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New ARC report defines what it takes to bounce back from ‘economic shock’

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FROM THE APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION
Harrison County was featured as a case study in the ARC report. View from rooftop of Palace on Main looking onto 2nd Street in Uptown Clarksburg. Photo by Dominique Spatafore for City of Clarksburg (from Facebook page).

“Economic resilience [is] the capacity of a local economy—town, county, or region—to recover or bounce back from an ‘economic shock.’ Economic shocks can come in many forms, such as the Great Recession of 2008 or a major employer shutting its doors. Understanding what makes a community resilient to an economic shock is very important and can help communities in the transitioning Appalachian economy.”

This is the central theme in Strengthening Economic Resilience in Appalachia, a new study published [last] week by ARC identifying factors common across communities experiencing persistent economic growth despite economic disruptions. The report includes a statistical analysis of key factors common to economic resilience, as well as a guidebook featuring ten communities that have rebounded after experiencing significant economic shocks. Using 35 measures of demographics/mobility; economics/industry; and community/health, each of Appalachia’s 420 counties was given a “resilience score.” From there, researchers conducted further analysis and field interviews to identify commonalities across counties with higher resilience scores.

In the accompanying Guidebook for Practitioners, case studies from counties in the Region and across the country offer additional insight into how communities have rebounded from the Recession and other dramatic economic changes in mining, manufacturing, hospitality, education, transportation or similar industries. These findings can successfully inform economic development strategies across Appalachia.

“This research highlights what we see every day at ARC—examples of Appalachian communities exhibiting resilience despite significant economic disruptions,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Tim Thomas. “Communities which are thoughtfully investing in community infrastructure, capitalizing on cross-collaboration, and cultivating entrepreneurship are driving the Region’s economic future.”

The research was conducted by Downstream Strategies, Dialogue + Design and Associates, the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, and West Virginia University with funding provided via ARC’s POWER Initiative.

Time to get those project ideas brewing – Try This WV Conference coming in June

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BY EMMA PEPPER, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, THE HUB

The sixth annual Try This WV Conference is coming this June 7-8 in Buckhannon, WV, and this is the perfect time to get started with brainstorming. If you have an idea for a community project that gets people moving or eating healthy foods, you can attend the conference with a team of three and apply for a mini-grant that qualifies for up to $3,000.

Register and find more information about the Try This Conference »

The team at Try This shares:

Try This is taking community spirit and translating it into a public health model for the rest of the country. Last year’s mini-grant teams turned $102,500 in mini-grants into over $1.1 million in additional support in year one. That is an astonishing 11-1 return on investment, proving that with a little seed money, communities can make amazing things grow.

One project that was recently funded is part of Camellia Mountain, Inc. Camellia Mountain will work with individuals recovering from addiction in Mercer and McDowell counties providing housing, community support, mentoring, occupational therapy, and employment for individuals in transitional living. Their Try This project is part of the beginning steps to create a more sustainable nonprofit while also providing a service to the West Virginians they are working to support.

The group will be planting, growing, and harvesting tea that will then be sold. It takes about 3-5 years for the tea tree to mature enough to have a strong yield, so they need to plant the seeds now. In the meantime, they will be growing and processing herbal teas. The group just had their first seed planting workshop with a group of women from Stop Abusive Family Environments (SAFE) in Welch, WV.

The other part of the project is to provide occupational therapy services. The occupational therapist, Rachael Porter, OTR/L, helps participants in developing life skills with the assistance of volunteers.

Do you have a great idea to share that will get people moving or eating healthy foods? Are you ready to seek out some funding?

Consider joining the Try This movement. The Try This Conference will feature spotlights on innovative projects, resource-sharing with experts and peers, opportunities to get moving and eat delicious, good for you foods, and more.

Learn more about this opportunity on the Try This website »

4 guides to help you take a role in the legislative process

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BY TAYLOR BENNETT, POLICY COORDINATOR, THE HUB

Have you been wanting to keep up with what’s going on at the Capitol, but haven’t been able to tune in until now? Could you use a refresher on the basics of the legislative process? Not to worry, we’ve got you covered.

Here are a few great resources to help you catch up or get started:

Whether you’re just starting out or you’re a seasoned citizen lobbyist, your voice can change the way decisions at the Capitol are made. We hope that these guides will help you take an active role in our legislative process.  
If you’d like us to create a guide to a part of the legislative process that you don’t see here, email Taylor Bennett, the Hub’s Policy Coordinator at t.bennett@wvhub.org.

How a WV bill becomes a law

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BY DWAYNE BARTLEY, ABANDONED PROPERTIES COALITION AND POLICY VISTA, THE HUB

Bills undergo a pretty complicated process in order to become West Virginia law. But don’t worry, we’re here to clear up some of some of the confusion with this quick primer.

Getting Started

Once citizens, lobbyists, or legislators identify the issue they want to address, they prepare the text of the proposed bill or ask a staff attorney at the Capitol to do so. The Office of Legislative Services sets the standards for how the text should be written.

In order for a bill to be introduced into the Legislature, citizens must find a delegate or senator who is willing to sponsor the bill. Without at least one legislative sponsor, the bill isn’t eligible to be introduced into the legislative process.

After a sponsor is found, the proposed bill is introduced into the chamber of the bill’s lead sponsor – the House of Delegates for bills sponsored by delegates, the Senate for bills sponsored by state senators.

Considering Proposed Bills

Once introduced, the bill is referred to the appropriate committee(s) for consideration. The specific committee a bill ends up in is based on the subject matter of the proposed legislation. For example, transportation related bills are assigned to the chamber’s transportation and infrastructure committee.

Some bills are complex enough to warrant being assigned to multiple committees. For example, a bill might be about constructing a new road, however the bill also requires the Legislature to allocate funding to the construction project. Such a bill would likely have what’s called a “double committee reference.”

In the case mentioned above, the bill might be referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, where it’s considered first. If a majority of the members of the committee vote yes, the bill is passed and then referred to the subsequent committee – finance, in our example – for further consideration.

If the bill successfully passes all committee assignments, it is delivered to the floor of the full chamber where it must be read three times before being voted on.

The first reading of the bill is meant to give legislators who haven’t seen the bill yet a chance to understand what it’s about. Often the first reading of bills is “dispensed with,” meaning that legislators opt to review the legislation on their own time.

The second reading of the bill is an opportunity for legislators to discuss the merits and drawbacks of the bill and offer any amendments they wish to make. The third reading of the bill gives time for legislators to debate the bill a final time before it’s put to a vote.

After the third reading, the bill is voted upon by the chamber’s membership. If defeated, the bill is permanently set aside. If it passes, the bill is communicated to the other legislative chamber for consideration.

Crossing Over

Once the bill is communicated to the other chamber or “crossed over,” it goes through an identical process of consideration. If it successfully passes committee(s) and a vote of the full chamber, the bill is sent back to the original chamber for “concourance” or agreement with any amendments that have been made. Then it is delivered to the governor for final consideration.

The Governor’s Role

The governor has three options for the pending legislation: sign the bill, veto the bill, or allow the bill to become law without signature. During the legislative session, the governor has only five days in which to sign or veto a pending bill. If the legislature is not in session, the governor has fifteen days to sign or veto a bill, with the exception of the state’s budget, which must be acted on within five days at all times. If no action is taken, the bill becomes law – even without the governor’s signature.

Bills vetoed by the governor can still become the law if a simple majority of both legislative chambers vote to override the veto. Budget bills are the exception and require a two-thirds majority of both houses to override a veto.

This is just a quick overview that can impact a bill’s progress through the legislative process—amendments, bills left off of committee agendas, etc. Hopefully, this overview has provided some insight into the basic process of lawmaking in West Virginia.

Get by (at the legislature) with help from your friends

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Senate Staffers Coordinate in the Senate Chamber. Photo by Will Price, Legislative Photographer.

BY TAYLOR BENNETT, POLICY COORDINATOR, THE HUB

As we pass the halfway point of the 2019 legislative session, the pace at the Capitol is becoming more frenetic, and it’s more important than ever to keep a watchful eye on the legislative process. At this point, it can be easy to miss bills that are introduced or amendments that are made in committees.

One of the things that is most effective at helping me make sure that I don’t miss anything important is my personal network. Over the past two years, I’ve made friends with legislators, citizen lobbyists, people who represent organizations and interest groups, and staff at the Capitol. Often, I’m aware of a bill or amendment because one of them has sent me a text or asked in the hallway if I know about this bill or that amendment.

And I try to do the same, keeping people in my network up to date on bills that I think they might be interested in following. This kind of information sharing is common at the Capitol, but that’s not the only location that it’s useful. By following bills that you care about through The Hub’s weekly e-newsletter the Legislative Hubbub (email e.pepper@wvhub.org to sign up to receive the email!) and on the Legislature’s website, you can be a link to information for people in your personal networks.

Perhaps you know a small business owner who might care about the Small Business Tax Credit. What about a teacher who wants to know what’s in the “strike and insert” amendment to the Education Reform Bill? If you’re keeping an eye on the Capitol, you can be a part of a network that keeps citizens like you informed.

Time, Trails, and Local Governments – Bills We’re Watching This Week

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Trail users in adjacent counties will benefit from SB 317. Photo by The Hub.

BY TAYLOR BENNETT, POLICY COORDINATOR, THE HUB

This Wednesday was the 30th day of session – the halfway mark. So far, we’ve tracked over 230 bills. Of those, approximately 113 haven’t moved since the first week of session, 32 have seen three weeks on the waiting list, 19 have gone two weeks since their last action, and 62 have moved forward this week.

Here are the ones we’ve been eyeing:

Bills Before the Senate

SB 117 – Creating incentives for the consolidation of local governments

  • This bill provides incentives to local governments which successfully consolidate. Municipalities which consolidate would receive:
    • a certain amount of money allocated from the State each year for 10 years, a free audit from the State Auditor’s Office, access to a 1% sales tax, and preference on any road construction or repair project with the Dept. of Highways.
  • Counties which consolidate would receive
    • 1% sales tax, preference on any road construction or repair project with the Dept. of Highways, and 10% off annual county jail fees for 10 years.
  • This bill was passed through Senate Government Organization on February 1st and is waiting to be put on the agenda in Senate Judiciary.

SB 317 – Authorizing three or more adjacent counties to form a multi-county trail network authority

  • The title of this bill is fairly self explanatory. The bill sets out guidelines for how such trail network authorities will manage their finances and legal liabilities. It has been substantially amended from its original version and now stipulates that the Authority may not allow motorized vehicles on the trails under their jurisdiction, with the exception of emergency vehicles.
  • This bill passed out of Senate Judiciary and was reported to the Senate floor for a first reading on February 7th.  

SB 391 – Relating to Unlawful Discriminatory Practices

  • This bill adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of things for which it is illegal to discriminate against an individual for.
  • The bill was introduced on January 22nd and is waiting to be put on the agenda of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

SB 486 – Making daylight savings time official all year round

  • This little bill would make daylight savings time the official time in West Virginia all year round, beginning in March of 2019.
  • The bill was introduced on January 31st and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

Bills before the House

SB 1 – Increasing access to career education and workforce training

  • This is the bill that would make community and technical college as well as some apprenticeship programs free.
  • It’s been two weeks since this bill was passed out of the Senate and referred to the House Committee on Education.

SB 4 – Municipal Home Rule

  • This bill would make the Home Rule Program Permanent. The Bill also includes stipulations about types of ordinances that municipalities are not allowed to pass through Home Rule.
  • This bill passed out of the Senate and was referred to the House Committee on Government Organization on February 4th.

HB 2420 – Establishing the Mountaineer Trail Network Recreational Authority

  • Another bill that would allow for the creation of a trail network authority, this time specific to an existing trail network. It lays out how the authority will function and has more specific restrictions about how the Authority can operate and how users of the trail system can behave than SB 317.
  • This bill passed through the House and was referred to the Senate Committee on Economic Development.

HB 2708 – Limiting the types of ordinances and regulations municipalities can make

  • This bill states that no local government would be allowed to pass any ordinance or regulation that would
    • Ban plastic bags or straws
    • Regulate what information an employer can or can’t ask for on a job application
    • Require employers to meet minimum wage standards or provide family leave
    • Require employers to participate in apprenticeship programs
    • Regulate marketing of merchandise
    • Regulate standards of care or licensing

The bill was introduced on January 28th, was referred to the House Committee on Government Organization, where it passed on February 6th. It is now headed to the floor to be read a first time.

Why are roll calls demanded?

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A delegate prepares to vote in the House chamber. Photo by Petty Bennett, Legislative Photographer.

BY TAYLOR BENNETT, POLICY COORDINATOR, THE HUB

When votes are cast in the legislative process, sometimes many of the voting legislators agree on whether or not a bill or amendment should pass and the the vote shows a strong majority in one direction or the other.

Other times, opinions are relatively equally divided and a decision is determined by just one or two votes. In cases like this – particularly when the issue at hand is something that legislators feel strongly about – a roll call is often demanded.

Demanding a roll call can be done by any legislator before a vote is cast to make sure that a record of how each person voted is made available to the public. As a citizen you might look at a roll call to see how specific legislators voted on a bill you care about.

If they voted the way that you wanted them to, you might reach out and thank them. If they voted differently than you hoped, you know you might need to spend some more time educating them on why your issue matters.

When a roll call has been demanded, either on the floor or in a committee, it can be found by going to the Bills Status page, entering the bill number, and looking at the action history. Let’s use HB 2420 – Establishing the Mountaineer Trail Network Recreation Authority – as an example.

Once you enter the bill number in the status page, scroll down until you see a table labeled “Actions.” This notes every action that has been taken on the bill since it was filed for introduction. In this case the most recent action is that the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Economic Development.

Any time a roll call is demanded, it will show up here on this table. For this bill, how each legislator voted when it passed out of the House by clicking the line that reads, “Passed House (Roll no. 79)” This “Actions” table is also a great place to catch up on how a bill is moving through the legislative process, whether it was amended on the floor of the House or Senate, and where it’s headed to next.

Check out whether roll call was demanded on the bills you care about and let your legislators know what you think.


Strong Towns: How a local bookstore can make your town richer

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BY KEA WILSON FOR STRONG TOWNS

When people ask me what I did for a living before I started working for Strong Towns, sometimes I tell them that I had a job where, on any given day, I might talk to a neighbor about their rent getting raised, a tourist about how hard it was to find a place to buy Asprin within walking distance of their hotel, and a national journalist about the neighborhood segregation line that ran just a few blocks from my workplace. Other times, I tell them only that I worked a job that gave me the best training in many aspects of community development and social work that I could have gotten outside of a master’s program. Or I might say that I probably met a more diverse cross-section of my home city of St. Louis in my daily work than most local politicians do—and in some ways, I got to know many of these people better than many of their leaders ever could.

Sometimes, I mention that this workplace was an independent bookstore. Sometimes I don’t.

Recently, Commonwealth Magazine ran an article speculating on the economic role that independent bookstores play in our downtowns, particularly in small and mid-sized city neighborhoods…

Read the story on the Strong Towns site »

Food and farm finance training coming up in Fairmont

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BY EMMA PEPPER, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, THE HUB

The team at the Natural Capital Investment Fund is hosting a Food and Farm Finance Training for business coaches, lenders and other service providers this February 20, 9am – 3pm, at the Robert H Mollohan Research Center in Fairmont (1000 Galliher Drive, Fairmont, WV 26554).

From the organizers:

Consumers today are seeking locally made food and beverages and many WV producers are ready to take advantage of this consumer trend. However, these businesses also have difficulty acquiring loans and capital needed to grow due to unique aspects of farm finances. This training will specifically cover farm finance intricacies and how to help food and farm businesses prepare to acquire capital.   

Please join us February 20th from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, at the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center in Fairmont to learn how the local food industry can be an economic driver for West Virginia and how you can contribute to food and farm businesses’ success.

Please direct questions to Marti Neustadt (martineustadt@vc2.org) or Todd Crump (todd.d.crump@wv.gov).

Find more information and register for the event »