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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia House Bill 5340 Establishes Property Tax Classification for Carbon Credit Timberland Leases
Last action · February 9, 2026: To House Energy and Public WorksSponsors: Stan Adkins and 2 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Establishing a new classification for managed timberland leased for substantial income
Property owners leasing large tracts of qualifying timberland for carbon credits receive a consistent tax rate equivalent to , while properties generating under $10,000 annually and under 100 acres are exempt from reclassification.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Timberland owners
Landowners leasing property for carbon credits face new classification standards, tax rate rules, and exemption thresholds for parcels under 100 acres and $10,000 in annual income.
Carbon credit lessees
Lessees leasing timberland must use the property primarily for timber-related economic activities under a formal contract to maintain eligibility.
West Virginia Division of Forestry
The division shares oversight responsibilities with the State Tax Division to manage compliance and classification for carbon credit timberland.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifies a property for the new carbon credit timberland tax classification?
How are properties in the carbon credit timberland classification taxed?
Are smaller parcels exempt from this new classification?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Feb 9, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Energy and Public Works
- Feb 9, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Feb 9, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Energy and Public Works then Finance
- Feb 9, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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