By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog

CHARLESTON — Legislation the could lure a major natural gas manufacturing facility to West Virginia could be in the Governor’s hands by the end of the week at latest.

In a rare move, the West Virginia House of Delegates voted to suspend the rules and pass Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin‘s natural gas cracker tax incentive bill on first reading today. The state Senate version of the bill will be looked again in the next few days.

House Republicans voted in caucus last Friday to go along with suspending the rules, which require bills to be read three separate days before passage. The Senate often suspends the rules to push through legislation, though the House traditionally reads legislation three times. The bill passed 93-1 with five absent or not voting.

SB 206 and HB 4086 would designate certain property as a qualified capital addition to manufacturing facilities. If passed, a company that invests $2 billion or more in building a natural gas facility in the state would have their property taxes assessed at the 5 percent salvage rate for 25 years. Companies also wouldn’t have to have prior investment in the state.

Officials are hoping to lure an ethane cracker to the state. Ethylene, when separated from natural gas byproduct ethane, is used in plastics manufacturing. The two are separated with thermal or steam crackers, which heat up hydrocarbons, allowing the ethylene to be extracted and distilled.

Experts say West Virginia could see as many as two crackers built in the state. Four companies have expressed interest in building crackers, including Shell, which publicly stated a wish to locate a cracker in Appalachia.

The Senate Economic Development Committee passed the bill last week, and will now go to the Senate Finance Committee. State Sen. Roman Prezioso, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the House version of the bill would be taken up first.

“If the House bill gets here first, we’ll do the House bill as a courtesy to the House, Prezioso said. “As soon as we get it out of here, the better it’s going to be and folks out there and the industry world knows we’re ready and we’re ready to meet the need as expediently as possible to open up for business.”