Without debate, delegates voted 87-11 with two absences to pass Senate Bill 673 after amending into it a similar House measure (HB4791). Senators must now approve the bill before it can go to the governor.
As amended, the bill would allow counties to adopt service fees, upon voter approval, for such "special infrastructure projects" as new roads or water or sewer systems. The legislation would not allow fees for maintenance or repair purposes.
The fees would be similar to the $l-a-week Charleston charges to those who work within the city limits. That fee provides about $2.6 million annually for police and street maintenance.
Monongalia County officials had been among those seeking such a service fee, to help fund a road bypass project outside of Morgantown. Delegate Cindy Frich, R-Monongalia, broke ranks with that district's other lawmakers to oppose the fee as a "wage tax."
"I would rather the state continue the responsibility of paying for the roads," Frich said. "I don't know that workers would like this, or business owners that will have to send the money to the county commission every week."
But Delegate Robert Beach, D-Monongalia, noted that counties must first craft a plan for any project, just as school boards do before pursuing bonds, and then seek voter approval.
"The residents will have the ultimate choice of whether they want to go this route," Beach said.