Tag: 2017 Legislature

State Lawmakers Vote to Eliminate Wage Bonds

West Virginia's House of Delegates has followed the Senate and voted to eliminate the state requirement that construction and mining companies post bonds…

West Virginia’s House of Delegates has followed the Senate and voted to eliminate the state requirement that construction and mining companies post bonds to protect worker wages if they’ve operated in West Virginia less than five years.

The House Bill, approved 85-14 on Monday, would remove the bonding requirement but increase one possible criminal penalty for employers who knowingly relocate or dispose of assets to deprive workers of wages and fringe benefits.

The minimum fine for any person, firm or corporation convicted of the felony would remain $5,000 with the possible maximum fine doubling to $60,000.

In the past 10 years, the Division of Labor reports having cashed and paid $1 million in wages and benefits from bonds by 40 deadbeat companies.

House of Delegates Considers Change for Gas-Drilling Rights

West Virginia's House is considering Senate-passed legislation to authorize natural gas producers to drill when three-fourths of those with royalty rights…

West Virginia’s House is considering Senate-passed legislation to authorize natural gas producers to drill when three-fourths of those with royalty rights agree.

At a House hearing Monday, witnesses were divided over whether the bill would unconstitutionally involve the state in private contracts and represents an economic boom for more than out-of-state energy companies.

State Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher says it creates a platform that’s “fair and reasonable to property owners” and is good for the industry and people who work in it.

Julie Archer of the West Virginia Surface Owners’ Rights Organization says it lacks landowner protections.

Sean O’Leary of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy says a Senate amendment would create tax tiers on gas production that would cut the rate currently from 5 to 4 percent.

State Advocates for The Poor Oppose Food Stamp Bill

Advocates for low-income West Virginians are urging the House of Delegates to defeat a Senate-passed bill to establish a computerized system to verify whether 176,000 households getting food stamps are eligible.

Following pilot programs in nine counties, opponents say the state will spend $15 million for an outside contractor, find little fraud in the federally funded program whose benefit is about $74 a month and set reporting requirements that will knock people off.

Jean Simpson, executive director of Manna Meal, a nonprofit soup kitchen in Charleston, says they feed 400 people daily and taking benefits from the people they see is “shameful.”

The bill would require able-bodied adults without dependents getting the federal benefits to work at least 20 hours a week and limit benefits based on household assets.

Justice Requests Authority for Worker Furloughs

Gov. Jim Justice is calling for legislation to give him authority to furlough state workers to help address the government’s budget deficits.

The recently elected Democratic governor earlier proposed tapping the state’s rainy day fund to close a projected $123 million gap in the current fiscal year.

He has also proposed fractional sales and corporate tax increases to close a $500 million deficit in the year that starts July 1 and a bonding for a billion dollar-plus highway reconstruction program to boost West Virginia’s economy.

His latest proposal follows a rating downgrade on state debt by Moody’s Investors Service, which will make state borrowing more expensive.

He calls state finances “such a dog’s mess” with the furlough legislation needed to stop the negative spiral without his plans in place.

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