Wednesday was crossover day. Bills had to be passed out of their originating chamber by the end of the day to give them any chance of being approved by the other body. That means a lot of bills died yesterday; some good, some bad. There’s always next year.
—The House has passed the “forced pooling” bill. HB 2688 provides a way for reluctant gas rights holders to be required to participate in natural gas drilling when the rights holders for 80 percent of the property agree. It’s a contentious bill, and opponents forced the bill to be read in its entirety first, all 68 pages. That was followed by a long debate on the floor where supporters argued that forced pooling will help the natural gas industry expand even more, but opponents argued that it amounts to an illegal taking of property.
—West Virginia will soon have a new, more strict abortion law. The House easily overrode Gov. Tomblin’s veto of the fetal pain bill Wednesday. The Senate will do the same. The legislation, which will go into effect in 90 days, prohibits abortions after 20 weeks unless the fetus is not viable or the mother faces a serious health hazard. The last time lawmakers overrode a gubernatorial veto was in 1987 when the Legislature turned back Arch Moore’s veto of the budget bill.
—House Republicans say a bill that would have required drug testing for welfare recipients has died, an apparent victim of time constraints with just a week and a half left in the regular session. The bill passed the Senate earlier. At least 12 states have the drug testing requirement, although Florida’s law was struck down in the courts.
—Gov. Tomblin has signed into law HB 2004 which gives lawmakers oversight for how the state Department of Environmental Protection plans to meet the federal EPA’s sweeping plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. State DEP Director Randy Huffman opposed the bill, but he decided not to put up a big fight against it. The whole issue may be moot since there’s a legal challenge to the EPA’s authority to force states to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
—Lawmakers are taking yet another crack at campaign finance reform. SB 541 raises the contribution caps in West Virginia elections from the current $1,000 to $2,700 per cycle with an inflation provision. The bill also calls for greater disclosure by those making contributions. Supporters say they want to try to slow the growing amount of spending by independent groups, which currently do not have to disclose their donors. Senators worked out a bipartisan bill and it passed last night.
—Labor is planning another big demonstration at the Capitol. UMWA president Cecil Roberts, AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka, state AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue and Teamsters Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall headline the Saturday rally, which they say will bring in 40 busloads of demonstrators. The labor leaders will speak against a coal mine bill that changes safety standards and legislation that alters how prevailing wages are determined.
—One glaring omission from this year’s otherwise productive legislative session is anything significant on roads. The West Virginia Contractors Association released a study this week indicating a $500 million increase in spending on highways and bridges would create 10,000 new jobs and generate $1 billion in additional economic output. But the question remains, where does the $500 million come from? That will have to be an issue for another legislative session.