WVFA Spring 2019

www.wvfa.org Spring 2019 |  West Virginia Forestry Association Mountain State Forestry 29 G O V E R NM E N T Remove Inventory Tax Every time the West Virginia Legislature proposes to reduce or eliminate a tax, the talk inevitably shifts to how the state will replace the lost tax revenue. Rarely is there a proposal to cut government spending as a means to minimize the necessity of the tax revenue in the first instance. The inventory tax was shaping up to be one of the top items on the legislative agenda for the 2019 regular session. The elimination of the inventory tax has previously been the subject of past legislative consideration but ultimately fell short of time and support. West Virginia’s Constitution requires a balanced budget each year. Due to this mandate, legislators are rightfully hesitant to cut taxes without knowing the potential budgetary pitfalls. HJR 17 to establish that the valuation, assessment value, and exemption from ad valorem property taxation of tangible inventory, machinery and equipment personal property directly used in business activity shall be determined exclusively as provided by law died in the House for Delegates’ Judiciary Committee. WV Legislature Adjourns AS OF MIDNIGHT SATURDAY, the WV Legislature has adjourned the 2019 regular session. Several bills were approved by the Legislature including WV DEP air and water quality standards (SB 163), DOF personnel who die in tasked-emergencies get survivor benefit (SB 291), reasonable approach to farm/forestry nuisance lawsuits (SB 393), expansion of division of Forestry timber theft authority (SB 402), Update of the Logging Sediment Control Act (SB 404), and public high schools’ required to offer FFA program of instruction (SB 329), a Senate Resolution to be delivered to the WV Congressional delegation that urges Congress provide exceptions to maximum weight limit of certain trucks on WV Interstate System (SR 78). There were also bills of interest to forestry that will not be delivered to the Governor for his signature: A bill to amend existing law to permit bear hunting with the use of a guide (SB 59), transfer Division of Forestry to Department of Agriculture (SB 611), allows county commons authority to increase property taxes up to 10 percent (SB 618), roundwood buyers record seller-information with penalties for failure (HB 2718), inventory tax elimination (HJR.17 /HJR.12), remove exams for professional license to practice in WV (HB 2307), require all boards Chapter-30 Boards be located in same area of WV (HB 2592), preempts local paper bag taxes (HB 2708)… But, stay tuned as these bills may return. Forest Service “Good Neighbor Authority” IN JUNE OF 2018, the Virginia Department of Forestry entered into an agreement to receive funding from the Forest Service’s Good Neighbor Authority. This allows the Forest Service to enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with States and Puerto Rico to allow the States to perform watershed restoration and forest management services on National Forest System (NFS) lands. Congress passed two laws expanding Good Neighbor Authority (GNA): the FY 2014 Appropriations Act and the 2014 Farm Bill. Each law contains slightly different versions. The Farm Bill permanently authorizes the Good Neighbor Authority for both the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) extending it to all 50 States and Puerto Rico. It excludes construction, reconstruction, repair, or restoration of paved or permanent roads or parking areas and construction, alteration, repair, or replacement of public buildings or works; as well as projects in wilderness areas, wilderness study areas, and lands where removal of vegetation is prohibited or restricted. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Appropriations Act included a five-year authorization for the use of GNA in all states with NFS lands to perform watershed restoration and protection services on NFS and BLM lands when similar and complementary services are performed by the state on adjacent state or private lands. Other than the adjacency requirement, there were no exclusions as to type or location of work.