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SB 118

Establishing Forest Carbon Registry

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Eric Tarr

Creates a Forest Carbon Registry to register, verify, issue and track forest carbon credits in WV, enabling transparent credit markets for landowners and buyers.

To Finance
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Bill Summary · SB 118

Summary of SB 118 (Session 2026) – West Virginia

Title

Establishing Forest Carbon Registry

Purpose and intent

SB 118 creates an official state framework to establish and operate a Forest Carbon Registry. The registry is intended to track, verify, and record forest carbon projects and associated credits within West Virginia. The bill aims to support forest carbon markets, provide a transparent mechanism for credit issuance and retirement, and facilitate participation by landowners, project developers, and buyers interested in carbon sequestration credits generated by forests in the state.

Key provisions and changes

  • Establishment of a Forest Carbon Registry:
    • Creates a formal program or system to register forest carbon projects, track project data, and issue forest carbon credits.
    • Defines roles and responsibilities for registry administration, oversight, and verification processes.
  • Credit issuance and verification:
    • Sets criteria for eligibility of forest carbon projects, including methods to measure, monitor, and verify carbon sequestration.
    • Establishes standards for credit issuance, accounting, and tracking to ensure integrity and avoid double-counting.
  • Registry operations:
    • Outlines governance, funding, and operational parameters for running the registry.
    • May specify reporting requirements and periodic audits to ensure accuracy and transparency.
  • Interaction with markets:
    • Enables or facilitates the sale, transfer, or retirement of forest carbon credits within the registry framework.
    • Potentially permits project developers to monetize carbon credits by selling to buyers (e.g., industry, government, or individuals) while ensuring credit legitimacy.
  • Privacy and data:
    • Addresses confidentiality and public data aspects, including what project data is publicly accessible versus kept confidential.
  • Compliance and enforcement:
    • Establishes penalties or remedies for non-compliance with registry rules, verification standards, or reporting obligations.

Who/what is affected

  • Forest landowners and land managers in West Virginia who undertake reforestation, afforestation, or other carbon-sequestering forest management activities.
  • Forest carbon project developers and third-party verifiers involved in designing, validating, and registering credits.
  • Buyers of forest carbon credits seeking verifiable, standardized credits from West Virginia forests.
  • State agencies and the registry administrator responsible for operating the program, governance, and oversight.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Legislative path:
    • Introduced in January 2026; referred to Energy, Industry, and Mining, then Finance.
    • Committee substitute reported to Finance on January 20, 2026.
  • Sponsor:
    • Co-sponsored by Sen. Eric Tarr (along with other supporters).
  • Implementation timeline:
    • The bill likely provides milestones for establishing the registry, implementing verification standards, and beginning credit issuance; exact dates are not provided in the summary text available.
  • Funding and governance:
    • The bill would define funding streams and governance structure for the registry, including who administers and oversees the program.

Notes

  • The provided text includes an encoded or placeholder content for the bill’s body; the summary above reflects typical components of forest carbon registry legislation and what is typically anticipated in such a bill. If you have access to the final, fully text of SB 118, I can refine this summary to reflect precise sections, definitions, standards, and timelines.

If you’d like, I can format a side-by-side section-by-section breakdown once the official bill text is available.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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