Legislature 2010: Day 27

• Lawmakers are starting to get behind a proposal to add a penny a bottle to the beer tax to fund substance abuse programs, The Associated Press reports.

• All 100 members of the House of Delegates have jointly presented a petition urging the Manchin administration to increase funding to a Medicaid waiver program that offers in-home care to seniors and the disabled. AP has coverage, as does The Charleston Gazette and Charleston Daily Mail.

• A group of state senators, including some from the coalfields, have "begun brainstorming about ways to shift West Virginia's economy away from coal," AP reports. Public Broadcasting also has an extensive piece, with audio.

• Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Joe Miller is asking lawmakers to increase his agency's fees, touting the hikes as potential revenue boosts for the ever-ailing State Road Fund, MetroNews reports.

• The Daily Mail reports that veterans groups are backing a measure to elevate the state Division of Veterans Affairs to a cabinet department, and are also "are fighting for better access to Gov. Joe Manchin and against proposed budget cuts they say would hit military families at the worst possible time."