Tag: Robert Karnes

Bill That Would Strike Down ‘Rolling Coal’ Sparks Senate Committee Debate

A bill that would restrict “rolling coal” — a form of protest in which drivers release thick clouds of smog from there vehicles — advanced in the West Virginia Senate on Monday, but not without pushback from some lawmakers.

A controversial bill that would prohibit “rolling coal” on roadways advanced in the West Virginia Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Monday — but not without pushback from some lawmakers.

Rolling coal refers to modifying diesel fuel in a motor vehicle in order to pollute the air with thick, dark smog. For years, rolling coal on highways has served as a display of allegiance to the coal industry in spite of mounting environmentalist pushback.

Elsewhere in the United States, lawmakers have restricted the form of protest in light of environmental, health and safety concerns associated with emitting a pollutant into the air.

Now, West Virginia legislators are considering their own restrictions on the practice. The West Virginia Senate is actively reviewing Senate Bill 436, which would render the contentious form of protest a misdemeanor.

The bill reached the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Monday, where discussions focused on the safety risk associated with reduced visibility on West Virginia roads.

Sponsored by Sen. Jack Woodrum, R-Summers, the bill penalizes deliberately selling, making or using diesel additives to produce “visible smoke emissions.” It would apply to all motorized vehicles on public roadways, but not on private land.

The bill passed through the committee Monday but drew pushback from senators who described it as a crackdown on pro-coal West Virginians, or an unnecessary piece of legislation to focus on.

Rolling coal refers to the deliberate emission of thick, black smog from a motor vehicle.
Credit: toa555/Adobe Stock

Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Randolph, was an outspoken critic of the bill during Monday’s meeting. Karnes alleged the pending law would suppress some West Virginians’ right to protest.

“People who are doing this rolling coal are simply expressing their support for West Virginia’s coal industry,” Karnes said. “This is an attack on people who support our coal industry.”

“We may not like that particular statement,” he continued. “But they have a right to express their political views.”

Others who voted to advance the bill said that, regardless of their own perceptions of the protests, the law would not mark a clear enough suppression of coal supporters’ rights to preclude it from further consideration.

“I don’t see this as an anti-coal bill,” said Sen. Glen Jeffries, R-Putnam.

Regardless, members of the committee agreed to scale back penalties for those who violate the law.

Under an earlier draft of the bill, repeat rolling coal offenders could face up to six months imprisonment. The committee deemed this excessive, and amended the bill so that violators would only incur fines up to $500.

With the committee’s approval, the amended bill will now return to the Senate where lawmakers will determine whether to send it to the House of Delegates.

Senator Removed From Chamber Floor

Things grew contentious on the Senate floor Friday morning as one Senator demanded to be recognized on the chamber floor. 

Things grew contentious on the Senate floor Friday morning as one Senator demanded to be recognized on the chamber floor. 

Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Randolph, demanded the attention of Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, as soon as the first bill was up for consideration on the Senate floor Friday morning. 

“Mr. President, I demand that this bill be read. Mr. President, I demand the bill be read as Constitutionally required,” Karnes yelled as his colleagues voted on the bill.

Karnes said he was concerned a Constitutional rule that each bill be read fully and distinctly three times was being ignored. As the day’s business progressed, he continued to demand recognition with almost every bill that came up. 

The continued outbursts ultimately forced a short recess. When the Senators returned, President Pro Tempore Sen. Donna Boley, R-Pleasants, formally requested Karnes be removed from the chamber.

“I request, pursuant to the powers granted to the presiding officer by Senate Rule 51, that you order the Sergeant at Arms to remove the Senator from Randolph from the chamber,” Boley said.

Afterwards, outside the Senate chambers, Karnes said he was fed up with how the Senate President Craig Blair has conducted the body’s business this year.

“Over the course of the session, I’ve tried to correct things internally, I think that’s the best way to go,” Karnes said. “I think that at a certain point, and as we’ve seen this continued push to violate the rules and the norms of the Senate, it was necessary to maybe be a little bit more bold in making a statement. And so that’s what I’ve done today.”

Karnes also questioned the legitimacy of the bills that were passed by the Senate during his removal.

“I believe right now, every bill that’s passing on the floor in there is a bill that’s being passed with me being denied my constitutional right to cast a vote on those bills,” he said. “I think every bill that passes while I’m out here, not allowed in there, is constitutionally in jeopardy.” 

Letter Provides Preview

Before Friday’s floor session, Karnes sent a letter to Blair outlining his concerns.

“As a result of seeing a variety of amendments lost by staff in your committees, particularly the Committee on the Judiciary, over the course of the 2023 session as well as other oddities in the manner in which bills have been reported from committee, I have become concerned that bills, as recorded in the Chamber Automation System, do not necessarily reflect the work of your committees or the bodies,” the letter begins.

The letter goes on to state that large, complex amendments have been introduced on the Senate floor at the last minute, leaving Senators unable to properly review the issues on which they are voting.

“As a result, I feel it is necessary to move and demand that ALL (sic) engrossed bills, or bills on third reading, be fully and distinctly read, as is my right as a member of the West Virginia State Senate under Article VI, Section 29 of the West Virginia State Constitution,” the letter concludes.

The Senate returned from another recess just before 3 p.m., and Sen. Karnes was still absent from the floor.

Final Reporter Roundtable Discusses Remaining Bills As Session Nears Final Hours

On this episode of The Legislature Today, we conclude our daily coverage for the 2023 legislative session with one last reporter roundtable. Randy Yohe, Chris Schulz, Emily Rice and Curtis Tate are all on the set together to discuss bills that have passed and the bills that are left. 

On this episode of The Legislature Today, we conclude our daily coverage for the 2023 legislative session with one last reporter roundtable. Randy Yohe, Chris Schulz, Emily Rice and Curtis Tate are all on the set together to discuss bills that have passed and the bills that are left. 

Both chambers traditionally work until midnight Saturday night as they work out differences on bills and try to get last minute pieces of legislation passed. 

Things grew contentious in the Senate Friday morning as Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Randolph, demanded to be recognized on the chamber floor as the first bill of the day was introduced. Chris Schulz has more.

A bill to set the minimum age for marriage in West Virginia at 18 appeared dead in the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday but it got new energy when committee chairman Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, moved Thursday to have the bill removed from his committee and brought before the full body. The bill is on third reading in the Senate, but as of our deadline, the bill has not been taken up.

The Senate is also poised to pass House Bill 2007. That legislation would restrict gender-affirming health care for transgender youth. On Thursday, LGBTQ rights groups and their allies came to the Capitol to protest the bill. Curtis Tate has that story.

Meanwhile in the House, a bill to help charter schools garnered plenty of debate and a bill focused on a recovery house pilot program was called life a life-or-death measure. Randy Yohe has the story.

The House also passed the state budget Friday morning after the Senate took up and amended its budget bill the previous evening. It’s now on its way to the governor’s desk.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

On Saturday, March 11, West Virginia Public Broadcasting will be broadcasting floor sessions throughout the day on the West Virginia Channel and on our YouTube channel.

At 8 p.m., join us for live coverage as we air our special “Final Hours” program of the 2023 legislative session.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Marital Consent Discussed During Legislative Interim Meetings

Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney Perri Jo DeChristopher appeared Monday before lawmakers in the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary to ask the legislative body to reconsider Senate Bill 498.

Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney Perri Jo DeChristopher appeared Monday before lawmakers in the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary to ask the legislative body to reconsider Senate Bill 498.

SB498, first introduced in 2021, aims to remove an exemption from the state’s definition of sexual contact which, according to DeChristopher, excuses many forms of marital rape.

“A 2003 study found that 24 states and the District of Columbia have abolished marital immunity for sexual offences,” De Christpher said. “Twenty-six states within our country retain marital immunity in one form or another. We in West Virginia are among those 26 states.”

During questioning, Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Randolph, purported that intimacy is part of the contractual agreement of marriage under law.

“There is something of an implied contract there that there’s going to be certain benefits to being married. I don’t think very many people would get married if they thought it wasn’t going to work that way,” Karnes said. “You’re citing one section of code, but you mentioned before that this is actually sprinkled throughout our code. You’re saying there’s nowhere in any of our code that would not require the scenario that I’m saying you could still touch your wife or your wife can touch you any way they want. Until you say no.”

DeChristopher responded that it isn’t quite that cut and dried.

“There’s lots of reasons and there’s lots of ways for a victim to convey their lack of consent to some type of sexual touching or sexual intercourse without actually saying the word no,” she said.

Sarah Blevins is the development director for Branches, a domestic violence center in Huntington. To clarify consent, she said married and unmarried people should have the same rights.

“Well, obviously as an advocate, to me, it doesn’t make a difference what the person’s circumstances are,” Blevins said. “Everyone has the right to have their consent validated, to have their preferences heard. As far as I’m concerned, it is a problem for both unmarried and married folks. We need to be looking at it with equal treatment.”

Blevins said conversations devaluing a victim’s experience could have a negative impact on survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

“One of the real dangers of when we start parsing out what consent is or isn’t, is that we invalidate survivors’ stories and voices, and that can have a super detrimental effect on their willingness to report on their willingness to seek services,” Blevins said. “We want to be very aware of that when we’re talking about consent.”

Blevins asserted that consent is not a constant assumption and that there is a continuum of consent while building any relationship.

“It’s really important for us to educate our community about what consent is and what it isn’t,” she said. “There is a whole continuum of consent, and if you are trying to build a healthy relationship with someone, it should be a priority for you to seek their consent in your interactions with them.”

During the session Karnes questioned the concept of consent within a marriage and suggested the state add a section to marriage licenses, asking couples to agree to being touched by their spouse.

To this suggestion, DeChristopher responded, “I don’t think you can consent to be the victim of a crime in perpetuity.”

W.Va. Senator Worries Film Tax Credit Could Aid Bette Midler

West Virginia senators passed a bill Wednesday that would reinstate the state’s film tax credit after one Republican lawmaker spoke against the legislation, saying it benefits Hollywood while “the people of West Virginia are left hanging out to dry.”

“I have a problem that Bette Midler qualifies for millions of dollars in tax credits,” said Republican Sen. Robert Karnes, the only senator to vote against the bill. Karnes said more resources should instead go to support regular people in the state.

“Gavin Newsom’s people are getting a little bit of almost heaven with this bill, but God’s people are basically told to go to hell,” he said.

Using the proposed tax credit, filmmakers could recoup up to 27% of spending on movies and television shows in West Virginia that cost at least $50,000 to make. The state would have no limit on the amount of film tax incentives it can give out in a year, according to the version of the legislation passed by the Senate on Wednesday.

The original version passed by the House would put a $10 million cap on tax credits each fiscal year, which starts in July. That bill said the office could give out more credits for any feature-length films produced with “West Virginia” in the title or if the subject of the film is “clearly identified as West Virginia.”

The House must now approve the Senate’s changes to the bill before it can be sent to the governor for signature.

West Virginia used to have a film tax credit, but it was ended in 2018 after a legislative audit report deemed the credit as providing only “minimal economic impact.” Republican Del. Dianna Graves, the lead sponsor, said she’s spent nine months closing the loopholes in meetings with the legislative auditor and others.

The bill’s supporters say other states in the region have the tax credit and West Virginia is missing out on projects coming to the state that could bring economic development opportunities to communities.

Democratic Sen. Hannah Geffert said Wednesday that when film crews come to West Virginia, they hire residents for jobs and spend money at West Virginia businesses.

“I wouldn’t reject us out of hand just thinking it’s about Bette Midler,” she said.

Midler has been mentioned more than once by West Virginia politicians in recent months after the singer and actress called West Virginians “poor, illiterate and strung out” in a tweet after Sen. Joe Manchin refused to support President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act.

After receiving backlash, Midler apologized “to the good people of WVA” for her “outburst” in a follow-up tweet later that day.

In January, Republican Gov. Jim Justice ended his televised State of the State address by lifting up his English bulldog and flashing its rear end to the cameras and crowd and saying: “Babydog tells Bette Midler and all those out there: Kiss her heinie.”

In his remarks on the House floor Wednesday, Karnes also mentioned Oscar-winning documentarian Michael Moore.

“When Michael Moore comes to West Virginia to do his much-anticipated biopic of former senator Richard Ojeda down in Logan County, the people of West Virginia are going to foot the bill for that,” he said.

Ojeda is a former West Virginia Democratic state senator who briefly ran for U.S. president in the 2020 election.

Sen. Karnes Resigns From All Committee Assignments In West Virginia Senate

Updated Tuesday, March, 9, 2021 at 8:20 p.m.

Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Randolph, has resigned from all committees in the West Virginia Senate but will stay on as a state lawmaker.

Karnes, who was absent from the floor Tuesday, submitted a letter to Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, making the announcement.

“I recently took on a large project with my company and it will require a considerable amount of my time over the next several weeks to get the project properly launched. As a result, my ability to fully participate in committee meetings and deliberations will be significantly impacted,” he wrote.

He later told West Virginia Public Broadcasting he was in the middle of selling one of his businesses.

“I have an offer that I’m actively working toward a closing date — and I expect that sometime in the next several weeks. And so, the timing is somewhat unfortunate. But I think overall, it’s a good thing for both my family and my district, because it means that I’ll be in West Virginia a lot more,” Karnes said.

According to Karnes’ LinkedIn profile, he is listed as the president of Orlando, Florida-based FSIS, Inc. and president of the Texas-based Systek Computing, Inc.

As for his work in the West Virginia Legislature, lawmakers’ salaries are set in state code at $20,000 per year.

In addition to that salary, legislators are entitled to a per diem of $131 each day “in connection with any regular, extended, extraordinary session, interim assignment.” Should Karnes be absent from the session, he would not be entitled to the per diem for any days missed.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect the atmosphere of the legislative session, Karnes has often been criticized by Senate Democrats for wearing a mesh mask or no face covering at all.

Photos of Karnes wearing the mesh mask have circulated widely across social media.

In a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday, Sen. Mike Romano, D-Harrison, made mention of Karnes wearing a mesh mask that would do little to protect fellow lawmakers from the coronavirus should he become infected.

“I think he should have to remove himself and participate remotely,” Romano said to chairman Charles Trump, R-Morgan. “I don’t think he should be able to put this body at risk.”

Lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee quickly recessed Thursday following Romano’s comments.

Asked whether his committee resignations had anything to do with his refusal to wear a mask, Karnes told West Virginia Public Broadcasting it was unrelated.

“There’s been some contention there. And, no, that is not related to that,” Karnes said by phone Tuesday. “The folks that are buying my business don’t care about the mask issue one way or another, they just want to close on the business.”

Until his resignation from all Senate committee assignments, Karnes had been chair of the Interstate Cooperation Committee and vice-chair of the Education Committee. He was also a member of the Banking and Insurance, Judiciary, Pensions and Transportation and Infrastructure committees.

Blair announced Karnes’ resignation from those committees at the end of Tuesday’s floor session. He also announced replacements for Karnes and a shuffling of personnel on all affected committees, including Blair taking over Karnes’ seat on the Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Rollan Roberts, R-Raleigh, will become vice-chair of the Education Committee, while Sen. Jack David Woodrum, R-Summers, will take over as chair of the Interstate Cooperation Committee.

Sen. Dave Sypolt, R-Preston will take Karnes’ seat on Banking and Insurance, Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, will join the Education Committee and Sen. Patrick Martin, R-Lewis, has been appointed to the vacant seat on the Interstate Cooperation Committee.

Karnes made a return to the Senate after being elected in 2020. He was first elected to the upper chamber in 2014, but lost his seat after being knocked out in the May 2018 Republican primary.

Karnes said Tuesday he expects to return to the Capitol as early as Monday, although it is unknown whether he will return to any committees he was assigned to earlier in the session.

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