2019 Legislature Story Archives - Page 2 of 3 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. House Passes Bill to Reduce Coal Severance Tax

The West Virginia House passed a bill Wednesday that would reduce the severance tax paid on coal burned for electricity

House Bill 3142 passed on an 88-11 vote after contentious debate on the floor.

Long sought by industry, the legislation would reduce the severance tax paid by coal companies on steam or thermal coal from 5 percent to 4 percent effective July 1 and to 3 percent effective July 1, 2020.

The bill originated in the House Finance Committee Friday. Officials from the West Virginia Department of Revenue told lawmakers the state general fund is likely to lose about $60 million in revenue over the next two years if the measures passes.

Supporters say the bill would make West Virginia coal more competitive and potentially boost employment at mines.

“Right now I believe our coal industry is struggling,” said House Finance Committee Chair Del. Eric Householder, a Republican from Berkeley County. “And I think this is the best thing we can do for them right now.”

A 2015 report from the West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research that examined the impacts of a tax reduction found reducing severance taxes on West Virginia’s coal industry would create limited economic benefits — between 150 and 196 jobs.

“There’s little evidence to support a severance tax cut for coal as a tool to increase production and employment,” stated a 2016 blog post by the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy that addressed a report issued by the West Virginia Coal Association on the benefits of cutting the state’s coal severance tax. “Overall, the state has little ability to influence the forces affecting the coal industry, be they competition from natural gas, environmental regulations, productivity, or transportation issues.”

Those concerns were echoed during floor debate Wednesday by Del. Evan Hansen, (D) from Monongalia County.

“The question was raised is how many jobs is that going to create and the chairman of Finance said maybe 100. That’s $600,000 per job, this one piece of legislation. Maybe it will create 500 jobs, that’s $120,000 per job. That’s still quite a lot,” Hansen said, adding that dropping the price of steam coal by a few percentage points by slashing the severance tax doesn’t change the overall economic picture for coal.

“We’ve got coal-fired power plants shutting down across the country. We have coal-fired power plants shutting down in West Virginia and the reason is they cant compete,” he said. “They can’t compete because we have vast amts of cheap natural gas that’s cheaper than the coal we mine in West Virginia and it’s not just one percent cheaper or two percent cheaper.”

Del. Larry Rowe, a Democrat from Kanawha County noted during floor debate that the bill lists no requirements for how the money saved must be spent, and because it only reduces the severance tax on thermal coal used to create electricity, not metallurgical coal used to create steel, the benefits will largely be felt in the northern part of the state where steam coal is mined.

“I think this is something that we should study and be aware of,” Rowe said. “My difficulty is in the fact that I represent the coal-producing portion of Kanawha County — I think we’re fourth in the state in coal production — and it looks like that we may not get the full benefit of this tax reduction.”

The bill stipulates that the portion of the severance tax paid directly to counties and local governments, .35 percent, would not be impacted.

The state also shares 5 percent of the remaining tax collected with counties — 75 percent to coal-producing counties and 25 percent to non-producing regions. Under House Bill 3142, the amount of coal severance tax to be distributed to coal-producing counties cannot dip lower than the amount distributed in fiscal year 2018.

The bill also strikes the provision that counties must use some of their severance taxes for economic development and infrastructure projects.

The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Medicaid Work Bill Dies in West Virginia House

A bill that sought to place work or other requirements on Medicaid recipients in West Virginia has died in the House of Delegates.A House committee put…

A bill that sought to place work or other requirements on Medicaid recipients in West Virginia has died in the House of Delegates.

A House committee put the bill on its inactive calendar Wednesday, Feb. 27, the final day that legislation could be passed in their chamber of origin. The full House earlier Wednesday debated the bill but stopped short of voting on it, and did not take up the bill during a late evening session before adjourning.

The bill would have required able-bodied adults to work, participate in workforce training or community service, or attend a drug treatment or recovery program for at least 20 hours per week.

According to the Department of Health and Human Resources, about 159,000 West Virginians are enrolled in Medicaid expansion.

The Trump administration has allowed states to tie Medicaid coverage to work.

Some House Democrats said during afternoon debate that there were too many unknowns about the bill.

“This bill is an amazement,” Kanawha County Democrat Larry Rowe said. “It’s been part of the legislative process for not even six days. Health care is life or death. There’s some very fundamental questions that are not answered in the bill.”

Chantal Fields, executive director of the nonprofit group West Virginians for Affordable Health Care, said this week the bill was hastily crafted, had no public hearing and didn’t have a fiscal note.

The bill “came as a surprise to the entire health care community,” Fields said.

W.Va. Senate OKs Bill to Raise Minimum Tobacco Use Age to 21

The West Virginia Senate has passed a bill that would raise the state’s minimum legal age for using tobacco products from 18 to 21.

The Senate passed the bill on a 20-14 vote Wednesday. The bill covers all tobacco and vaping products. A similar bill is pending in a House committee.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Virginia has among the highest youth smoking rates in the nation.

A similar bill died last year in a Senate committee.

Virginia last week became the seventh state to raise the smoking age to 21. Similar bills are pending before lawmakers in several states.

Bill Would Revive West Virginia Film Tax Credits

A bill that would revive film production tax credits in West Virginia has passed the House of Delegates.

Last year Gov. Jim Justice signed legislation ending the state’s program after an audit showed the $5 million in annual credits produced little economic benefit.

Delegate Dianna Graves is the bill’s sponsor. The Kanawha County Republican says the credit is a great advertising opportunity for the state.

The bill passed on a 73-26 vote after long debate Wednesday. It now moves to the state Senate.

The bill would not revive the defunct West Virginia Film Office.

West Virginia Coal Miners Rally For Black Lung Legislation

Miners and advocates rallied Wednesday at the West Virginia Capitol in support of a series of bills aimed at preventing and treating severe black lung disease.

Five bills introduced by lawmakers would make it easier to make qualify for state benefits and provide benefits to miners who have early-stage black lung.

The bills come at a time when the Ohio Valley is facing a surge in cases of severe black lung disease, also called Progressive Massive Fibrosis.

“We’re here because so many of the people that’s worked years and years years, 30, 35 years in the mines, and been exposed to coal dust their whole life and they fall through the cracks,” said Terry Abbott, president of United Mine Workers of America Local 8843, which represents miners in West Virginia’s Fayette and Kanawha counties.

“We’re here to support all the miners that should be receiving compensation for the the years they put in the mines.”

Black lung is caused by exposure to coal dust and the debilitating and progressive disease has no cure. The state and federal government both have benefits systems that allow miners to make a claim against their employer for medical expenses and a small stipend.

Advocates and miners argue access to health and financial benefits increases the likelihood sufferers can seek medical treatment.

Getting those benefits through federal or state programs can be challenging, and recent changes on the state level has made it tougher for miners to qualify.

Obstacles To Benefits

Kentucky lawmakers last year eliminated radiologists from the process miners use to qualify for benefits. In West Virginia, a decision by the state Supreme Court made it harder for miners to file a claim.

Now, advocates for black lung victims are rallying behind new legislation in West Virginia which they say can help sick miners. Kentucky representatives have also proposed a bipartisan bill that would repeal the state’s 2018 law that limits which doctors can evaluate black lung workers compensation claims.

One bill in West Virginia with bipartisan support is Senate Bill 260. Co-sponsored by two doctors, it would change the law to allow miners to receive partial disability awards if they are diagnosed with the disease. Miners diagnosed with early-stage black lung would qualify for 20 weeks of benefits.

Members of the Southeastern Kentucky Black Lung Association light candles in memory of those lost to the disease.

Miners would only have to have X-rays that show the presence of severe black lung disease, not a diagnosis that the disease has yet impacted their health.

Supporters of the bill argue that because black lung is progressive, there is no doubt symptoms will worsen. Providing some benefits to miners early on may boost their ability to seek treatment or assist in re-training to allow early career miners to find other employment and limit coal dust exposure.

Benefits Boost

Another bill, Senate Bill 144, would create a state black lung program that would provide $300 in monthly benefits for West Virginia miners with at least 10 years of coal dust exposure.

“We want to simplify the black lung program here in West Virginia, so the state can take care of its own, give them what they’re due, what they’re entitled to and what they’ve worked for,” said Charles Dixon, with UMWA Local 1440 in Matewan, West Virginia.

He was one of dozens of miners who rallied at the Capitol Wednesday in support of the black lung bills.

A third bill, House Bill 2588, would challenge the recent West Virginia Supreme Court decision that made it harder for miners to file a state workers’ compensation case. It stipulates a person seeking an evaluation from the state Occupational Pneumoconiosis Board can do so at any time regardless of the time limits set to file a claim and that insurance carriers must pay for the exam.

The bills have not yet advanced to a floor vote.

WVPB’s Dave Mistich contributed to this story.

House of Delegates Votes To Postpone Action Indefinitely on Omnibus Education Bill

Editor’s Note: A previous headline on this story said the House killed the education omnibus education bill. While the vote today makes it difficult for the bill to survive, there are still some technical maneuvers that could bring the bill back to the floor. This story will be updated when the situation becomes clearer.

The West Virginia House of Delegates has effectively killed a controversial education reform measure that has forced the second teacher strike in as many years.

With hundreds of teachers and school service personnel screaming and chanting outside the House chamber and even more educators lining the each of the chamber’s three galleries, a roar went up in the chamber and outside as the vote was made.

A motion to postpone action on the latest version of Senate Bill 451 was adopted on a 53-45 vote, with 12 Republicans joining all House Democrats to kill the bill.

It is unclear whether the House vote will end the strike.

Three unions representing teachers and school service workers say they’ll meet with union members before deciding on further action, which could include ending a strike that began Tuesday. The unions have scheduled a late afternoon news conference.

Senate President, R-Jackson, expressed disappointment in the bill’s failing. He said he expected the House to concur with the upper chamber’s amendment and send the bill to Gov. Jim Justice.

“I’ll say in this political world, all you really have is your word. And, so, when one gives you your word, you take them at their word and we take actions accordingly,” Carmichael said. “We had an agreement and then, you know, it wasn’t honored.”

How House Lawmakers Got To Their Vote

The House gaveled in at 11 a.m. and received the Senate message about the upper chamber’s passage of an amended version of Senate Bill 451.

Delegates were set to consider action on the latest version of the bill and had been left with two options, concur in the Senate’s amendments to the measure or reject it — and likely force yet another version to be hashed out by a select few lawmakers in a conference committee.

The latest version of Senate Bill 451 — as amended by the upper chamber Monday — called for pay raises for teachers and school service personnel raises.

An earlier version approved by the House of Delegates had capped charter schools at two pilots and had removed education savings accounts from the bill entirely.

Immediately following the bill being received by the House, Del. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, moved to postpone action on Senate Bill 451 indefinitely.

But, before that motion went straight to a vote, Majority Leader Amy Summers moved to postpone action on the bill until 4 p.m.

After debate over whether delegates had enough time to review the bill, the House rejected Summers’ motion on a 45-53 vote.

With Summers’ motion downed, delegates turned their attention back to Caputo’s motion to postpone Senate Bill 451 indefinitely, killing the bill on the 53-45 vote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.