House 4912

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4912

By Delegates Hillenbrand, Watt, and Ridenour

[Introduced January 29, 2026; referred to the Committee on Government Organization]

A BILL to amend and reenact §7-15-17 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to emergency ambulance services fees; clarifying the application of fees to lodging business; and providing equitable fee treatment for cabin and camp site owners with a limed number of collocated rentals.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 15. EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICE ACT OF 1975.

§7-15-17. Imposition and collection of special emergency ambulance service fee by county commission.

(a) A county commission may, by ordinance, impose upon and collect from the users of emergency ambulance service within the county a special service fee, which shall be known as the "special emergency ambulance service fee."

(b) The proceeds from the imposition and collection of any special service fee shall be deposited in a special fund and used only to pay reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred and the cost of buildings and equipment used in providing emergency ambulance service to residents of the county. The proceeds may be used to pay for, in whole or in part, the establishment, maintenance and operation of an authority, as provided for in this article: Provided, That an ambulance company or authority receiving funds from the special emergency ambulance fees collected pursuant to this section may not be precluded from making nonemergency transports. associated with the provision, operation, and maintenance of emergency ambulance services, including acquisition of land or buildings, construction, equipment, and the establishment and operation of an ambulance authority.

(c)  Application to Lodging Business.

(1)  For purposes of this sections, "lodging business" includes hotels, motels, inns, bed-and-breakfasts, and similar establishments providing overnight accommodations within a single parcel or facility. A lodging business shall be assessed one emergency ambulance services fee per facility or parcel regardless of the number of guests or suites.

(2) Cabin and campsite rentals. Owners of cabins and campsites used for overnight lodging shall be assessed on the same basis as hotels and motels when the cabins or campsites are located on a single parcel or contiguous parcels under common ownership or management.

(A) If the number of cabins or campsites on such property is fewer than 12, the owner shall be assessed a single emergency ambulance service fee for the entire property.

(B) If the number of cabins or campsites on such property is 12 or more, the county commission may assess additional fees, provided that the aggregate fee shall not exceed the equivalent of one fee for each full 12 cabins or campsites located on the property.

(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a county commission from establishing classes of users and differential rates for such classes if the classifications are reasonable, equitable, and uniformly applied.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide fairness in the application of the special emergency ambulance service fee by ensuring that small lodging businesses such as cabin and campsite owners are treated equitably with hotels and motels and not charged disproportionately high fees relative to their capacity and economic scale.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.