West Virginia will begin offering a 25 year tax break to attract a huge new chemical plant.
The state Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to send the measure to Governor Earl Ray Tomblin.
Lawmakers passed the bill ahead of schedule, in for Tomblin's trip to Houston Thursday.
Tomblin is promoting West Virginia as a site for a cracker plant. These facilities convert a byproduct from Marcellus shale wells into a widely used chemical compound.
West Virginia is competing with Ohio and Pennsylvania for cracker plants that are expected to be built in the Marcellus region.
Wednesday's bill would slash property taxes for any company that invests at least $2 billion to build a cracker. Officials estimate it will reduce those by nearly $30 million in the first year alone.
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Associated Press
