Saturday, January 28, 2006
Senate bill establishes tax rate on Highland Co. wind turbines
General Assembly Notebook
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The Senate passed a bill Friday that would set taxation rates on 18 to 20 proposed wind turbines in Highland County.
Senate Bill 404, approved by a 36-0 vote, would set the tax rate at $5,000 per megawatt of the turbines' capacity.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta County, said it was requested by the Highland County Board of Supervisors and Highland New Wind Development LLC, the developer behind the project.
"The purpose of the bill is to set up a mechanism so the local board of supervisors will know how much the valuation will be and how much tax they'll be obtaining," Hanger said.
Hanger said the wind turbines are expected to have a 39-megawatt capacity, and if SB 404 is approved they would bring the county nearly $200,000 in annual tax revenue.
The wind turbines must still receive state approval before construction may begin. In March, the State Corporation Commission will conduct public hearings on the project. The public hearings will be followed by evidentiary proceedings in Richmond for formal participants in the case.
House Republicans push growth bills
Republican members of the House of Delegates promoted a package of growth-management legislation on Friday, saying their bills would give localities greater control over land-use management and more tools to build roads.
Among other things, measures (HB 1521 and HB 1528) would require cities and counties to include long-range road and transportation improvements and projected costs in their comprehensive plans. The package also includes legislation (HB 1513) requiring localities to submit their comprehensive plans and traffic impact statements to the Virginia Department of Transportation, allowing VDOT to assess the impact of local zoning decisions on the transportation network.
The measures are crafted with an eye toward improving coordination between transportation and land-use planning, which Gov. Tim Kaine and lawmakers in both parties have identified as a priority in revamping the state's transportation financing and management schemes.
"Too many people have assumed that the only answer to crowded highways and secondary roads is the construction of still more roads, with no real way to include local governments in these decisions," said House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County. "We can and must do better."
Kaine wants legislation that would strengthen the ability of localities to reject rezoning applications if the planned development overwhelms the transportation network. The governor also supports voluntary transfers of development rights to encourage growth in areas with adequate infrastructure.
The House GOP also includes a bill (HB 1506) to decrease the population growth rate required for localities to accept proffers from developers from 10 percent to 5 percent. Another measure (HB 1104) would expand the state's highway construction revenue-sharing plan with counties, allowing cities and towns to participate. Under the bill, localities could count proffers from developers toward their local funding match.
Senate OKs tobacco farmers' tax bill
The Senate voted to approve a bill Friday that would reduce taxes for farmers who received money from the federal buyout of tobacco quotas.
SB 70 concerns tobacco producers and quota holders who receive payments from a $10.1 billion buyout approved by Congress in 2004. The buyout ended a price support system that guaranteed tobacco growers a certain price on the international market.
Under SB 70, the buyout payment sent to tobacco farmers and quota holders would be exempt from the state income tax. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Frank Ruff, R-Mecklenburg County, said that money received from the tobacco buyout is not income, but instead should be considered as a capital asset.
"Under the federal buyout program, they are involuntarily losing that capital asset and the federal government is paying them for that loss," Ruff said. "It should not be considered income any more than if you were to receive a reimbursement check for an auto accident or reimbursements check for a hospital expense."
The bill would save the quota holders an estimated $14 million over a six-year period.
The Senate voted 37-1 in favor of the bill, with only Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax County, voting against it. It will now go to the House of Delegates.
Staff writer John Cramer contributed to this report.
