# West Virginia SB 389: Historic Rehab Building Credit Act West Virginia SB 389, Historic Rehab Building Credit Act, is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Randy E. Smith (Republican); status failed, last action 2026-03-14 (House Message received); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-04). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-SB389-2026rs - As of: 2026-11-04 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: West Virginia SB 389 - State: West Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Historic Rehab Building Credit Act - Status: failed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-15 - Last action: 2026-03-14, House Message received - Sponsor: Randy E. Smith (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: §11-13NN-1, §11-13NN-2, §11-13NN-3, §11-13NN-4, §11-13NN-5, §11-13NN-6, §11-13NN-7, §11-13NN-8, §11-13NN-9, §11-13NN-10, §11-13NN-11, §11-13NN-12, §11-13NN-13, §11-13NN-14, §11-21-8I, §11-24-23H - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 4 (245 yes, 1 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 6 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Owners can claim credits by project phase: benefit, low. Owners with approved phased historic rehabilitation projects can claim credits after completing and separately certifying each phase. They do not have to wait for the whole project to finish. Each completed phase requires a Part 3 application to certify completed work. Phase claims remain subject t… - Historic credit applicants face caps and fees: cost, high. Starting with tax year 2026, each taxpayer can claim no more than $100,000 a year in historic rehabilitation credits. A $5 million limit applies to any one taxpayer or certified historic building. Statewide claims are capped at $10 million in calendar year 2026 and $20 million each calendar year af… - Owners face repayment after property changes: cost, high. Selling, transferring, or otherwise disposing of the property can require repayment of the historic rehabilitation credit. Failing rehabilitation standards or required conditions also triggers repayment. Repayment is 100% within one year after the credit certificate, and 80% after one but no more t… - Historic credit fraud brings criminal penalties: cost, low. Knowingly filing a false or fraudulent historic credit application is a felony. A conviction can bring a fine up to $10,000, prison time up to two years, or both. Anyone who knowingly misuses credit proceeds must repay them with interest at the Tax Commissioner's underpayment rate. Interest accrues… - Historic building tax savings carry conditions: mixed, high. Beginning with tax year 2026, owners of certified historic buildings in West Virginia get a 25% credit against personal or corporate income tax. Projects must meet historic rehabilitation standards, and owners must show a federal historic credit was potentially earned for the same work, even if unc… - Owners gain ways to use historic credits: mixed, high. Taxpayers can request a refund when their historic rehabilitation credit exceeds their state tax bill; available carryover is applied first. Unused credits can carry forward for up to five consecutive tax years, but amounts remaining after that period are lost. Joint owners can each claim a share b… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Randy E. Smith (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Mike Woelfel (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-13 | House | Effective July 1, 2026 (Roll No. 524) | pass | 89 | 1 | | | 2026-03-13 | House | Passed House (Roll No. 523) | pass | 92 | 0 | | | 2026-02-13 | Senate | Effective July 1, 2026 (Roll No. 73) | pass | 32 | 0 | | | 2026-02-13 | Senate | Passed Senate (Roll No. 72) | pass | 32 | 0 | | ## Actions (36) - 2026-03-14: House Message received (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Senate refused to concur; requested House to recede (Voice vote) (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Communicated to House (Senate) - 2026-03-13: On 3rd reading, Special Calendar (House) - 2026-03-13: Reported by the Clerk (House) - 2026-03-13: Amendment reported by the Clerk (House) - 2026-03-13: Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote) (House) - 2026-03-13: Read 3rd time (House) - 2026-03-13: Passed House (Roll No. 523) (House) - 2026-03-13: Title amendment adopted (Voice vote) (House) - 2026-03-13: Effective July 1, 2026 (Roll No. 524) (House) - 2026-03-13: Communicated to Senate (House) - 2026-03-12: On 2nd reading, Special Calendar (House) - 2026-03-12: Read 2nd time (House) - 2026-03-12: Amendments pending (House) - 2026-03-11: With amendment, do pass (House) - 2026-03-11: Immediate consideration (House) - 2026-03-11: Read 1st time (House) - 2026-02-16: House received Senate message (House) - 2026-02-16: Introduced in House (House) - 2026-02-16: To Finance (House) - 2026-02-16: To House Finance (House) - 2026-02-13: On 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-13: Read 3rd time (Senate) - 2026-02-13: Passed Senate (Roll No. 72) (Senate) - 2026-02-13: Effective July 1, 2026 (Roll No. 73) (Senate) - 2026-02-13: Ordered to House (Senate) - 2026-02-12: On 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-12: Read 2nd time (Senate) - 2026-02-11: On 1st reading (Senate) - 2026-02-11: Read 1st time (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Committee substitute reported (Senate) - 2026-01-15: Filed for introduction (Senate) - 2026-01-15: To Finance (Senate) - 2026-01-15: Introduced in Senate (Senate) - 2026-01-15: To Finance (Senate) ## Bill text - Committee Substitute: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb389 sub1.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb389 sub1.pdf) - Introduced Version: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb389 intr.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb389 intr.pdf) ## Related bills - HB 5694: Supplemental appropriation to Department of Education, fund 0313. (signed) - HB 5353: To bring virtual currency kiosks within the purview of money transmission licensure and create disclosure requirements and daily transaction limitations for ne… (signed) - HB 4452: To remove Mortmain restrictions on religious organizations (signed) - HB 4390: Relating to the temporary payment to a kinship parent of a subsidy equal to that of a foster parent (signed) - HB 4354: Relating to necessity allowance (signed) - HB 4191: Relating to providing child care generally (became law) ## Sources - [Committee Substitute (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb389 sub1.htm) - [Committee Substitute (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb389 sub1.pdf) - [Introduced Version (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb389 intr.htm) - [Introduced Version (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb389 intr.pdf) ## Related - [HB 5694: Supplemental appropriation to Department of Education, fund 0313.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB5694-2026rs) - [HB 5353: To bring virtual currency kiosks within the purview of money transmission licen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB5353-2026rs) - [HB 4452: To remove Mortmain restrictions on religious organizations](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4452-2026rs) - [HB 4390: Relating to the temporary payment to a kinship parent of a subsidy equal to tha…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4390-2026rs) - [HB 4354: Relating to necessity allowance](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4354-2026rs) - [HB 4191: Relating to providing child care generally](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4191-2026rs) - [West Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/west-virginia/bills) - [West Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/west-virginia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-SB389-2026rs (as of 2026-11-04).