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Bill Blocking WVU Tech Move Introduced in House

02.10.16

Photo by The West End/FlickrCC

Fayette County Delegates Tom Fast, Kayla Kessinger and Dave Perry introduced a bipartisan bill on Monday to block the move of WVU Tech from Montgomery.

While the language of the bill doesn’t reference WVU Tech, the note attached to it clearly states that it is intended to stop the move of Tech from Montgomery.

You’ll remember we covered a couple of other Tech-related bills last week (SB 386 and HB 4310) that would remove the statutory requirements that WVU Tech be located in Montgomery.

HB 4431 is written generally to require that any relocation or closure of a state higher education institution must be pre-approved by the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability (LOCEA) under the Higher Education Policy Commission.

It would require the LOCEA to conduct economic and educational accessibility impact studies prior to any state higher education school being closed or relocated.

While the language of the bill doesn’t reference WVU Tech, the note attached to it clearly states that it is intended to stop the move of Tech from Montgomery.

While HB 4431 is unlikely to pass, it demonstrates support for the city by the local delegates, just in time for the 2016 election.

This bill was introduced just days before the Montgomery City Council rejected a proposed agreement between the County Commission, the City of Montgomery and WVU to move forward the school’s relocation.

While HB 4431 is unlikely to pass, considering the significant support for the relocation and WVU’s plan outside of Montgomery, the introduction of the bill demonstrates support for the city by the local delegates, just in time for the 2016 election.

Small Businesses Get Some Love From Both House and Senate

02.10.16

Photo by Dept of Communities/FlickrCC

This week saw the introduction of a number of new bills that are relevant or potentially helpful to West Virginia’s community development, and of particular interest to us were two bills aimed at helping small businesses.

Small Business Tax Credits and Regulatory Flexibility

HB 4437, sponsored by Delegate Kevin Hicks of Wayne County, would provide tax credits to small businesses that are created and operating entirely within West Virginia.

Tax credits to small businesses that are created and operating entirely within West Virginia.

Under this law, any West Virginia business that has less than 100 employees would be eligible to take up to $2,500 in tax credits out of its business franchise and corporate income taxes, and potentially out of the business owner’s personal property taxes, for each employee that is with the business for longer than one year.

Importantly, it prohibits businesses from firing employees after one year to hire new employees to get additional tax credits. (We were impressed by the sponsors’ forethought on this clever – and destructive – potential effort to get as many tax credits as possible.)

The credits are only available from 2016 through 2024, but there is no upper limit on how many credits in total are available – at least not yet.

We’ve heard enough about the budget crisis to know that we should be skeptical about this bill’s ability to pass (as we are with any tax credit bill this year).

Since the House just passed a bill to provide a $100 tax credit to anyone who obtains a concealed weapon permit, we know that some tax credits can get through.

But, since the House just passed a bill this week that would provide a $100 tax credit to anyone who obtains a concealed weapon permit (HB 4145), we know that some tax credits can get through this year. It will be really interesting to see what gets kept, cut, and created once the dust settles on March 13.

We’re also wondering about the language of “operating entire within West Virginia.” We know that many small businesses do a mixture of physical and online sales in order to be financially viable. Would online sales to purchasers outside of West Virginia (but sent from stores or warehouses within the state) be considered operating outside of the state, and disqualify a business from getting the tax credits?

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Meanwhile, In the Senate…

Small businesses got love in both chambers this week. The Senate also introduced a small business support bill, SB 541.

This bill attempts to reduce some of the regulatory burdens that small businesses face in operating in West Virginia.

“Regulatory Flexibility Act” would require agencies to show the potential impact of the regulations on small businesses.

We’ve heard anecdotally from some of our small business friends that it is hard to open and maintain a small business in West Virginia. There’s quite a few hoops you have to jump through. This bill seeks to reduce some of those burdens – and to place the burden on agencies to demonstrate clearly why any additional regulations on small businesses are required.

SB 541, the “Regulatory Flexibility Act” would require agencies to show the potential impact of the regulations on small businesses, and actively identify ways to minimize the impact of the new regulation on small businesses.

Additionally, the agencies would have to review all their regulations every five years to make sure that all rules are still necessary and that none are overly burdensome on small businesses.

The bill sponsor, Senator Ryan Ferns of Wheeling, is a small business owner himself and this is one of two bills he has sponsored seeking to reduce regulatory burdens on small businesses.

SB 541 is single referenced to Senate Government Organization. We’ll keep an eye on whether it moves before the deadline for bills to be out of committee on February 28.

Pickle Bill Seeks to Preserve West Virginia’s Culinary Art – and Economy – of Canning

02.10.16

This legislative session the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition (WVFFC) is advocating for three bills that support access to local, healthy foods for struggling West Virginians, employees and clients of state agencies, and increased market opportunities for small-scale West Virginia farmers.

These bills were chosen by WVFFC working group members and other local food advocates during the coalition’s spring advocacy training. Coalition supporters are advocating for these policies by meeting with and contacting legislators during this year’s legislative session.

Here’s an update on where those bills are at.

Photo by Pahol Chaloeykitti/FlickrCC

Farm to Food Bank Bill

What does the proposed bill do?

Senate Bill 399 supports nonprofits and food banks to collect and distribute food grown in West Virginia and provides a tax credit for farmers and gardeners based on the donated food’s fair market value, with a cap of $2,500.

Why do we need this bill?

West Virginia has the third highest food insecurity rate in the nation, with 22 percent of West Virginians struggling to afford enough nutritious food for themselves or their families.

40 percent of America’s food supply ends up wasted, and healthy food goes unharvested or unsold.

At the same time, 40 percent of America’s food supply ends up wasted, and healthy food goes unharvested or unsold, often ending up in landfills or compost piles. Increasing recovery of this wholesome food could simultaneously provide healthy food to people in need, benefit local farms and businesses, and reduce the amount of food waste.

This type of tax incentive is useful because there are barriers to getting fresh food into foodbanks – most immediately the transport costs that farmers bear to move their produce to centralized food donation sites.

Where is the bill in the legislative process?

The bill was on agenda of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Monday, February 1, but the committee ran out of time before they could discuss it. When it’s put on the Ag Committee agenda again, and if it passes, it will be second referenced to the Finance Committee. It has to be put on the agenda of that committee, pass, and then it will be sent to the Senate floor.

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Farm to Institution (Procurement Preference for Local Food)

What does the proposed bill do?

Senate Bill 390, sponsored by Agriculture Committee Chairman Senator Robert Karnes, provides for bidding preferences for local farm vendors in West Virginia with the goal at least 15 percent of procurement sourced from West Virginia farm vendors by 2025.

The goal at least 15 percent of procurement sourced from West Virginia farm vendors by 2025.

The bill expands preferential bidding in state purchasing to include resident farm vendors, in addition to resident veteran vendors, nonresident vendors who employ 100 or more state residents, and other special groups.

Where is the SB 390 in the legislative process?

SB 390 is single-referenced to the Senate Government Organization Committee and needs to be put on the committee’s agenda so it can move to the Senate floor.

Photo by Karen and Brad Emerson/FlickrCC

Cottage Foods Bill (the Pickle Bill)

What does the proposed bill do?

Senate Bill 434 will allow canned items to be sold at farmers markets, farm stands, consignment farmers markets, online farmers markets, fairs, and festivals.

Why do we need this bill?

Farmers markets in West Virginia account for an estimated $9 million in direct sales, and are a steady source of income for many small farmers, as well as a vital part of many communities in the state.

We can “preserve” the culinary art of canning that is vital to West Virginia culture.

In some rural communities plagued by food deserts, farmers markets serve as the single avenue to access fresh food. With micro-processing sales opportunities enabling farmers to preserve produce, not only will farmers derive a source of year-round income and eliminate food waste, but consumers can access vegetables throughout the year and we can all “preserve” the culinary art of canning that is vital to West Virginia culture.

Where is the Pickle Bill in the legislative process?

The Pickle Bill was on Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee agenda on Monday, February 8, but held over for more discussion, so it will be on the agenda again the week of February 15.

Brothers in Qualms: West Virginia and Flint Share Pain of Public Health Failure

02.09.16

Photo by toledoblade.com

By Dan Heyman/Public News Service

Nearly 40 West Virginia groups are sending an open letter to the people of Flint, Michigan saying they know what it’s like to have contaminated drinking water.

When the news leaked that Flint’s water has high levels of lead, many folks in Charleston immediately thought of the Freedom Industries chemical spill two years ago. Angie Rosser, executive director with the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, says her heart goes out to Flint residents.

“Being frightened about the health of our families who are exposed.”

She says they’re putting the letter in the newspaper there, committing to help however they can because they know what Flint is going though.

“Being frightened about the health of our families who are exposed,” says Rosser. “And also the outrage, maybe information was held back, and that the government let us down.”

After the Elk River spill, the West Virginia Legislature passed a law to protect drinking water from leaky above-ground storage tanks. It also put rules in place to protect the Kanawha River as a possible future source of drinking water. But Rosser says since then, the state and the affected industries have not built on that progress.

The chemical industry has argued that the Kanawha doesn’t need that level of protection.

“No. We’re seeing actually the opposite,” she says. “That there have been rollbacks in protections.”

The oil and gas industry has criticized the above-ground tank law as overly broad and intrusive. The chemical industry has argued that the Kanawha doesn’t need that level of protection, which will hurt that industry’s ability to compete.

Rosser says the Elk River spill and the water crisis in Flint show how dangerous it can be for public health to let water-quality protections erode…

Read the full story at www.publicnewsservice.org

Gazette-Mail: The Simple Power of People Working Together is Making a Real Difference in West Virginia

02.08.16

Photo by Chris Dorst/Gazette-Mail

Bill Curry/Charleston Gazette Op-Ed

It often seems from what we read about West Virginia that little has been done to improve our state and much is being done to tear it down. However, the facts are different, and many good things are being done to improve our future.

One must pay attention to seemingly small independent citizen-driven initiatives. Together, the many independent initiatives represent a groundswell of new economic improvements that will have long-term positive impacts on the state.

Together, the many independent initiatives represent a groundswell of new economic improvements.

As the co-founder and chairman of the Coal River Group, one of these citizen volunteer groups, I have been involved with many people who simply say, “let’s get ’er done.”

While politicians continue to defend old-fashioned out-of-date concepts, jobs keep disappearing. The daily news is loaded with negative poll results — yet every day hundreds of citizen volunteers wake up with one thing in mind: These devoted folks simply say “let’s go out and fix something that will benefit our community.”

The Coal River Group started over 11 years ago to try to fix a very troubled and abused river system. The 88 miles of rivers with 560 feeder streams had been all but written off by environmental officials, industry and government, simply because they looked like they were unfixable.

Volunteers cleaned up trash and old tires and successfully promoted funding of over $30 million in sewage system expansions.

The small volunteer organization, The Coal River Watershed Group, took on the cleanup and during the past 11 years they exposed the truth that the rivers were not nearly as bad as reported. Volunteers cleaned up trash and old tires and successfully promoted funding of over $30 million in sewage system expansions.

While much of the state’s leadership, well-intentioned groups and well-spoken experts wrote off the Coal Rivers, citizens who had lived their lives on the river went about the arduous job of cleaning up other people’s trash — and recruited neighbors and others to join in on the fun…

Read the full story at wvgazettemail.com

The Hub Seeks: Budding journalism and communications professional for 2016 project

02.05.16

Photo by Always Shooting/FlickrrCC

The West Virginia Community Development Hub is looking for a journalism/communications-minded person for a VISTA role with The Hub in 2016.

The perfect person will have strong writing and research skills to help us explore community development successes in West Virginia. Must be an independent thinker with a passion for uncovering stories about the great things happening in our communities.

The role involves wide-reaching and inspiring storytelling and research about great things happening in West Virginia.

The VISTA will be a key contributor to The Hub’s State of Our Communities report project, and will be charged with examining community development initiatives across West Virginia, and telling compelling and effective stories about them, quickly and concisely.

Working alongside our Communications Director, a longtime newspaper editor and manager of newsrooms (that’s me), this would be a great opportunity for a budding journalist looking to build their story generation chops.

What’s a VISTA, exactly? Here’s some more info.

Many people use VISTA positions as smart stepping stones in their careers. The VISTA that work with The Hub are highly educated, passionate and talented people who are using their VISTA placement to build their resume in their fields of choice.

If you’re curious, let’s talk. The role involves wide-reaching and inspiring storytelling and research about great things happening in communities across West Virginia. It would be a remarkable learning experience, and would include professional training opportunities depending on your interests.

Email me.

2016 Set to Be A Big Year for Cycling in West Virginia

02.04.16

2016 is shaping up to be a major year for cycling in West Virginia.

The state’s first-ever Bike Summit is happening in Charleston on April 17-18. Join on Sunday for free group bike rides followed by a reception. Stay for Monday’s sessions to learn how planners, engineers, public health officials, trail advocates, and of course, cyclists, are preparing to work together to make West Virginia a better place to ride.

And here are some rides coming up in 2016 worth training for:

April 30
Appalachian Spring Spectacular Bonus Ride: 70 – 85 miles, and 7,000 feet of climbing.

May 1
Appalachian Spring Spectacular: offers 4 different routes ranging from 25 – 60 miles.

June (exact dates TBA)
WVU Extension 4-H Outspoken bike ride: 250 mile ride starting in Jefferson County and ending at WVU Jackson’s Mill 4-H camp.

June 19-22
Wild and Wonderful North Bend Rail Trail sojourn, 4 days of riding with the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

July 16
Wheels of Hope: offers 4 options ranging from 29 miles to a 107 mile century with 8500+ feet of climbing. Start training now!

If mountain biking is your thing, check out the WV Mountain Bike Association schedule of races and events.

And find local bike clubs and bike shops near you with our West Virginia Physical Activity Network directory: WVPAN/cycling

Up To Speed: The Latest on the Campaign for Better Broadband

02.03.16

Photo by Dennis Skley/FlickrCC

On Sunday, the Federal Communications Commission put out the 2016 Broadband Progress Report, and it showed that broadband access in West Virginia is improving.

Thirty percent of West Virginians now lack access to broadband compared to the 2015 statistics of 56 percent. But rural communities suffer the most – 48 percent of residents in these areas are without access to broadband.

554,124 West Virginians are limited in their ability to access online education, tele-health, expanded economic markets, and online government services.

While gains have been made, 70 percent broadband access still means that 554,124 West Virginians are limited in their ability to access online education, tele-health, expanded economic markets, and online government services. There is still work to be done, and it’s happening now.

There are three bills relating to broadband that have been proposed in the 2016 legislative session so far.

Defining “High Speed”

HB 2551 would prohibit internet service providers from offering to provide high speed internet service that is not at least 10 megabytes per second. This bill protects consumers from unfair or deceptive marketing from a telecommunications provider.

Tax Credits for Servicing Underserved Areas

SB 16 would provide tax credits to telecommunications companies that bring high-speed Internet service to homes and businesses that currently don’t have it.

The companies would receive a $500 tax credit for each new area they provide service to, and the state would award no more than $1 million a year in tax credits for all Internet providers combined.

Like building the internet equivalent of state and county roads.

These tax breaks are expected to cost the state about $6.1 million over the life of the program — about six years. This bill represents the “last mile solution,” providing an option to incentivize companies to build out internet from the off ramps of the “middle mile” interstate system to individual homes and businesses.

This solution is like building the internet equivalent of state and county roads. The original version of the bill would have allowed companies to simultaneously collect state tax credits and federal subsidies like Connect America Funds. On Friday, members of the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee revised the bill so that companies can not take the tax credit on construction paid for with federal funds. The bill passed and now goes to the Senate Finance Committee. It is not yet on the agenda.

Photo by Mr. Nixter/FlickrCC

Building the Middle Mile

SB 315 would allow the state to sell bonds to create a 2,500 middle mile fiber loop throughout the state, estimated to cost a total of $72 million to construct.

After completion, Internet service providers would lease access to this middle mile network, with the proceeds used to cover construction costs and upkeep of the line.

Internet service providers would lease access to this middle mile network, with the proceeds used to cover construction costs and upkeep of the line.

The state’s current middle mile network is owned by large ISPs who can charge smaller providers a high price for access, limiting competition.

The idea behind this “middle mile solution” is that a state-owned middle mile network would increase competition and level the playing field for internet providers of all sizes, resulting in faster, more affordable internet.

Senator Walters’ SB 315 passed out of the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and now goes to the Senate Government Organization Committee. It is also not yet on the agenda.

SB 315 has seen significant pushback from the cable and telecommunications companies, who instead support SB 16 as a solution. In the Charleston Gazette on Sunday, Mark Polen, executive director of the West Virginia Cable Television Association, said that while SB 16 isn’t necessarily a “cure-all,” it “sounds like a reasonable approach.” This same article highlights support from Senator Ed Gaunch as well: “I like the idea of incentivizing [Internet providers] to get broadband to these unserved areas.”

The challenge of broadband access has been framed as an either/or debate – Last Mile or Middle Mile. However, I think the problem lies in both a middle mile network that limits competition, and a lack of last mile infrastructure to homes and businesses. We need to invest in strong middle and last mile solutions to see serious broadband improvements in the state.

Zero Bills in Three Weeks: What is Happening in the Senate Economic Development Committee?

02.03.16

Photo by WV Legislature Photography.

We don’t normally do really deep dives into the work of specific committees, but this week the lack of movement on economic development bills got us thinking about what exactly the economic development committees have been doing over the past 3 ½ weeks.

Why hasn’t the Senate Economic Development Committee considered any bills in its last three meetings?

They’ve been meeting.

They’ve been talking about things.

On the House side they’ve even passed out a couple of bills.

But on the Senate side it’s been a lot of… nothing.

We are concerned about what’s happening in that committee in particular because they are sitting on a bill that we care very, very much about: the Neighborhood Investment Program (NIP) Act.

We use NIP funds at The Hub for donations and we know NIP funding supports and amplifies donations for many other nonprofits across the state.

This is a priority piece of legislation for nonprofits and for state philanthropists. Philanthropy WV and the WV Nonprofit Association are leading the charge in advocating for this bill, and has tons of great resources on it for those of you who want more information on the program.

So what’s going on with the NIP bill? Why hasn’t the Senate Economic Development Committee considered it – or any other bill for that matter – in its last three meetings?

“Where Bills Go to Die.”

It is commonly known at the Capitol that certain committees are where bills go to die. (Check out this great, though dated, diagram that the Gazette put out when the Democrats were in charge of the Legislature that shows the many ways bills die during the legislative process…)

After looking into the work of our Senate Economic Development Committee over the past year, we’ve got to wonder: Is this a committee where bills are sent to die?

Over in the Senate, the Economic Development Committee has yet to consider a single bill on its docket.

The House Economic Development Committee doesn’t see a huge amount of bills each year (usually between 15-20), but it gets work done on moving them through its committee.

It’s already considered three bills in the past two weeks, and passed 2/3rds of them out of committee. Last year it passed seven bills and one study resolution, though thirteen bills died before they were considered by the committee.

Over in the Senate, though, the Economic Development Committee has yet to consider a single bill on its docket (six currently wait consideration by the committee).

Instead, it’s spent the past three weeks hearing presentations on issues that are not before the committee at all: farmers market sales, a statewide small business research program, the earned income tax credit and, most recently, an update on how successful the Regional Tech Park in South Charleston has been.

To its credit, these are all issues that certainly impact economic development in West Virginia. The opportunity for economic growth around tech development seems like a big piece of the future for our state.

But the purpose of committees is to consider bills and move them on so that the wheels of law-making can keep turning.

That doesn’t seem to be happening in this committee. And we can’t quite figure out why.

We’ll be watching again next Wednesday at 1 p.m. (You should too.) We’re hopeful that more proposed economic development bills will be put on the committee’s docket – and that they’ll get some fire under them to start talking economic development legislation.

Could Expansion of Home Rule Cause the End of Home Rule Innovation?

02.03.16

Photo by clarksburgpost.com

The Municipal Home Rule Pilot Project continues to attract attention this year at the Legislature, as it does every year.

West Virginia has more than two dozen cities in the home rule pilot program, with more cities seeking to participate in the program each year. Home rule municipalities serve as a central space for innovation and creativity, and some of the most innovative ordinances to address vacant and dilapidated properties are happening in home rule cities.

The question before the Legislature this year is, once again, should the state keep home rule? Should it be expanded to include all cities, or eliminated to remove the preferential flexibility that it gives some cities?

Home rule ordinances for all municipalities?

A carryover bill (meaning a bill introduced in the House last year that didn’t pass and was automatically re-introduced this year) currently before the House Government Organization Committee would eliminate the Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program and give all municipalities the authority to enact ordinances that have been put in place by current home rule communities.

Introduced by Delegate Kelli Sobonya, HB 2913 is intended to expand the authority of home rule across the state, eliminating the application and review process that cities must go through before the Municipal Home Rule Board to become a home rule community.

The Impact of Home Rule on Dilapidated Property Policies

Home rule has been a significant tool used by municipalities to expand their powers to address vacant and dilapidated properties.

Since the pilot program was started in 2008, 28 cities have been approved as home rule municipalities, and 23 out of the 28 have proposed some type of ordinance focused on addressing dilapidated structures within their municipality.

Cities that have already implemented this type of program have had significant success in reducing blight.

The most frequently proposed ordinance is an on-spot citation program. This is a program where city officials are authorized to give warnings and citations on-the-spot when they observe a nuisance or property code violation.

Cities that have already implemented this type of program have had significant success in reducing violations and blight, often through merely issuing Notices of Violation prior to issuing citations. For example, in Charleston more than 87 percent of violations were corrected prior to receiving a citation.

Cities have also looked at other innovative tools to address dilapidated properties through their home rule authority, including creating vacant property registries (now permitted for all cities), authorizing the city to enter properties to abate and repair nuisances without a court order and to place a lien on the property for the cost of the abatement/repair, and proposing to reduce the time for tax sales for property in significant disrepair.

We’ve put together a chart about each of the home rule dilapidated property proposals for those of you who are really interested. Fair warning, it’s based on the information provided by the WV Dept. of Commerce, and seems to be from late 2015, so updates may have happened since there. Here it is for you.

Potential Unintended Impacts of HB 2913

The challenge with HB 2913, beyond the fact that the House Gov Org Chairman has publicly said he’s against it, is that it only allows municipalities to implement ordinances that have already been enacted by current home rule cities. A number of home rule cities are still working to implement the ordinances they set out in their home rule proposals.

Some of the most innovative and potentially impactful proposals would not be able to be enacted by any city.

Even for cities that have been in the program for a number of years, there remains important ordinances they are still working to pass at the local level. It often takes cities multiple years to get all of their home rule ordinances enacted, and the vast majority of municipalities have only been in the home rule program for a year (24 out of 28).

If HB 2913 were passed, some of the most innovative and potentially impactful proposals to address vacant properties would not be able to be enacted by any city (because they haven’t yet been enacted by home rule cities). They would have to go back to being taken through the statewide legislative process for adoption by the city, certainly a step back for municipal authority to be creative and responsive to the specific needs in each of the cities.