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Gas Tax Legislation Passes |
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Monday, 23 November 2009 11:50 |
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On Friday morning, the West Virginia Legislature approved a bill to stabilize funding for the state Road Fund.
Provided is an overview of the components in S.B. 4004. The overview was prepared by the Contractors Association of West Virginia.
1.
Raises the states wholesale gasoline tax rate calculation from a floor of 97 cents per gallon (where it has been since 1983) to $2.34 a gallon. This keeps the wholesale gas tax at 11.7 cents. The gas tax would have reduced 1.7 cents starting January 1, 2010, costing the W.Va. Division of Highways around $23 million next calendar year. The gas tax was frozen in 2006 due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina and again in 2009 due to the spike in gas prices in 2008. In 2010, the wholesale tax would have dropped, so establishing the floor at $2.34 stabilizes the highway fund.
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Caps any future increase or decrease in the wholesale gas tax to 10 percent of the wholesale gas price. This provision will provide West Virginia consumers with a degree of protection against significant increases in future state fuel taxes during periods of rapidly rising fuel prices. The cap will also prevent a significant loss of revenue to the WVDOH if gas prices fall considerably in a years time. Assuming significant higher fuel prices, a cap would limit the maximum increase to 1.17 cents per gallon in 2011. Motor fuel taxes would be allowed to grow at levels more closely tied to long-term general inflation rates.
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Transfers from the state General Fund to the Road Fund the remainder of the $40 million allotted to the WVDOH by the WV Legislature when highway revenues fall under estimates. Gas tax revenues have been meeting estimates and the transfer probably would not have occurred. There is $27.3 million remaining and the legislation will allow the transfer and dedicate it to secondary road paving or maintenance.
4.
The final provision of the bill eliminates the expiration date of the temporary 5-cent a gallon gasoline tax component, which has been in place continuously since May 1, 1993. The retail gasoline tax will now be a permanent 20.5 cents per gallon.
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FTC Releases Petroleum Market Manipulation Rule |
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Monday, 10 August 2009 17:04 |
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Today, the Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule to prohibit market manipulation in the petroleum industry. PMAA is reviewing the rule closely. At first glance, it is what we expected there are not any surprises. In issuing the final rule, the Commission is exercising authority provided by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) enacted in December 2007. The rulemaking process began with the publication of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on May 1, 2008. PMAA General Counsel Bob Bassman submitted comments on behalf of PMAA throughout the rulemaking process. The rule prohibits anyone from engaging in fraud or deceit in wholesale petroleum markets or misleading any person by omitting important information from statements that might distort petroleum markets because of the omission.
PMAA will report more on this later after further review of the final rule. |
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Cap and Trade Will Hurt West Virginia |
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Monday, 13 July 2009 18:10 |
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Hard times have not been an unknown visitor to West Virginia over the years, but they don't usually arrive courtesy of the U.S. Congress.
That could change if the U.S. Senate goes along with the Waxman/Markey energy and climate change bill narrowly passed by the House of Representatives on June 26. This legislation does not make economic or environmental sense for the whole country, but its effect would be nothing short of punitive for West Virginia and other states that are major producers or users of coal.
Despite an all-out lobbying press by the White House, closed-door deals and hundreds of pages of special treatment for special interests, the bill passed the House by only a 219-212 margin. That was just one over the minimum 218 votes needed. It's no surprise that West Virginia Representatives Allan Mollohan, Nick Rahall and Shelley Moore Capito all voted "no."
The narrow passage of the House bill came as a prelude to the announcement the following week that the national unemployment rate for June had hit a 26-year high of 9.5 percent and seems bound for double-digits by fall. The national economic recession has been slower to arrive in West Virginia, but in recent months we've been catching up.
Our latest available unemployment rate for May was 8.5 percent. That's not encouraging, but it's considerably better than the 17 percent rate some of us can remember from the early '80s. Until Waxman-Markey passed the House, our biggest vulnerability was falling coal prices, but this new legislation could do more damage than any shift in commodity prices.
Using a complicated "cap and trade system" tailor-made for manipulation, the bill virtually criminalizes the burning of coal and the carbon emissions that go with it. From the beginning, the bill's unrealistic targets for reducing carbon emissions were seen as a guarantee of higher energy prices and job losses in states where power utilities and other industries depend on coal.
The bill requires utilities, for instance, to produce at least 12 percent of their power from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar by 2020 and mandates that they realize an 8 percent increase in energy-efficiency savings. For newer coal-fired power plants, the restrictions are even more severe.
It's basically a tough-love approach to forcing the use of renewable energy sources and eliminating coal. The bill's primary sponsors are from California and Massachusetts. Their idyllic view of a "green" energy future ignores realities like the fact that renewable energy at this point is incredibly expensive and in short supply. Forcing a quota for renewable energy use on power producers will inescapably raise the price of energy and everything else.
The economic hammer would fall heaviest on places like West Virginia and the industrial Midwest, but the whole country would feel the pain. According to projections by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, enacting the Waxman-Markey bill would cost the average U.S. family $1,600 a year in after-tax household income.
A study by the respected consulting firm CRA International projects that the bill would drive a net reduction of 2.5 million U.S. jobs, and that's after allowing for the vaporware of the new "green" jobs that backers are betting the bill would create.
And all the self-righteous posturing about the environmental benefits rings hollow against the details of the bill itself. The cap-and-trade system it would create is a sludge pile of special deals for Wall Street traders and other insiders - a group that does not include the coal industry.
I hope Senators Byrd and Rockefeller vote against the House bill.
Vineyard is chairman of the West Virginia Business & Industry Council. |
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Funding Will Speed Adoption of Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technologies |
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Sunday, 05 July 2009 12:11 |
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U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced $13.1 million in Recovery Act funding to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in West Virginia.
Under DOEs State Energy Program, West Virginia proposed a statewide plan that prioritizes energy savings, creates or retains jobs, increases the use of renewable energy, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. This initiative is part of the Obama Administrations national strategy to support job growth, while making a historic down payment on clean energy and conservation.
This funding will provide an important boost for state economies, help put Americans back to work, and move us toward energy independence," said Secretary Chu. "It reflects our commitment to support innovative state and local strategies to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy while insisting that taxpayer dollars be spent responsibly."
"The Recovery Act funding we are putting to use through this energy efficiency program will help to create and retain jobs immediately, while reducing our energy consumption and state government energy costs and allowing us to meet our goal of energy independence in the long run," said Gov. Joe Manchin. "The revolving loan fund will also help other partners reduce their energy consumption and encourage jobs in the growing green energy sector."
Secretary Chu recently announced a total of more than $96 million for State Energy Programs in 4 states: Ohio, Oregon, Virginia and West Virginia. Each of the states is receiving 40 percent of their total State Energy Program (SEP) funding authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
With this announcement, West Virginia will now have received 50 percent of its total Recovery Act SEP funding. The initial 10 percent of funding was previously available to support planning activities; the remaining 50 percent of funds will be released once it meets reporting, oversight, and accountability milestones required by the Recovery Act. After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive more than $16 million in additional funding, for a total of more than $32 million.
West Virginia will use its SEP funding provided by the Recovery Act to implement six programs to improve energy efficiency in state buildings. These programs will fund upgrades in state administrative office buildings, correctional facilities, hospitals, health care facilities, laboratories, schools, colleges and universities, and armories. Upgrades will include replacing or improving lighting systems, windows, HVAC systems, boilers, and control systems. West Virginia will also create the Energy Efficiency for Businesses Revolving Loan Program to provide financial assistance to businesses to support energy efficiency investments.
SEP funding will also go toward creating a Green Collar Jobs Training program to provide West Virginians with the education, training and skills necessary for employment in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Under the Recovery Act, DOE expanded the types of activities eligible for State Energy Program funding, which include energy audits, building retrofits, education and training efforts, transportation programs to increase the use of alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles, and new financing mechanisms to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy investments.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act appropriated $3.1 billion to the State Energy Program to help achieve national energy independence goals and promote local economic recovery.
States use these grants at the state and local level to create green jobs, address state energy priorities, and adopt emerging renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
Transparency and accountability are important priorities for SEP and all Recovery Act projects. Throughout the programs implementation, DOE will provide strong oversight at the local, state, and national level, while emphasizing with states the need to quickly award funds to help create new jobs and stimulate local economies.
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WV Turnpike Authority Approves Toll Increase |
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Thursday, 02 July 2009 10:36 |
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The West Virginia Turnpike Authority met this morning to vote on their proposed toll increase. The following increases were approved:
Passenger cars will increase to $2.00. However, cars with a West Virginia E-ZPass the rate is discounted to $1.30.
Commercial vehicles (trucks) increased to $6.75 for cash. However, with an E-ZPass there is a 20% discount and the amount drops to $5.40. Trucks with any other electronic pass will receive a 13% discount and the amount drops to $5.87.
The toll increase is effective August 1, 2009. |
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