CHARLESTON -- The 2010 legislative session came to an end at midnight Sunday with Gov. Joe Manchin getting most of what he wanted, but with one notable exception: legislation asking voters to amend the state Constitution to reduce or eliminate property taxes on business equipment.
The failure of the resolution was a blow for Governor’s Office given that state officials argued that no tax policy does more to stimulate economic development than reducing business equipment taxes.
Still, from school calendars to legislation opening the way for new toll roads, the governor’s agenda remained more or less intact.
“We tried,” Manchin said about the tax amendment. “It is just hard (to convince others) when you want to give relief and reduce taxes.”
By all accounts, the 60-day session was a slow one for policy making, with lawmakers in more or less a holding pattern thanks to shrinking revenues and upcoming elections. There were no major policy initiatives compared to past years, and lawmakers delayed taking action on a $7.8 billion-and-growing debt in state retiree benefits, which some have said is the most pressing issue facing the body.
As tradition, they ended the session without completing work on the governor’s proposed budget and expected to meet in special session starting Monday to take it up. Manchin has proposed state government spend $4.18 billion in general fund and lottery revenues during the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1.
HONORING A COLLEAGUE
The last day of the regular session was a gloomy one, with rainy weather and a swollen Kanawha River steadily rising up its banks within sight of the Capitol. News slowly trickled in of the floods wracking southern West Virginia and the deaths left in their wake.
Lawmakers spent the day holding multiple floor sessions and meeting in hastily formed conference committees to weed out differences between bills that each chamber in different forms.
It was a day largely lacking in any high-profile disputes. One of the most emotional moments came when Manchin presented Minority Senate Leader Don Caruth, R-Mercer, with a Distinguished West Virginian award in honor of his public service. Caruth had missed much of the session because of a recurrence of Glioblastoma multiforme, a type of brain cancer.
The long-time lawmaker received standing ovations from fellow senators, delegates and the audience in the galleries. Manchin said that politicians in Congress could learn some lessons in bipartisanship from Caruth and the other legislators.
“There was nobody – nobody – who did it better than Don in reaching across the aisle and saying ‘how can we work together?’” Manchin said.
Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, D-Logan, said he was at a loss for words, but added that he and Don rarely disagreed.
“Thank you for being my friend,” Tomblin said.
GUNS, TAXES & TOLLS
The proposed constitutional amendment was a key part of Manchin’s legislative agenda. Had it passed, voters would have decided in November whether to allow tax cuts for manufacturing inventory and equipment, if either is installed after the amendment went into effect.
The proposal had wide support at first, but after consulting with local government officials and teachers’ union representatives, state senators began to question its consequences for counties, cities and public schools, all of which rely heavily on property taxes.
One of the state Senate’s first actions during the final say was to have its Rules Committee remove the resolution from the calendar, effectively killing it.
Other proposed tax cuts had more success, including bills creating tax credit programs for manufacturing patents and the purchase of mine safety equipment. But one of the most debated of the day turned out to be for a proposal to set aside the first weekend of every October as a state sales tax holiday for gun purchases.
The National Rifle Association is backing the creation of a gun sales tax holiday in West Virginia and other states, and it had distributed letters to state senators before their vote arguing that a vote for the bill would be a good talking point in the upcoming elections.
But senators opposed to the tax holiday questioned giving a tax holiday to a special interest group – gun owners – rather cut sales taxes on food or other essential items. They said their opposition had nothing to do with gun policy, but rather was a stance against bad tax policy.
“As I was laying in bed this morning, I thought ‘Imagine the greatness of West Virginia, where we could be, if we made the right policy decisions versus the right political decisions,’” Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, said. Advocates said the holiday honors the state’s long history of hunting and gun ownership. They also said it will be a boost to the economy, with the boom in sales it brings more than making up for the $25,000 in sales tax revenue the state is projected to lose annually.
“We’re stimulating business because (shoppers) will over here to West Virginia and buy our guns like we want them to,” Sen. Harry Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, said.
The bill passed and is on its way to the governor’s desk.
Most other parts of Manchin’s agenda survived intact, including a bill to allow the West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority establish new toll roads, if local officials in the areas where the roads are proposed agree.
PLETHORA OF BILLS
While the session lacked any major policy pushes, lawmakers had no shortages of ideas, introducing more than 2,000 bills and resolutions during the session.
More than 200 bills won enough support to head to the governor’s desk. Manchin can still veto any bill, which only can be overturned by a vote of the Legislature.
The governor has not yet indicated which bills he might veto.
Business
A controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited spending by corporations in political campaigns resulted in two bills meant to reign in corporate influence in elections.
One bill would have required a corporation's board of directors to first seek shareholder approval before spending any money for political purposes. Many Republicans decried it as an attack on free speech. They also claimed it was discriminatory because it applied only to corporations based in West Virginia and not to out-of-state businesses, other business organizations and unions.
The bill passed the House but died in the Senate. A second bill rewriting the state's ban on corporate contributions and its disclosure requirements for printed campaign material passed both chambers.
Two other bills approved by lawmakers were drafted to strengthen the state's manufacturing industries. The first bill would allow flexible electricity rates for large manufacturers, a measure meant to help Century Aluminum. The other would give tax credits for patents related to the manufacturing process.
Courts
Court reform was one of the central themes of the 2010, although lawmakers differed on how to approach the topic. Both chambers approved legislation sought by House Speaker Richard Thompson, D-Wayne, to allow for the creation of special courts to serve as places to settle business disputes.
They also approved the creation of a commission to advise the governor on nominees for judicial vacancies. However, they turned down a separate measure to create intermediary appellate court to hear appeals as a step before heading to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Finally, lawmakers gave a green light to a pilot public finance campaign program for the 2012 Supreme Court elections. They removed provisions funding the program through new fees on attorneys and court services, instead pulling $3 million out of the state purchasing card program.
Public Schools
One of the earliest measures to make it out of the Legislature was a bill giving local school boards more flexibility to set their calendars to get in the state-mandated 180 days of classroom instruction.
That new found freedom comes with a string attached, as lawmakers also passed legislation requiring districts to create school calendar committees consisting of teachers and other professions with stakes in the school system. Future students also won't be able to drop out of high school as early as they do now, with legislators passing a bill raising the dropout age from 16 to 17 for the 2011-2012 school year.
Not every education bill made it out. Legislation allowing for charter schools was nixed after opposition from school employee unions and despite the fact charter schools would give the state a better chance at capturing federal funds for education.
Higher Education
West Virginia University and Marshall University will no longer be able to set their own tuition rates without state approval under a bill heading to the governor's desk.
Nicknamed the "flexibility" bill, the legislation ends a multi-year experiment that left the state's two largest universities with more autonomy than the other campuses. In the future, WVU and Marshall will need to ask the Higher Education Policy Commission for approval for any tuition increase of more than 5 percent in a single year. The other institutions will need approval for increase of more than 4 percent.
It also takes away some of their authority to establish academic courses and revises pay schedules for classified staff.
Another bill sets the stage for the state eventually taking over funding for construction of college academic facilities, a cost that is currently is borne by students.
Lawmakers also approved a plan to eventually move the offices of the HEPC and the Community College and Technical System of West Virginia from Charleston to the South Charleston Technology Park. Charleston city officials oppose the move.
Health care
Early proposals to increase state taxes on tobacco and beer to fund drug treatment and cessation programs fizzled, but not before a spirited public debate over the merits of raising the beer tax.
However, the most contentious health care debate of the session spawned from legislation requiring abortion providers to offer women the chance to see ultrasound images of their fetuses before undergoing the procedure. The bill passed, but not before being significantly watered down from the original version.
Another fight between eye care specialists ended with lawmakers refusing to allow optometrists to perform laser eye surgery in West Virginia, but still expanding the scopes of services they could provide.
Two efforts to establish a state Office of Oral Health to tackle the state residents' poor dental health both stalled. So did a bill that would have required parents to prove their children had dental exams before starting school.
Energy
Energy issues didn't play as big a role in the 2010 session like did the previous year, but lawmakers still took up several measures.
One bill approved by lawmakers would establish new reporting and wastewater disposal standards for natural gas wells tapping into the Marcellus Shale. Many residents living in the region are concerned about the impacts of the drilling on water supplies.
Another bill gives coal mining companies tax credits for purchasing "innovative" mine safety technology. Lawmakers also agreed to redefine recycled energy as alternative energy under the state's energy portfolio, which supporters said will spur investment in the technology.
Finally, lawmakers rejected the second attempt in two years to overturn the state ban on the construction of nuclear power plants. Environmental concerns along with concerns about nuclear power's competition with coal helped kill the bill.
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