HB 5474 — Gateway to the Gorge Outdoor Recreation Industry Act

CS for HB 5474 WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION IntroducedCommittee Substitute for House Bill 5474 FISCAL NOTE By Delegates Pritt, Brooks, T.

Howell, Leavitt, Hott, and Clay [Introduced[Originating Februaryin 12,the 2026;Committee on Government Administration;

referredReported to the Committee on GovernmentFebruary Organization25, then2026] Finance]CS Intrfor HB 2026R40815474 Intr HB 2026R4081 A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new article, designated §11-28-1, §11-28-2, §11-28-3, §11-28-4, §11-28-5, and §11-28-6, relating to creating the "Gateway to the Gorge Outdoor Recreation Industry Act" and a tax incentive to encourage the continued growth of the outdoor recreation economy in West Virginia;

Intr1 CS for HB 2026R40815474 (c) Conditions for RemoteNew Workers.

The Ascend Program, and its recently headquartered offices in Charleston, provide an ideal mechanism for bringing remotenew employees to West Virginia who desire to live in areas that provide the low-cost and easy-to-access outdoor recreation opportunities listed above.

By encouraging the outdoor recreation industry to locate in the Gateway to the Gorge, the young professionals of West Virginia, including those coming from nearby colleges and universities, such as Marshall Intr2 CS for HB 2026R40815474 University, University of Charleston, West Virginia University, and othersWest Virginia State University can find greater and more diverse career options not currently available, including marketing and communications, research and development, sales and business development, supply chain and logistics, among others.

"Eligible Taxpayer" means any business or individual that is subject to the taxes imposed under §11-13-1§11-24-1 et seq.

and §11-24-1 et seq.;

or §11-21-1 et seq.

Route 19 via 1-64 including the western-most point of Charleston and South Charleston 3 CS for HB 5474 continuing down to the southeastern-most point of the New River Gorge, bordered by the Gauley Intr HB 2026R4081 River National Recreation Area to the north, encompassing parts of Lincoln, Kanawha, Boone, Raleigh, Summers, Fayette, Mercer, Greenbrier, Clay, and Nicholas Counties.Counties;

or any county containing any portion of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and any municipality or unincorporated community designated by rule of the Tax Commissioner, in consultation with the Tourism Office, based on proximity to the park, visitor access routes, and provision of outdoor recreation related services.

4 CS for HB 5474 Rafting;

IntrSnowmobiling; HB 2026R4081 Snowmobiling.

"RemoteWatersports. Worker" for the purposes of this act means any individual full-time or part-time employee of a business in the outdoor recreation industry who lives in the Gateway to the Gorge as defined in this article.

(a) For businesses to qualify for the incentives outlined in this act relating to §11-13-1§11-24-1 et seq.

and §11-24-1 et seq.

(b) ForCertification individualsrequired. to qualify for the incentives outlined in this act relating to §11-21-1 et seq.

of– thisEligibility code,for the individualscredit shallis meetsubject to certification by the followingTax criteria:Commissioner prior to claiming the credit.

(1) Be located within the Gateway to the Gorge;

(2) Be employed on a full or part-time basis in the outdoor recreation industry.

- For those tax years beginning on or after July 1, 2026, eligible taxpayers will be allowed a tax credit innot theto amountexceed of50 80 percent of that entity's tax liability for that year.

- The credit created by this article is allowed as a credit against the taxpayer's state tax liability applied as provided in subdivisionssubdivision (1),(1) (2), and (3) of this subsection after application of any other credits.credits:

(1) Corporation net income taxes.

Business(c) andMaximum occupationCredit taxes.-Allowed. Any remaining credits are then applied to taxes imposed by §11-13-1 et seq.

- The total amount of tax credit that may be used in any taxable year by any eligible taxpayer under sections (a) and (b) of this codesection may not exceed $1 5 CS for theHB taxable5474 year.million.

Intr(d) HBTime 2026R4081period Personalcovered. income taxes.

-– ForEligible remotetaxpayers workersmay inapply thefor outdooruse recreationof industrythis ascredit definedfor inthree thisconsecutive Act,years creditsbeginning arewith appliedthe directlyfirst toeligible taxestaxable imposedyear bydoing §11-21-1business etin seq.the Gateway to the Gorge.

of(e) thisThe codecredit formay thenot taxablebe year.applied to reduce tax liability below zero.

Unused(f) credit.-Clawback. A carryback to a prior taxable year is not allowed for the amount of any unused portion of any annual credit allowance.

– If thean amounteligible oftaxpayer thefails allowableto creditmaintain exceedsrequired thejob taxpayer'sor taxinvestment liabilitylevels, for the taxableTax year,Commissioner the amount which exceeds the tax liability may berecapture carriedall overor and applied as a creditportion against the tax liability of the taxpayercredit pursuantas toprovided §11-21-1by etrule. seq.

or(g) §11-24-1Apportionment. et seq.

of– The credit created by this codearticle forshall eachonly ofbe theapplied nextto 10eligible taxabletaxpayers yearslocated followingwithin the yearGateway ofto creationthe ofGorge theas taxdescribed credit.in this article.

Eligible taxpayers with separate locations outside this geographic area may apply for this credit only by the percentage of their payroll taxes located within the Gateway to the Gorge.