Delegate Gary Howell Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Bill on Local Smoking Restrictions is Rejected in the House

It was Tobacco Free Day at the Legislature, Friday. Coincidentally, the Government Organization Committee held a public hearing about smoking. Currently, a county board of public health passes smoking regulations. House Bill 2208, in its introduced version, would make it so only members of the county commission elected by voters have the power to regulate public smoking.

The bill has since changed and now county commissions could only decide if smoking will be allowed in casinos and video lottery businesses in the county. However, the introduced version stirred up a lot of emotions this morning as almost 30 citizens spoke to the committee.

Only one speaker expressed support for the bill.

Kenny Smith with the American Legion says putting restrictions on veterans who want to be able to go inside certain places and smoke isn’t fair.

“We are obligated to tell a man or a woman serving in the United States services under the age of twenty-one, he may not consume alcohol within our fraternal organizations; however this ship has sailed and it is accepted by this generation. We are now telling these same men and women they no longer enjoy the freedom of smoking within our walls as well,” Smith said, “To this extent, what freedoms will be taken next?”

Donna Gialluco with the Hancock County Health Department couldn’t understand why smoking was not deemed a public health issue in the introduced version of the bill.

“Fifty-one years ago, the surgeon general’s report already sounded an alarm saying the dangers of smoking and how bad they are for us. Moving forward, secondhand smoke has also been a leading cause of cancer among non-smokers in particular,” Gialluco noted, “So again, I ask this question of you. How can a legislation define smoking as not a part of public health?”

After the public hearing ended, the Government Organization Committee began to discuss the bill.

Delegate Isaac Sponaugle, a Democrat from Pendleton County, was the first one to point out that members were no longer looking at the introduced version of the bill but instead at a committee substitute.

The committee substitute no longer restricts smoking regulations to only the county commission, but instead makes it so the commission only has authority over regulations at casinos and video lottery sites. The smoking regulations set down already by each county’s public health board would remain the same as before.

Delegate Sponaugle was curious if the county commission even wanted the authority of regulating public smoking at these sites.

Jack Woodrum with the Summers County Commission spoke on behalf of the commission and says there are language issues with the bill that concern him.

The committee continued to discuss the bill questioning counsel and Woodrum on the issues of liability in the current language, of safety, and of health.

But in the end, House Bill 2208 allowing county commissioners to decide if smoking would be permitted at casinos and video lottery establishments was rejected.

Addition of Parents on the Education Board Has Overwhelming Support in the House

Anyone visiting the state capitol who is licensed to carry concealed weapons would be allowed to keep loaded firearms in their motor vehicles that are parked near the complex. This bill overwhelmingly passed the house Thursday.

Delegate Gary Howell of Mineral County cited the bill as a safety issue.

“This bill addresses a problem that we have. We have our constituents come down from all over the state, normal, average, everyday West Virginians that have their concealed carry permit. They know that they can’t bring them in the buildings, but they don’t know they can’t park in the parking lots,” Howell noted, “This addresses that issue, so they know they can come to the Capitol, and if some time there is a very late night meeting and it’s dark and whatever, they know when they get back to their car, they’re at a point of safety, and I urge passage.”

House Bill 2128 passed 97 to 0.

On second reading, or the amendment stage, was House Bill 2151, which would make the West Virginia teacher of the year an ex officio, nonvoting member of the West Virginia Board of Education.

Delegate Doug Reynolds, a Democrat from Cabell County, stood to offer an amendment to suggest the a change in the qualifications of some members of the Board of Education.

“The purpose of my amendment is to also add in that two members of the 13 must also be parents,” explained Reynolds, “when they’re appointed of children currently under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education.”

Reynolds’ amendment received major support from both sides of the aisle passing 97 to 1. The one rejection vote was from Delegate Joe Statler, a Republican from Monongalia County.

Currently, the Governor appoints the members of the state school board with the advice and consent of the Senate. Reynolds suggests that the Governor must consider board members who actually have school age children. He thinks it would help bring a new perspective.

“I think that parents bring a perspective of what’s going on in the schools,” Reynolds said, “not necessarily what might not be in those rulebooks and what might be in those policies, but how those policies are affecting kids on a day-to-day basis.”

Reynolds says he has nothing against the current school board, but he thinks his amendment will help aim to make the school system better.

“I think it shows that we value the input of parents,” Reynolds explained, “because almost all of the experts I talk to complain about parent engagement, and I think this is showing some leadership and saying we value you, we want your views on the school board.”

With committee passage of the repeal of the prevailing wage in the Senate yesterday and that issue poised for a vote on the senate floor next week, Delegate Mike Caputo warned his house colleagues that the bill is on its way.

“The Senate passed a bill repealing the prevailing wage in West Virginia, a wage that workers depend on to feed their families, that workers depend on to make sure their kids have the same opportunities as rich folks kids have to go to college and have a nice home and a nice car. They’re deeply concerned and they’re deeply worried, and I know you all have gotten the letters that I’ve gotten,” Caputo said, “And I’ve gotten more letters from businesses who are concerned about the repeal of the prevailing wage on what it will do to good West Virginia businesses. It’s been here a long time, and it’s provided a good work place for those men and women. So I would caution us to think long and hard about how we proceed when that bill comes over here.”

Confusion in the House Government Organization Committee

What started out as a simple committee meeting to examine the progression of a bill turned into an hour of confusion in the House Government Organization Committee Wednesday.

The Committee met to discuss House Bill 2182, which relates to an examination of the Potomac Highlands Airport Authority’s accounts by state officials. Delegate John Shott sponsored the bill after getting word there was some confusion going on at the airport located in Mineral County.

What the Delegates came to realize is they were confused, too.

“I guess what’s confusing with this is, maybe this is a question for counsel, but how can the state of Maryland have authority for property that’s situated in the state of West Virginia,” asked Delegate Justin Marcum.

“Well they own the actual property, so I mean Alleghany County owns the property,” said Rick Lechliter, the Mineral County Commissioner with the Airport Authority Board, “but that’s where, beyond that, that’s where the compact has been confusing all this time, because it splits up who operates it, and so neither state really has a say.”

Lechliter came to explain the confusion going on at the airport and ask for help from legislators.

Delegate Gary Howell, the chairman of the House Government Organization Committee, clarified the situation.

“The airport itself lies completely within Mineral County, West Virginia,” Howell said, “It’s in an unincorporated area of Wiley Ford, West Virginia. But the airport was originally built by the city of Cumberland, Maryland in West Virginia then transferred to Allegheny County, Maryland, and sometime, I believe it was in the 1970s, West Virginia got involved with funding the airport. West Virginia now through tax breaks and funding actually funds the majority of the operations of the airport, and there’s been an argument over whose laws take precedent, the airport being in West Virginia and West Virginia funding the majority of it, you would think it was our state, but some of the others have some disagreement, and that’s what led to this. And Delegate Shott thought it was a good idea to go ahead and change it in the code to make sure it could be audited to follow, make sure they’re following West Virginia law.”

Delegate Larry Faircloth was one of many in the meeting baffled to find out the accounting firm used by the airport was auditing itself.

“One company that performed the audit that is also doing the accounting,” Faircloth said, “in your opinion, I mean, if we dig deep enough…”

“I know that’s not the right thing by West Virginia regulations,” said Lechliter.

“No, it shouldn’t be the right thing by any regulation,” responded Faircloth, “You know with all due respect this smells.”

By the end of the meeting, Delegate Jim Morgan brought into perspective that most of what was discussed was not what anyone was expecting and not relevant to what the original focus was of the bill.

“It would seem to me that this committee should be deciding on what’s on line six on page two that they should submit an agency review, etcetera, etcetera, and that the gentlemen who is responding is being asked about the operation in the airport and several other things that really aren’t what we’re asking for in this piece of legislation, and that most of those questions really have really not been germane to what we’re doing,” noted Morgan.

Delegate Howell explains why the committee was so confused.

“We originally had attorneys from the auditor’s office come up and tell us that they didn’t cut the checks that the treasurer’s office did, so we had to make an amendment to the bill,” said Howell, “Apparently this was someone who was new to the auditor’s office and had it backwards, and there was different attorneys from the auditor’s office that were in there, and once we done that, they come up and told my staff, they said, that’s not right that’s backwards. So we kind of had to back out and correct the mistake. We’d originally gotten some bad information from the attorneys in the auditor’s office.”

At the end of the meeting, the bill was amended to change the word auditor to treasurer.

Delegate Howell says what happened in the meeting was a strange instance for everyone.

“We want to make sure we’re doing this the right thing, we want to make sure that the tax payer’s money is being protected and spent wisely and that’s essentially what this did. Let’s make sure this is going to be done wisely,” Howell said.

House Bill 2182 will now be considered by the House Finance Committee.