HB2922 creates the “Safer Communities Act,” a new article in West Virginia law that would allow counties, beginning July 1, 2026, to seek voter approval to levy a public safety sales tax or amusement tax of up to 1 percent. The bill is framed around legislative findings that counties need additional funding for public safety, school safety, emergency response, fire and EMS services, and school resource officers, especially in unincorporated areas and in support of county boards of education.
To use the tax, a county must be current on state fees and obtain a simple majority of votes in a general-election referendum. Before placing the question on the ballot, the county must have current and certified assessments, up-to-date delinquent land sales, be using the maximum millage rate, and have already implemented a fire or EMS levy or fee. The bill also directs counties to notify the Tax Commissioner, Auditor, and Treasurer before imposing or changing the tax, and requires the Tax Commissioner to administer, enforce, and collect the tax under existing sales tax laws and the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.
The bill would add a new county-authorized local taxing mechanism to West Virginia code, expanding county fiscal authority for designated public safety purposes. It would affect county commissions, voters, the Tax Commissioner, Auditor, Treasurer, and local governments that may already participate in the Municipal Home Rule Program or already impose an amusement tax, since those municipalities are excluded from the tax’s application. It also ties the new tax to existing sales and amusement tax statutes and creates procedural requirements for ballot placement, notice, administration, and boundary adjustments.
The bill’s stated purpose and structure suggest generally supportive sentiment toward improving county funding for public safety, school safety, and emergency services. The legislative findings emphasize service gaps and the need for local flexibility, indicating the measure is presented as a practical funding tool rather than a broad tax increase. No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no direct evidence of opposition or amendment debate in the available materials.
The main points of potential contention are the creation of a new local tax and the conditions counties must satisfy before asking voters to approve it. Counties and taxpayers may disagree over whether the prerequisites are too restrictive, especially the requirements to be current on assessments, delinquent land sales, maximum millage, and an existing fire or EMS levy or fee. Municipalities in the Home Rule Program and municipalities with current amusement taxes are expressly excluded, which could raise fairness or boundary-implementation concerns, particularly where precinct lines overlap municipal boundaries.