§31-15A-16 Dedication of severance tax proceeds.
§31-15A-16. Dedication of severance tax proceeds.
(a) There shall be dedicated an annual amount from the collections of the tax collected pursuant to article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of this code for the construction, extension, expansion, rehabilitation, repair and improvement of water supply and sewage treatment systems and for the acquisition, preparation, construction and improvement of sites for economic development in this state as provided in this article.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, the first sixteen million dollars of the tax collected pursuant to article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of this code shall be deposited to the credit of the West Virginia Infrastructure General Obligation Debt Service Fund created pursuant to section three, article fifteen-b of this chapter: Provided, That beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, the first twenty-four million dollars of the tax annually collected pursuant to article thirteen-a of this code shall be deposited to the credit of the West Virginia Infrastructure General Obligation Debt Service Fund created pursuant to section three, article fifteen-b of this chapter.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (b) of this section to the contrary: (1) None of the collections from the tax imposed pursuant to section six, article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of this code shall be so dedicated or deposited; and (2) the portion of the tax imposed by article thirteen-a, chapter eleven and dedicated for purposes of medicaid and the Division of Forestry pursuant to section twenty-a of said article thirteen-a shall remain dedicated for the purposes set forth in said section twenty-a.
(d) On or before the first day of May of each year, commencing the first day of May, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, the council, by resolution, shall certify to the treasurer and the water development authority the principal and interest coverage ratio and amount for the following fiscal year on any infrastructure general obligation bonds issued pursuant to the provisions of article fifteen-b of this chapter.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, the tax on coalbed methane remitted by the Tax Commissioner for deposit in the West Virginia Infrastructure Fund pursuant to section twenty-a, article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of this code shall be distributed as follows: (1) Seventy-five percent of the moneys so deposited shall be distributed for infrastructure projects in the various counties of this state in which the coalbed methane was produced, and (2) the remaining twenty-five percent of the moneys so deposited shall be distributed equally to the various counties of this state in which no coalbed methane was produced for infrastructure projects. Moneys shall be distributed to each coalbed methane producing county in direct proportion to the amount of tax paid by the county using information provided by the Tax Commissioner as required in section twenty-a, article thirteen-a, chapter eleven of this code.