Gearing up for the Legislative Session

"Gov. Joe Manchin’s pledge to continue emphasizing West Virginia coal as a good energy source" prompted The Associated Press to seek out specifics from the administration and the industry.

"Manchin wasn’t referring to any specific plans for coal," a spokesman told AP Business Writer Tim Huber, but his comments instead "reflect the importance coal has played in building the country and its future."

But the governor "is likely to have a specific agenda on renewable energy, which will come out in his state of the state speech Feb. 11," Jeff Herholdt, director of West Virginia’s Division of Energy, told AP.

Industry forces, meanwhile, "expect more than historical nods from Manchin’s second term," Huber writes.

West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney hinted at a measure addressing surface mine reclamation "designed to help develop the state’s economy." Other possible topics include "carbon dioxide sequestration and coal-to-liquids," AP reports.

Business groups, meanwhile, have already begun to lobby lawmakers at local forums on their pet issues. The Journal of Martinsburg previews a forum that the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce has set for early February to discuss " health care, education, transportation, tax and tort reform and water quality."

The News and Sentinel of Parkersburg report that limits on lawsuits and damage awards tops the agenda of the West Virginia Business and Industry Council, which hosted area legislators Wednesday.

Lawmakers were also told not to tinker with the state's unemployment compensation program, amid questions about its future funding levels, that newspaper reports.