By Luanne McGovern
The 87th West Virginia Legislature got underway on February 12 with a new Governor, new Senate leadership and new committee processes in the West Virginia House of Representatives. As of our publication date, over 1,500 bills have been introduced, with many more on the way. Needless to say, few of these bills will see the light of day, but there are many troubling issues coming forward. Given the short two-month session, things can move quickly and change overnight.
With all the issues facing us at the state and national levels, your input is more critical than ever. The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy is committed to keeping you updated on important bills through social media, targeted emails and action alerts. Contacting your senators and delegates personally is the most effective way to ensure they know how you feel about various legislative bills. Find out how to contact your representatives at wvhighlands.org
West Virginia has a surprising number of news and social media sources that can keep you updated on what is happening in the West Virginia Legislature. The Conservancy has been a member of the West Virginia Environmental Council (www.wvecouncil.org) for many years and partner with numerous organizations to fight for our state’s environment and public lands.
News outlets: WV Gazette Mail, MetroNews, Mountain State Spotlight, Country Roads News (Tucker County) The Real WV to name a few.
Social Media: The Conservancy, WV Environmental Council, WV Rivers, WV for Public Lands, Mountain Mamas, WV Citizen Action Group and many more!
Since we are only a couple of weeks into the session, it is difficult to predict which bills will rise to the surface. But there are a few bills we are already tracking, many of which have been recycled from last year. It seems that no bad idea ever really goes away.
Timbering in public lands – SB224 is back and would allow timbering in state parks and forests for “wildfire” protection. This ill-advised initiative passed the Senate last year but was stopped in the House.
Rolling back green energy initiatives – A plethora of bills have been introduced to dis-incentivize solar and wind energy in the state. SB439 (removing property tax exemptions for wind turbines) has advanced out of the Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee and may have legs. Other bills attacking green energy include HB 2471, HB 2568, SB57, SB505 and SB510.
Community air monitoring – SB575 is back around this year. The desire for citizen activists to understand what is in the air they breathe has led manufacturers to again sponsor this bill. It would eliminate the ability of citizens to use air monitoring data that they collect in actions against polluters.
Carbon credits – Multiple bills have again been introduced this year (SB107, 227, 281) to give the state control over carbon credit programs and limit landowner’s rights to engage in third party contracts concerning their forest lands.
Changing rules around above ground storage tanks – it’s back! SB592 would again try to loosen rules around storage tanks that could directly impact our drinking water systems.
Community solar – SB34 and HB2419 have been introduced by Senator Oliverio and Delegates Hansen and Young. This is at least the third year that this valuable program has been brought forward to help West Virginians manage ever increasing power bills. It is unlikely to advance, given the overwhelming power of the coal and natural gas lobby.