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WV Citizen Action Group |
Februrary 17 |
Over the Hump
By Gary Zuckett, garyz@wvcag.org
Monday is the 41st day of this 60 day
Session and the last day to introduce bills. This is good. So far, the
Senate has 621 to consider and the House doubles the ante with 1264
proposals. President’s Day is a day off for state workers and schools
but not for the folks working at the session. Legislators and support
staff still have to show up and continue sorting the wheat from the
chaff. We’ll be there to keep track of them and work to move our
progressive policies forward.
One Step Forward, One Back
The Healthy Youth Bill (SB194 - requiring insurance to cover minor
dependents contraception & maternity) was killed last week in the Senate
Insurance Committee and brought
back to life
this week actually passed out of that committee but with a poison-pill
amendment that redefines contraception. See Julie’s article inside.
Sweetheart Bond Bailout
Legislators gave American Electric Power a big WET KISS on Valentine’s
Day with the introduction of a bill (HB 4530) to let them sell long-term
bonds to pay off their whopping $350 MILLION in unrecovered coal costs.
Company lobbyists proposed this Bail Out scheme to save us ratepayers
(and AEP’s reputation for always showing up at the PSC for whopping rate
increases) the pain of actually paying the fuel cost for the electricity
we’ve already used. The bill would allow them to sell 10 yr. bonds to
cover last year’s coal bill. So what happens next year – another 10 year
bond? Why should our kids have to pay our past electric bills when they
grow up? This is a regulated market but does the PSC have to make us
consumers pay for every corporate management screw up? This is a big one
and exactly why should customers pay the whole tab for this? A public
hearing is scheduled for this afternoon. See the talking points article
by Coalition 4
Reliable Power.
Criminalizing Voter Registration?
A bill proposed by the Sec. of State’s office (SB 4408) would allow
on-line voter registration (if the voter already has a signature on file
with a state agency) – we like this option. However, also included is a
section right out of the conservative’s playbook making it a crime for
“third party” voter registration drives to compile a list of citizens
they have registered from info on the cards. Here at Citizen Action this
has been a major component of past Civic Engagement campaigns. We’ll
register low-income and other disenfranchised citizens, keep a list of
their contact info, and then when early voting kicks in send them a post
card, make a phone call or even show up back on their doorstep to
encourage them to Get Out and Vote! Making this a crime is not the way
to promote participation in our democratic process. Good news is, after
a discussion with the Sec. of States office, it appears this section of
the bill will be amended out. This is another example of why we need to
be up at the capitol every day the legislature is in session – to catch
and correct the unintended consequences of even well-meaning
legislation.
Transportation Showdown
In DC Congress is heading toward a showdown over funding for the BIG
Transportation bill. HR7 in the House is a terrible bill that locks in
cuts to transit, safe & complete streets, bikes & trails and more for
its five year timeline. Rep Rahall, member of House Transportation
Committee, recently sent out a letter publicly
blasting
the proposal. West Virginia would lose $453.8 million in federal
highway funds between 2012 and 2016 -- the 14th-biggest loss among the
50 states under the GOP plan. The Senate has a much better bill that
keeps most funding levels at current rates for the next two years.
Contact Senators Rockefeller and Manchin and ask them to improve the
Senate’s version by supporting amendments by Senators Cardin & Cochran
that would give local towns and cities more say in how “Transportation
Enhancements” i.e. funding for sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes, and
other safety and esthetic factors are applied in their communities. See
www.t4america.org for the latest
info.
GOP Blinks on UI & Middle Class Tax Breaks
In an abrupt about face, the majority party in the US House decided to
quit shooting its own foot and agree to extend unemployment insurance
and the payroll tax cuts that have been pumping billions into our weak
economy for the last year. Election years are good for something I
guess. Local news reports that Sen. Rockefeller will support this
package and Senator Manchin will vote no. Call our junior Senator and
let him know how you feel about his opposition to this needed relief for
middle class and workers collecting unemployment. Remind him there is
only one job opening for every four unemployed in this jobless recovery
we are in.
Thanks
Again I must end with a big THANK YOU to all our supporters who have
renewed their memberships. Your support keeps the bills paid and allows
us to be up at the capitol to monitor and mentor the process at the
legislature. If you haven’t yet renewed please take a minute to do so.
We are like these new hybrids we get lots of miles per dollar and take
pride in doing the work of representing you at the capitol without the
hefty price tag of the industry lobbyists!
Senate Committee Revives Insurance Fairness
By Julie Archer, julie@wvcag.org
A week after they defeated SB 194, which
would extend maternity and contraceptive coverage to the dependent
daughters of insurance policyholders, members of the Senate Banking and
Insurance (B&I) Committee acted on a motion offered by Senator Greg
Tucker (D-Nicholas) to reconsider the bill. Although we are thrilled
that the committee agreed to give the bill another chance and
unanimously supported the bill the second time around, the victory is
bittersweet as the committee also adopted an amendment that drastically
redefines “contraceptives.”
Unfortunately this new definition is written in such a way that it could
restrict or prohibit coverage of IUDs, emergency contraception (EC) or
“the morning after pill,” and potentially some regular birth control.
This exclusion would apply not only for dependent daughters, but also
for spouses who currently have the costs of these contraceptives covered
by their insurers.
The bill now goes to the Senate Finance Committee, where the fiscal
impact on PEIA will be a hurdle. However, a 2010 study by Marshall
University's Center for Business and Economic Research estimated that
the legislation would actually save the state about $19 million a year
by reducing costs associated with inadequate prenatal care for teen
pregnancies.
At this point the bill can still be amended and members of the Healthy
Youth Initiative will be working with supportive legislators to restore
the original definition of contraception so that the bill will provide
comprehensive coverage. We'll continue to keep you posted.
"“AEP Bond Bailout Bill” Would Pass Debt on to our
Children
By Gary Zuckett, garyz@wvcag.org
Cathy Kunkel Testifies on concerns
about HB 4530 at the public hearing on Friday.
Consumer and Environmental advocates called for a public hearing on
HB4530 on Thursday to air concerns about this fast-tracked legislation.
In the “be careful what you ask for” department, the House Finance
Committee complied with less than 4 hours notice of a 1PM hearing
Friday.
Even with such short notice we had at least 10 citizens testify on their
concerns about the bill and several more sent in written comments. Their
comments went like this: “This should only be for a one-time bond, not
blanket authority to do this over and over.” “Least Cost Planning should
be included.” “This is a dangerous approach to rate relief.” “This is
another case of Privatizing Profit and Socializing Debt.” “What we are
doing here is passing our past electric bills on to our children.”
Supporters cited unsubstantiated claims that other states have done this
(no one mentioned any specific states); that utilities are allowed to
recover fuel costs (no one said otherwise); rate-payers needed relief
(so true); Don’t amend it – it will mess it up for the bond market (want
to buy some underwater coal debt?); That this wasn’t about Energy
Efficiency and all those other bills (if we were more efficient we might
not be in this mess) and so on..
WV-CAG and Energy Efficient West Virginia (EEWV) will continue its fight
for equitable public resource management. EEWV has been urging
legislators to instead require that utilities adopt Least Cost planning
to help keep them out of this type of hot water.
The industry backed plan allows the Public Service Commission to permit
any electric utility to issue bonds to securitize (hide) rate increases.
Additionally, the proposed bill would not require industry to regulate
fuel use according to best management practices that would pass the
least amount of cost onto consumers. EEWV is fighting to place some
common sense restrictions to this absurd plan. Bond issuance should be
limited to a one time deferment of fuel cost debt and limit the terms of
repayment to five years.
Legislators should investigate discrepancies between the debt left to
Appalachian Power Consumers, which has accumulated $300 million in
unrecovered expenditures, and its competitors, Mon Power and Potomac
Edison that have not created such expansive debt problems for its users.
Appalachian Power should be held accountable for any corporate
mismanagement, so that the company does not profit from passing its debt
crisis solely onto consumers.
Election Bill Update
by Julie Archer julie@wvcag.org
At the end of last week, most of the
election related bills we're following were pending in the House and
Senate Judiciary Committees. However, this week a few of them started to
move. Here's an update.
Bills to narrow the scope of our post-election audit got legs this week
in both the House and the Senate. First the House Judiciary Committee
took up HB 4295, which would limit the election canvass hand-count of
the votes cast in five percent of randomly selected precincts in each
county to a single race or issue chosen in each of the chosen precincts.
Fortunately, after a lengthy discussion on the importance of placing
election integrity and voter confidence over efficiency, the bill was
referred to a subcommittee that ultimately rejected the proposal. After
progress slowed in the House, the bill's proponents began pushing the
Senate version (SB 510) and the actions shifted to the Senate Judiciary
Committee. There, similar questions were raised about the merits of the
of the bill, although ultimately a compromise was reached to limit the
canvass to 2% of randomly selected precincts, but continue to require a
hand-count of all the races on the ballot in each of the selected
precincts. SB 510 is on Second Reading today and will be voted on by the
full Senate early next week.
It should be noted that since this issue came up, we have been taking a
look at principals and best management practices for post-election
audits endorsed by reputable election integrity and good government
organizations like Verified Voting and Common Cause. One thing we have
learned is that percentage based audits that specify auditing a fixed
percentage of precincts can be both inefficient and ineffective and that
there are more statistically accurate, fair and efficient auditing
methods that could be adopted. Unfortunately, these methods are
complicated, so it's unlikely that we'll be able to get ourselves, let
alone the legislature, up to speed to be able to offer a reasonable
alternative this legislative session.
The same day the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced SB 510, it also
passed SB 518, which would disqualify anyone convicted of treason, a
felony, bribery or perjury from being elected or appointed to any
elected office. As much as we would like to keep former Lincoln County
Assessor Jerry Weaver, and other officials convicted of vote rigging
from running for office, especially after such an egregious violation of
the public trust, we're not comfortable with a law that would prohibit
all felons from running for office. As one of our members wrote a couple
of weeks ago when we first mentioned the bill in the Eye, “What if you
are 20 and get convicted of marijuana possession and then grow up, get a
PhD (or some other indication of success and discipline), etc.”
Initially, we thought SB 518 was limited to those who were convicted of
crimes related to elections rigging, but that is not the case, and we'd
prefer that it be more narrowly written. SB 518 is also slated for a
vote by the full Senate early next week.
Finally, a proposal by the Secretary of State's Office to bring West
Virginia in line with the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Act by
allowing late voter registration (up to but not including the day of the
election) to members of the military, Merchant Marines, and others who
reside temporarily outside of the United States, has made some progress,
but has stalled due to opposition by the county clerks. The Senate
version (SB 400) stalled in a Judiciary subcommittee after being
endorsed by the Senate Military Affairs Committee. In the House, the
bill made it to the floor and had advanced to Second Reading before
being recommitted to the Judiciary Committee. We hope the legislature
can see it's way clear to adopting this bill which would make it easier
for our military men and women, their families and other U.S. citizens
living and working oversees to exercise their right to vote.
Bill Would Increase Opportunities to Rejoin Split Estates
By Julie Archer, julie@wvcag.org
Nearly everyone thinks that separating of
ownership of the surface from ownership of the minerals was a bad idea.
Surface owners have the burden of the well site, access roads and
pipelines being placed on them but receive no royalty (or lease signing
bonus if the minerals are not leased), and as a result have no incentive
to cooperate with the drilling of gas wells.
In 2009, a lobbyist for the Independent Oil and Gas Association and the
West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association told a legislative interim
committee, “[I]t would be much easier for everybody if there was a
unification of the surface and the underlying oil and gas. It would be
much easier for the industry. It would be much better for the owners.”
HB 2851 reverses the trend to separate ownership in one small way – by
giving surface owners a chance to own any interests in the minerals
under their land if any of those interests are sold for unpaid taxes.
The bill was on the House Energy Industry and Labor (EIL) Committee
meeting agenda earlier this week. However, while the bill appears to
have broad, bipartisan support among committee members, the bill was
placed in a subcommittee rather than being taken up by the full
committee.
Although the details of the bill are somewhat complicated, the principal
behind how it would work is relatively simple. Currently, if a mineral
owner does not pay the property taxes on their interest in the minerals,
then their interest in the minerals is sold at a tax sale on the
courthouse steps. A notice of the tax sale is published in the newspaper
in the name of the mineral interest owner. The person that purchases the
mineral interest at the tax sale has to check courthouse records, find
out who the owner or owners of the mineral interest are, and notify them
of their right to “redeem” and get their property back by paying the
back due taxes and costs of the sale and title work, etc. If no mineral
owner redeems, after a period of time, the purchaser at the tax sale
gets a deed and assumes ownership of the mineral interest.
HB 2851 would require the person who purchased the mineral interest at
the tax sale to also check the surface tax maps available in every
county, and send a notice to the name and address on the tax ticket for
the surface tracts(s) above the mineral interest tracts. The surface
owner would have the option of stepping into the tax sale purchaser’s
shoes by paying the tax sale purchaser twice the money the purchaser
already has put into the purchase. This way purchasers still have
incentive to bid at the tax sales, and the mineral interest owner can
still redeem, but if the minerals are not redeemed, then the bill allows
the surface owner to finish the process and get a deed to the mineral
interest underlying his or her surface land.
The EIL subcommittee, which is comprised of Delegates Doug Skaff
(D-Kanawha) (Chair), Barbara Fleischauer (D-Monongalia), Stan Shaver
(D-Preston), Troy Andes (R-Putnam) and Mitch Carmichael (R-Jackson) is
expected meet Monday. Hopefully, they will recommend the bill for
passage by the full committee, giving the committee the opportunity to
vote on the bill when it meets again next Wednesday. Although there are
a number of other bills we would like to see passed to help West
Virginia surface owners this session, this may be the only one with any
momentum this session. Please contact members and urge their support. A
list of committee members at the contact information is available at
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/committees/house/HouseCommittee.cfm?Chart=il.
President’s Day Rally to Push for Public Worker Protections
By Maggie Fry,
maggiemfry@gmail.com
UE Local 170, the West Virginia Public
Workers Union, urges the passage of a variety of bills related to
workers’ rights this session. Monday, public workers and their
supporters will rally in the Capitol Rotunda to support a variety of
bills ranging from a living wage increase for public employees and
retirees (HB 2934), the development of manageable caseload standards for
DHHR program areas (HB 2369) to study resolutions that aim to stop the
privatization of state workers jobs.
Several of their long term legislative battles still continue this
session. WV OSHA, HB 2371, asks that the state provide funding for a
program to investigate grievances and enforce worker protection rights
for public employees. The bill, introduced by Delegate Paxton (D-Putnam)
has been referred to the House Energy, Industry and Labor Committee.
UE is also pushing for expansions to the WV Children’s Healith Insurance
Program (WVCHIP) HB 2469 that would allow the children of public
employees who make less than $25,000 to be covered under this state
children’s insurance program. The bill would ensure state workers’
children receive high quality care and maintain the fiscal stability of
the insurance program that provides coverage for 24,888 children across
the state (www.wvchip.gov) . Introduced by Rodrigo (D. Logan) and
Reynolds (D Cabell), the bill has also been referred to House Energy,
Industry and Labor Committee.
UE asks for your support in the fight to protect workers rights on
President’s Day, Monday, 11am in the Capitol Rotunda. For more
information on the event or their other political iniatives visit the WV
Public Workers Union website at http://uelocal170.org/content/
The Power of Parody in Protest
by Joe Dickerson, joe@wvsoro.org
Humor and parodies are an important part
of Americans political history. Political cartoons have been part of
this county’s discourse since its inception. With the popularity “news”
sources as the Onion and the Daily Show there is an outlet for humorous,
politicized commentary. Many visitors to the United States remark that
it is the ability to openly and freely mock our all aspects of our
society that makes America such a wonderful place. I’ll take the
compliment, though this country does have its issues… humor may be an
effective answer.
The fracking debate is rich with humorous material. The term itself is a
nice dose of dirty humor. But this goes beyond cheap sexual allusions.
Humor, absurdity, and parody are the best weapons protestors have
against the onslaught of advertising the industry can generate. Most
groups lack equivalent resources, and must look for alternatives to
glossy, corporate advertizing campaigns used to convince us of the
friendly fracking benefits.
One of the major issues in debating fracking is the issue of positive
versus negative interaction. Industry presents ads letting people know
how wonderful natural gas is and that it is a clean and safe method of
powering our lives. They speak about neither the environmental
destruction nor the boom and bust economy this fuel source brings to
small rural communities. Their ads often choose a single local employee
and focus on them, as if to say all of our employees come from your
area. Here is one that has been making the round in West Virginia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVjUbGEB7e4
Now attacking this ad or the family in it would present detractors in a
negative light. This is where parody comes into play. Rather than be
seen speaking negatively about fracking, and falling victim to the
debate of energy independence, state’s rights, and job creation, simply
turn the efforts of industry against itself. Imagine the same sound
track in the above video played in a montage of these images:
http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/06/fracking-in-pennsylvania-201006/_jcr_content/par/cn_contentwell/par-main/cn_pagination_contai/cn_image.size.fracking-01.jpg
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/amall/Boyd tank.jpg
http://www.westerncitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/Fracking-pit-Helen-Slottje.jpg
Suddenly the tone changes. Other more humorous methods can be utilized
as well. Comics, image macros (those funny cat picture all over the
Internet), “Chick Tract” style comics, and dubbing and editing of ads
are all very effective, cheap to produce and can reach a broader
audience. Tactics like these were effective during earlier social
revolutions and can be utilized here as well.
Citizens Gather in Huntington to Demonstrate for Blair Mountain
Thirty people marched to the Natural Resource Planning office in Huntington today to call attention to Alpha Natural Resources mining operations that threaten the historic battlefield. Organizers say they will continue their efforts to preserve the mountain.
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