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Sen. William Ihlenfeld: West Virginia’s Reputation Big Loser in 2019 Session

IHLENFELD

The West Virginia Legislature’s 2019 regular session concluded last week and will be remembered as much for the bills that failed as it will be for the ones that passed, as well as for the hateful rhetoric of some in Charleston.

Senate Bill 451 received a great deal of attention after it was introduced in early January in an attempt to overhaul education in our state. The Senate formed a “Committee of the Whole” in order to pass it over to the House of Delegates, which made substantial changes to it before it ultimately died without passage.

Gov. Jim Justice will soon recall legislators to Charleston to once again address education reform.

My personal effort to strengthen public corruption laws failed when Senate Bill 370 didn’t make it out of committee. I was told that other bills took priority over SB 370, which would have provided transparency when legislators and their family members attempt to profit from state contracts.

As a freshman senator, this was difficult for me to comprehend as I had assumed that there would be strong support of any effort to restore the public’s trust in government.

My assumption was incorrect, but I’m not giving up, and I’ll introduce the bill again in 2020.

An attempt to enhance water quality standards and bring them into line with President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency fell short. The West Virginia Manufacturer’s Association successfully lobbied against the higher standards, claiming that they weren’t necessary because West Virginians are obese and don’t consume very much water.

I was on the losing side here too, as I voted for safer water, and didn’t buy the arguments made by industry. I firmly believe that we can be both pro-energy and pro-environment in West Virginia and that we don’t have to choose between the two.

Bills that would have created an intermediate court of appeals, allowed firearms in college buildings, and mandated new funding for secondary road repairs also failed to pass.

One of the great successes of the session was the passing of Senate Bill 1 — the community college bill — which will provide free technical and vocational training for students and adults. This law will improve workforce preparedness, a category in which we are far behind the rest of the country.

Many older West Virginians will benefit from a phased-in repeal of the state tax on Social Security income. We’re one of 13 states that still imposes this tax but that soon will change.

It’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to pass a repeal of the tax for everyone but that’s another item for me to work on in 2020.

If you think the 2018 election cycle was bad when it came to political mailers and negative television ads, just wait until 2020. Thanks to the passage of Senate Bill 622, individual donors will now be able to give $5,200 per candidate (the old cap was $2,000) and political action committees will be permitted to give $10,000 per candidate (versus the old cap of $2,000). If the rumors are true and Gov. Justice has opposition in the primary, the big money and the barrage of ads will arrive early next year.

Some are saying that coal mine operators were the big winners of the 2019 session. Lobbyists were able to convince legislators to cut the severance tax on steam coal nearly in half, a reduction that will cost the state $120 million during the next three years and $60 million every year thereafter. This was done despite testimony that the cut won’t do much for job creation.

If you wonder why we can’t afford to fix our roads or take care of our seniors, it’s because of corporate welfare like this.

The biggest loser of the session was West Virginia’s reputation, which took a major hit when a delegate from Mercer County suggested that he would drown his children if he learned they were gay.

Our reputation also suffered when hateful posters were permitted to be displayed at the Capitol.

As our population continues to shrink, one can only conclude this kind of behavior, although isolated, is driving people away rather than attracting them here to live and raise a family.

The next item on the agenda for the Legislature is a special session to address education. Statewide meetings will allow lawmakers to gather input from the public before returning to Charleston.

I’m thankful that everyone will have a chance to contribute to the process because that’s how democracy is supposed to work.

Democrat William Ihlenfeld II is a state senator for West Virginia’s First Senatorial District. He lives in Wheeling with his wife and three children.

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