Legislature 2010: Manchin Agenda (Updated)

• West Virginia could begin to get a handle on the estimated 9,300 vehicles owned or leased by state government, if the Senate approves a House amendment to Gov. Joe Manchin's vehicle fleet agency bill. As The Associated Press and The Register-Herald of Beckley report, delegates sought to limit personal use of state vehicles in the bill. Public Broadcasting has a report along with audio and video.
  

• AP and the Herald-Dispatch of Huntington covered passage of Manchin's bid to allow cities and towns "to tap insurance proceeds when clearing away buildings destroyed by fire." The Senate approved the House-passed bill, one of two meant to increase local home rule by municipalities.

• The House tightened the standards behind Manchin's proposal to speed up parole for low-risk, nonviolent inmates before sending the bill back to the Senate for final review, AP and The Charleston Gazette report.

• Manchin's proposed pilot program that would offer public funds to 2012's Supreme Court candidates has cleared its final Senate committee hurdle. But as AP and The Gazette report, Senate Finance stripped out the various fees it would charge as revenue sources.

• The Charleston Daily Mail and Public Broadcasting (with audio) both observe mixed Senate support for Manchin's proposed constitutional amendment targeting business property taxes. The measure advanced from Senate Judiciary after surviving a bid by Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, to scuttle it. And while teachers groups and the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy have lined up to question the proposal, the state Manufacturers Association is "lukewarm at best" about it.

• MetroNews offers an overview of the governor's agenda.

• Update: Manchin has won final approval of a proposal to allow cities and town to target eyesore buildings through registries, AP reports.

• Update: The Senate must sign off on House changes to its version of Manchin's parkways bill, AP reports. The measure would rename the Turnpike's parent agency, allow it to operate tolls elsewhere to fund specific highway projects, but otherwise curtails its forays into tourism and economic development. The House tweaked a Senate amendment "that offers free transponders for the turnpike's discount commuter pass system," the article said.