Manchin Gas Royalty/Tax Bill In Trouble

Gov. Joe Manchin is facing a hard sell with his legislation that would produce several changes for the state's natural gas industry.

The governor's bill would slightly cut the severance tax while ending two related exemptions and a credit.

It also aims to curtail the sort of gas royalty dispute that yielded a $405 million jury verdict in Roane County earlier this year.

But as The Associated Press reports, lawmakers in both chambers and from both parties consider the bill too complicated and controversial to tackle during a three-day special session.

Manchin stumped for the bill during a morning appearance on MetroNews' Talkline.

The Charleston Gazette reported earlier that the bill appeared stalled, quoting one unnamed senator that “it’s too much, too soon, too late."

AP also covered a Sunday interim legislative meeting that tackled the problem of carbon sequestration, which is linked both to the state's gas wells and incentives for extracting deadly and carbon-heavy methane gas from coal seams.

AP, the Charleston Daily Mail and MetroNews, meanwhile, report that "West Virginia's natural gas producers kicked-off a three-year campaign Monday to educate state residents on the benefits the industry has to offer." Both the Mail and Metronews (in a separate story) question the coincidence.