Quick thoughts on the end of the 2012 legislative session:
–The one bill that passed that most directly impacts West Virginians makes it a primary offense for texting while driving. Talking on your cell phone is a secondary offense until July 2013, when it becomes a primary offense. The final debate in the House Judiciary Committee reached the level of the absurd at one point, as lawmakers tried to think of every possible scenario where the law might not be applied fairly. Among those was, what if you taped your hand-held cell phone to a stationary position in the vehicle so it would be hands-free? Here’s a better idea: pass a reasonable law and let the police sort it out. They make judgment calls every day on enforcement.
–Along the same lines, lawmakers approved a bill aimed at curbing the exploding prescription drug abuse problem in the state. The essential elements of the bill didn’t trigger much debate. Instead, lawmakers got bogged down on whether over-the-counter cold medicines that contain pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in making meth, should require a prescription. Lawmakers compromised by setting limits on how many grams of pseudoephedrine a customer can buy in a day, a month and a year. That seems like a peculiar agreement, given the current inability of law enforcement to keep more powerful prescription pain killers from flooding the streets.
–Governor Tomblin’s bill designed to improve mine safety, following the UBB disaster where 29 miners died, passed this session with much fanfare. It’s worth noting, however, that any safety law is only as good as the enforcement. Coincidentally, just last week the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, which is charged with enforcing mine safety laws, released the results of an internal review showing myriad areas where MSHA failed to do its job at UBB.
–Lawmakers ended up neutering the Buy America Act. The bill, as it was originally designed, would have required that all products used when building state funded projects come from American manufacturers. West Virginia contractors believed the bill was wildly impractical, even though it had a waiver provision for supply or cost issues with the American made product. The legislature settled on creating a task force to study the idea.
–The Governor and the Legislature deserve credit for putting in place a plan to pay down the $5 billion long-term debt obligation for health care for retired state workers. That legislation, combined with a decision by the Public Employee Insurance Agency to cap the state’s share of premium payments for retirees, makes the debt manageable, particularly in the eyes of bond rating agencies that evaluate the financial condition of states.
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–The regular session ended at midnight Saturday, but a critical tax credit necessary for reopening Century Aluminum at Ravenswood will be taken up this week by lawmakers during an extended session to work on the budget. Buzz under the Capitol Dome last week was that all parties were having trouble agreeing on the size of the tax credit the state is willing to grant Century in order to restart the plant and provide health benefits for hundreds of retirees.
–Lawmakers thankfully defeated a proposal to create the position of Lieutenant Governor in West Virginia. Backers believed the state needed someone to take over in case the Governor’s office becomes vacant, which happened in 2010 after Joe Manchin resigned to take a U.S. Senate seat. Current law says the Senate President shall act as Governor until a special election. That process has been a bit clunky at times, but it’s better than creating a whole new high level position in state government for such a rare occurrence.
–Senate Education Committee Chairman Bob Plymale has already said he’s going to spend time after this session working through the sweeping public education audit in hopes of coming up with a significant reform package for the next session of the Legislature. A number of top state leaders recognize that public education is "the next big thing," but they worry that any major proposals will be stonewalled in the stubborn House Education Committee, which is dominated by the teacher unions.