Government Story Archives - Page 1075 of 1258 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Advocacy Groups Say Abortion Bill Still Unconstitutional

Two West Virginia advocacy groups gathered outside the House of Delegates Thursday to protest a bill they say is unconstitutional. Lawmakers in the chamber have re-introduced the 20 week Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, this year with additional provisions.

The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act makes it illegal for a medical professional in the state to conduct an abortion after 20 weeks except with the woman has a medical emergency.

It also sets up civil and criminal penalties for doctors who do not comply with the ban.

The bill was passed by both the House and Senate during the 2014 legislative session, but vetoed by the governor because he questioned its legal standing.

“It takes healthcare decision making out of the hands of women and their trusted providers and puts it into the hands of government,” Margaret Chapman Pomponio, executive director of West Virginia Freedom for Reproductive Education and Equality or West Virginia FREE, said before the demonstration.

“The legislature frankly isn’t in a position, they don’t have the knowledge to make these kinds of decisions.”

Supporters of @wvfree and @ACLU_wv asked to chant quietly b/c House is still in session. #wvlegis A video posted by Ashton Marra (@ashtonmarra) on Jan 22, 2015 at 9:15am PST

Jennifer Meinig with the West Virginia American Civil Liberties Union says this year’s version of the bill is much more extreme than the version approved by lawmakers last year, and is still unconstitutional.

“Every court in the country that’s addressed this issue has found bans like this to be unconstitutional and this bill is no different,” she said.

The bill also creates a litigation fund, essentially a pool of money for the attorney general’s office to help pay for legal proceedings that may come if the bill is passed and enacted.

The bill has been sent to the House Health and Human Resources Committee for consideration. A similar piece of legislation was introduced in the Senate earlier this week.

W.Va. Governor Bill Would Allow Craft Beer Samples, Growlers

Craft beer lovers could score samples on brewery tours or fill growlers to take home for later under a push by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.

On Wednesday, lawmakers filed the craft beer bill Tomblin touted in his State of the State address last week.

The proposal would let craft breweries give free samples during tours. Breweries could sell up to four growlers per day, per customer.

Currently, only licensed brewpubs can sell growlers.

The bill would provide some relief from fees for the craft beer industry. Licensing fees would be determined on a sliding scale, based on the brewery’s production volume.

Brewpubs also would no longer need to provide a bond for their licenses.

The bill is under consideration during the 60-day legislative session that started last week.

State Democratic Party Chair Resigning to Lead Manchin's PAC

West Virginia Democratic party chair Larry Puccio is resigning to serve as the leader of U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s political action committee.

According to a news release Thursday, Puccio will become chairman of Manchin’s Country Roads PAC.

Federal Election Commission filings indicate that the Country Roads PAC contributed $26,000 to U.S. House candidates in West Virginia and Ohio during the 2014 election campaign. The group contributed $86,500 to U.S. Senate candidates from 19 states in that election cycle.

The Country Roads PAC was established in 2011 by Jack Rossi, with Manchin acting as its Leadership PAC Sponsor. As a former chief of staff to then-Governor Manchin, Puccio will serve as liaison to elected officials and political leaders.

“From my time as Governor and now to my time in the Senate, Larry has always been a trusted advisor and someone who has always been connected to the political and legislative workings of West Virginia,” Manchin said in the release.

“Larry’s years of experience and dedication to the state of West Virginia will allow me to better serve the state as its senior Senator and stay connected to the issues that are affecting them.”

Puccio was asked by Fayette County Democrats to step down from his post following the November 2014 midterm election. The Democratic Party lost control of the West Virginia Legislature, as well as seats in the U.S. House and Senate.

“I am honored to be able to continue serving the people of West Virginia and work with Senator Manchin,” said Puccio in the release.

“This new role as PAC Chairman will allow me to continue to build on the successes we had in the Governor’s office and build new ones in the Senate.”

West Virginia Army Reservists Deploying to Afghanistan and Kosovo

Last month, President Obama announced the end of combat operations in Afghanistan. Some news organizations went so far as to say the war was over.

But for soldiers and their families from the Army Reserves’ 363rd Military Police Company – headquartered in Grafton, WV – the war isn’t over. This spring, some of these soldiers will be deploying to Afghanistan.

The Battle Roster

The U.S. still has over 10,000 troops in Afghanistan. Possible troop assignments include:

Advise and train the Afghanistan army and police (primary role)
Conduct air strikes and provide other types of air support
Protect themselves if threatened
Assist the Afghanistan security forces if necessary

Soldiers from 3rd Platoon listen to the current list of who is deploying. Some members of their families are in the back. Spc. Shane Delong, who is wearing the green uniform in the front row, will be deploying to Afghanistan.

During their December drill weekend, soldiers from the 363 Military Police Company, gathered to hear the names listed on the “battle rosters” which is the list of deploying soldiers. (The Army asked us not to report the names because the lists are still in flux.)

After the Afghanistan battle roster was read, the soldiers heard the battle roster for the troops going to Kosovo. That’s another war you might have thought was over. But the United States has supplied soldiers to the NATO peacekeeping force there since 1999. The U.S. is currently contributing about 750 soldiers to NATO’s 4,500-soldier peacekeeping force.

Sgt. 1st Class Lahomma Fowler talked to her platoon about the deployment. Fowler explained to her soldiers: “If you have vouchers pending for dental, medical, hearing – any of that stuff – when you call to make your appointment, you tell them: ‘I am a deploying soldier. I need to be seen as soon as possible.’”

The News Sinks In

Sgt. 1st Class Fowler deployed to Iraq with the 363 MP’s in 2009. During this deployment she will be the non-commissioned officer in charge of the 25 soldiers heading to Kosovo.

“When you first find out your name has come up to be deployed,” Fowler said, “immediately there’s this thought process that goes through your brain: ‘Oh, I’m going to go do this!’ But when it starts sinking in, it’s that sobering thought: ‘Oh, I’m going to be gone.’”

Sgt. 1st Class Fowler goes on to list common worries: How are my bills going to get paid? How is my house going to be taken care of? Who’s going to cut my grass?

One of the soldiers deploying to Afghanistan is Spc. Jakob Mays of Fairmont. “I’m pumped. This will be my fourth deployment, so this is just another skip in the ballpark for me. I’m excited because I’ve never been to Afghanistan before.”

3 Months Out

During the next three months, the soldiers will get ready for their spring deployment. Like all Reservists, they will refresh and sharpen their skills during once-a-month weekend drills. This March, they’ll put all their skills together.

“When we get to annual training in March,” Sgt. 1st Class Fowler explains, “we’ll be able to run these missions, and do what we call ‘War Fighter’, or ‘War Games’, which is full speed… just like you would be performing these tasks while you were deployed.”

Sgt. Ashley Snyder plays with her son and some of the other soldiers’ children during the 363 Military Police annual Christmas party. Sgt. Snyder will be deploying to Kosovo.

Manchin Eager to Hear What's Next in State of the Union

With the President’s State of the Union coming up tonight, Senator Joe Manchin is still unsure about what a more conservative political climate on Capitol Hill means for the nation, and for West Virginia.

At the end of 2014 Senator Joe Manchinpublically expressed his discomfort with the back and forth between each party and what was being accomplished. Manchin said his tune hasn’t changed much, he’s taking a wait–and-see attitude:

“Right now it’s still up in the air, right now the appearance and everything I’ve seen is a big change and I’m eager for the change and I want to participate, I want to be involved and have input and protect my state of West Virginia and make sure our state has a voice and that’s what’s been promised to us,” Manchin said.

Manchin said he’s curious to find out more about the President Obama’s stance on free community college attendance, trade agreements and security issues.

W.Va., Noble Negotiating Deal for Drilling Under Ohio River

West Virginia is negotiating a lease with Noble Energy for oil and gas drilling under the Ohio River.

Department of Commerce spokeswoman Chelsea Ruby tells The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register that Noble submitted the highest bid to lease a 1,400-acre state-owned tract under the river.

Ruby says Noble has agreed to pay $3,500 per acre to lease the land. She didn’t say what percentage of production royalties Noble will pay the state.

Noble spokeswoman Stacey Brodak declined comment on the deal because it hasn’t been finalized.

The state earlier leased 232 acres under the river to Gastar Exploration for drilling. Both tracts are in Marshall County.

Leasing state land for a drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, is a new venture for West Virginia.