Something to Think About
Don Michael, WVFB Director of Governmental Affairs
At this writing it is hard to
believe 23 days have elapsed
since the 60-day Regular
Legislative Session started...
and this session has been
anything but regular! During
an election-year one can expect
the number of controversial
bills to gain serious traction to
be kept to a minimum. It was
also apparent new spending bills would be challenged
due to our present budget picture. The expectation
of a slower-paced, election-year session quickly
evaporated with the arrival of the disastrous chemical
spill impacting a nine-county area and sending shock
waves throughout our state and nation. The “regular”
session became intense, with lawmakers working
overtime to secure facts in preparing legislation to
“beef up” regulations to help prevent such a disaster
in the future. The Senate has completed action (33-0
vote) on a water resources protection bill – SB 373.
The final version of their legislation focuses on water
use/withdrawals and aboveground storage tanks. The
bill provides appropriate exemptions for agriculture.
For those associated with agriculture protecting water
resources is a way of life. Our livelihood depends on
it. Farm Bureau appreciates the efforts of our Senate
in crafting common sense legislation to protect our
water resources and is hopeful the House will concur.
The bill is presently in the House Health and Human
Resources Committee.
Another significant