HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The road trip continues for members of the House Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Committee, who will be in Huntington on Monday night for the second stop of a statewide tour.
House Speaker Tim Miley (D-Harrison, 48) said the tour is about listening to West Virginians on all matters of business. “All we do as elected officials is sit there and listen, which I know is often hard to do for elected officials, but we literally listen,” he said.
About 100 people attended the first listening tour stop last week in Clarksburg.
“We heard from a chicken farmer over in Randolph County and how certain regulations affected their business in a positive way or, alternatively, in a negative way,” said Miley.
“We heard from a contractor who talked about the competition from firms who open up under one name, file bankruptcy and reopen under another name and asked that we address that issue if we can. We heard from a retail music store operator who talked about the competition from online retailers that he faces.”
Monday’s meeting was scheduled to run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Shawkey Room of Marshall University’s Student Memorial Center.
In all, Miley said lawmakers will visit 10 sites to hear from small business owners and entrepreneurs.
The 60-day legislative session closes on Saturday, March 8.