Chapter 5B, Chapter 5B

On or before December 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the department shall submit a report to the Governor and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance detailing implementation of the program, participant outcomes, expenditures, and leveraged matching contributions.

(a) There is continued within the Department of Tourism an independent Tourism Advisory Council. (b) The Tourism Advisory Council consists of the following 11 members: (1) The Director of the Department of Economic Development or his or her designee, ex officio; (2) The Secretary…

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of §11-15-1 et seq., §11-15A-1 et seq., and §11-15-8d of this code or any other provision of this code, purchases of building materials, tangible personal property, and services by a construction contractor or construction subcontractor directly…

(a) Approved companies are allowed a credit against the West Virginia consumers sales and service tax imposed by article fifteen, chapter eleven of this code and collected by the approved company on sales generated by or arising from the operations of the tourism development expa…

(a) General. – When a qualified professional services destination facility is located at or adjacent to an existing historic resort hotel with at least five hundred rooms and the qualified professional services destination facility eligible for credit under this section is primar…

(a) The commission shall make a continued investigation, study and review of the practices, policies and procedures of the workforce investment strategies and programs implemented in the state. (b) The commission has the authority to conduct or cause to be conducted performance a…

The department shall propose legislative rules in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code and may promulgate any emergency rules necessary to effectuate the provisions of this article.

Any documentary material, data or other writing made or received by the Department of Tourism, the West Virginia Department of Economic Development, or the Tourism Advisory Council, for the purpose of furnishing assistance to a new or existing business, or of developing or implem…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, a municipality that imposes the municipal business and occupation tax pursuant to the provisions of §8-13-5 of this code, may authorize by ordinance, a municipal business and occupation tax exemption for gross income from rents, r…

(a) The approved company or eligible company shall forfeit the tourism development project tax credit allowed by section seven of this article, or the tourism development expansion tax credit allowed by section seven-a of this article, or the tax credit allowed by section seven-b…

A summer youth intern pilot program is established within the Department of Commerce to provide high school students with internship opportunities that allow these youths to explore and prepare for high-demand careers, gain work experience, and develop the life characteristics ne…

(a) The office shall determine the community assets that may be developed by the community, county, or region to foster its viability when surface mining operations are completed. (b) Community assets to be identified pursuant to subsection (a) of this section may include the fol…

(a) Fund. -- (1) Created. -- The West Virginia Outdoor Heritage Conservation Fund is created for the purposes specified in this article. (2) Sources. -- The West Virginia Outdoor Heritage Conservation Fund is comprised of: (A) Any money made available to the fund by general or sp…

(a) An eligible grant recipient may apply for a grant from the fund to acquire interests in real property for conservation purposes or for stewardship. An application may not be submitted to the fund without the written consent of the owner of the interest in real property identi…

There shall be allowed to every eligible taxpayer a property value adjustment tax credit against the taxes imposed under §11-21-1 et seq. or §11-24-1 et seq. of this code, as determined under this article.

(a) The department may receive private and public grants and donations, and appropriations from the Legislature, to fund the program. All moneys collected shall be deposited in a special revenue account in the State Treasury to be known as the “West Virginia Youth Summer Employme…

The executive director of the Development Office may promulgate rules to implement the project application approval process and to describe the criteria and procedures it has established in connection therewith. These rules are not subject to the provisions of chapter twenty-nine…

(a) To provide ongoing attention to addressing issues that will build and continually improve the overall workforce investment system, the Workforce Investment Interagency Collaborative Team is hereby created. The team shall be the single state interagency source for addressing i…

(a) The office shall determine the land and infrastructure needs in the general area of the surface mining operations for which it makes the determination authorized in §5B-2A-6 of this code. (b) For the purposes of this section, the term "general area" shall mean the county or c…

(a) It is hereby declared the public policy of the State of West Virginia and the intent of the Legislature to facilitate, advance, and improve the availability of interstate passenger rail service to the state, the contributions of such service to local tourism development inclu…

(a) West Virginia: A shared vision statement. -- West Virginia's strong commitment to future generations has created a vibrant and diverse economy balancing quality jobs and the state's irreplaceable natural beauty. West Virginia has a highly skilled and educated workforce, is a …

(a) The joint commission on economic development is hereby continued. The commission shall be comprised of an equal number of senators and delegates, as appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates. The commission may explore how West Virgini…

Every fourth year after January 1, 2001, the joint commission on economic development, established pursuant to this article, shall conduct a thorough examination of the vision and goals set forth in this article and may recommend legislation relating to the vision and goals to th…

(a) The Joint Commission on Economic Development may review any procedural rule, interpretive rule or existing legislative rule and make recommendations concerning the rules to the Legislature. (b) The Development Office and the Tourism Commission established pursuant to article …

(a) The Joint Commission on Economic Development shall study the following: (1) The feasibility of establishing common regional configurations for local workforce investment areas, regional educational service agencies and for all other purposes the Commission considers feasible.…

Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, as used in this article: (1) "Economic Development Authority" or "authority" means the West Virginia Economic Development Authority as continued in section five, article fifteen, chapter thirty-one of this code. (2) "Recovery zone b…

Pursuant to 26 U.S.C. §1400U-1(a)(3)(A), the State of West Virginia shall allocate the volume cap among the counties of the state in the same manner as described in Section 6.04 of Internal Revenue Service Notice 2009-50. Bonds, notes and other obligations issued pursuant to this…

(a) Preliminary certification. -- (1) Each county allocated volume cap in accordance with this article shall submit a preliminary certification to the Governor that includes: (A) The amount of volume cap the county intends to use; (B) The entity issuing each series of recovery zo…

(a) The Economic Development Authority shall reallocate volume cap that has been waived pursuant to this article. The authority may reallocate the volume cap to the state, state agencies, counties, municipalities or any other political subdivisions or any other eligible issuer au…

Counties allocated volume cap pursuant to this article may, by order, ordinance or resolution of the county commission, suballocate such allocation to municipalities or any other eligible issuers authorized to issue recovery zone bonds pursuant to Section 5.04 of Internal Revenue…

When used in this article: "Department" means the West Virginia Department of Economic Development. "SBIR" means the Small Business Innovation Research Program enacted under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, Pub. L. 97-219, 15 U.S.C. § 638. "STTR" means the S…

The West Virginia Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Matching Funds Program is established. It shall be administered by the department which is hereby authorized to promulgate legislative rules governing the program. In order to foster job c…

In order to be eligible for a grant under this article, a small business must satisfy all of the following conditions: (1) The small business must be a for-profit, West Virginia-based business; (2) For the Phase I and/or Phase II Matching program the small business must have rece…

(a) A small business shall apply, under oath, to the department on forms prescribed by the department that include at least the following: (1) The name of the small business, the form of business organization under which it is operated, and the names and addresses of the principa…

(a) The department may award a "WV Phase Zero Grant" of $2500 upon submission of a Phase I SBIR/STTR proposal or Fast track SBIR/STTR proposal. The WV Phase Zero grant shall be remitted to the small business upon notification from the granting agency of the receipt of a submissio…

(a) The Flatwater Trail Commission is hereby created as an independent body corporate. It shall be a commission advisory to the secretary and to the Department of Commerce. (b) The Flatwater Trail Commission shall consist of five members, who shall be residents and citizens of th…

This article shall be known and cited as the “West Virginia Development Achievements Transparency Act” or the “West Virginia DATA Act”.

(a) The Legislature finds that public tax dollars are expended annually, whether directly in the form of grants or indirectly in the form of tax credits and incentives, for the purpose of developing and improving economic industries within the State of West Virginia. (b) The Legi…

For the purpose of this article: “Auditor” means the State Auditor of West Virginia, by himself or herself, or by any person appointed, designated, or approved by the State Auditor to perform the service. “Business type” means the legal form of organization of a corporate parent …

(a) Within 30 days of the end of the fiscal year, each granting body shall provide the Auditor with the information required in §5B-10-6 of this code for each development subsidy provided to a recipient corporation by a granting body: Provided, That no development subsidy approve…

No later than January 1, 2022, the Auditor shall develop and make publicly available a searchable financial transparency website containing the information specified in §5B-10-6 of this code.

(a) The Auditor shall include as part of the searchable economic development transparency website the following content for each fiscal year and the previous three fiscal years: (1) The name of the recipient corporation of a development subsidy: Provided, That if a name of a reci…

(a) Nothing in this article may be construed as requiring the West Virginia Department of Economic Development or the West Virginia Tax Department to release confidential information as defined in this article. (b) If information regarding a development subsidy is confidential in…

(a) To fulfill the requirements of this article, a granting body may independently compile the information required in §5B-10-6 of this code or request the information from a recipient corporation. (b) A granting body shall review information received from a recipient corporation…

The Auditor may conduct public hearings or training sessions to assist any recipient corporation or granting body in complying with the requirements of this article.

The Legislature finds that the Advanced Energy and Economic Corridor, once known as Tug-Ohio-Levisa-Sandy Improvement Association (TOLSIA) and the King Coal Highway, which runs through the counties of McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Wayne, and Wyoming has undergone significant challenge…

(a) The Advanced Energy and Economic Corridor Authority (authority) is hereby created as an independent body corporate. It shall consist of the following 15 members who are involved in economic, commercial, or industrial development in the geographic region of the authority: (1) …

(a) The authority shall have, but not be limited to, the following powers and duties: (1) Set specific tactical goals and demonstrable objectives via input from member counties and communities; (2) Maintain an inclusive, rather than constraining, geographic focus on economic deve…

On or before December 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the authority shall prepare and submit to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance a written report, which may be transmitted electronically, detailing its undertakings for the past year, including, but not limited to, …

The provisions of this article shall be known as, and may be cited as, the WV First Small Business Growth Act.