taxation;
and then to the Committee on Finance] Intr SB 397 2024R1708 A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-1C-5b, relating to exempting high tunnels and greenhouses, whether heated or unheated, from personal property taxation;
and providing an effective date.
and providing an enacting date.
(a) High Tunnels, including but not limited to polytunnels or hoophouses;
(a) High Tunnels, including, but not limited to, polytunnels or hoophouses, and greenhouses, whether heated or unheated, shall be exempt from personal property tax.
heated high tunnels;
(b) This section shall be effective from passage.
and both heated and non-heated greenhouses shall be exempt from personal property tax.
(b) This article shall be effective from passage.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to fully exempt both high tunnels and greenhouses from personal property taxes, whether the high tunnels or greenhouses are heated or unheated.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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Action History

  1. To Finance

  2. Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance

  3. To Agriculture and Natural Resources

  4. Introduced in Senate

  5. Filed for introduction

  6. To Agriculture and Natural Resources then Finance

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 15 co-sponsors · 136 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (15)

Not signed on (136)

136 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 136 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

taxation agriculture
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 397?
SB 397 is sponsored by Karnes, Jeffries, Trump, Jack Woodrum (Republican), Mike Woelfel (Democrat), Jay Taylor (Republican), Stover, Patricia Rucker (Republican), Plymale, Mark R. Maynard (Republican), Vince Deeds (Republican), Laura Wakim Chapman (Republican), Caputo, Bill Hamilton (Republican), Patrick Martin (Republican), and Randy E. Smith (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 397?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced January 11, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 397?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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