Threatened Lawsuit Alleges Retaliation by Manchin, Administration

The Northern Panhandle's mental health care provider has given the required 30-day notice to the Manchin administration that it plans to sue, alleging federal civil rights violations, The Associated Press and others report.

Northwood Health Systems contends that Gov. Joe Manchin has led a regulatory crackdown meant to punish it for "speaking out on health care issues last year," the AP article said. That includes last year's push for increased state funding for behavioral health services.

Longtime Wheeling lawyer and Northwood board Chairman Patrick Casey told AP "the state found five problems with Northwood in 2007 and 2008 combined, compared to 175 'deficiencies' found in 2009.'"

AP's Tom Breen writes that "Northwood has been operating since October without a license, which it was denied by the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification... When the state decided not to renew Northwood’s license, it cited three patient deaths within a two-month span in 2009 and a series of incidents in which staff members mistreated, neglected or humiliated disabled patients."

Manchin spokesman Matt Turner told AP that "any allegation that DHHR’s regulation of Northwood would be based on the governor’s veto is baseless and without merit."

Turner offered a similar statement to The Intelligencer of Wheeling, which also reports that "Northwood is not seeking money in the suit but wants the court to find that Manchin and state officials violated Northwood's civil rights, including the rights to free speech, equal protection and due process."

The Wheeling newspaper also reported earlier on Northwood issuing the 30-day notice on Tuesday. Public Broadcasting has coverage as well (and audio), as does MetroNews (audio here).

Session Agendas Taking Shape

The West Virginia Legislature begins the 2010 regular session next week. Among the potential issues that may arise during the 60 days:

• A plan for addressing "the staggering liability of post-employment health care for West Virginia’s retired public workers," The Register-Herald of Beckley reports.

• A proposal from Gov. Joe Manchin "to consolidate and centralize the state's vehicle fleet," The Charleston Gazette reports.

• The Gazette also has an item on possible legislation "that would ban insurance companies from using gender as a factor in determining rates."

• Public Broadcasting reports on a proposed measure "regulating the amount of total dissolved solids in the state’s waters," in the wake of a September fish kill that "wiped out the aquatic life in Dunkard Creek, a stream that meanders between West Virginia and Pennsylvania." With audio.

• The Gazette highlights the legislative wish list of the state Chamber of Commerce.

Lawsuit Targets W.Va. Child Support Agency

What could end up as a class-action lawsuit alleges that "families across West Virginia are routinely denied child support payments because of lax state oversight," The Associated Press and others report.

The Kanawha Circuit Court case targets the state Bureau for Child Support Enforcement along with its parent, the Department of Health and Human Resources, along with agency contractor Policy Studies Inc.

Filed by Charleston lawyer and former state legislator Rusty Webb, the lawsuit alleges "the agency routinely fails to renew child support judgments, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of support payments to be lost with no chance of collection," AP reports.

The Charleston Daily Mail and MetroNews also have articles on the lawsuit.

More on the W.Va. Budget

With West Virginia's general revenue budget already showing signs that that several years of tough sledding lie ahead, the Charleston Daily Mail focuses on another key but faltering source for state spending.

"West Virginia lottery revenue has peaked, which means the governor and legislators may have to make some difficult spending choices in coming years," the newspaper reported. "At the 2007 peak, the lottery transferred $639.2 million to the state's coffers. That decreased to $631.2 million in 2008 and $616.6 million in 2009."

House Speaker Rick Thompson weighed in on the state budget picture on MetroNews.

"We're still in pretty good shape considering the state of our neighbors and we'll continue to be responsible, I'm sure," the Wayne County Democrat told Talkline. "But we're looking for a very lean next two or three years."

Audio here. In related news, the Daily Mail reports separately that "the outlook for West Virginia public employees, including teachers, to get any new pay raises this year is gloomier than ever, considering the deterioration of the state's economy and a projected revenue shortfall."

Christmas Pardons in West Virginia

The News and Sentinel of Parkersburg enlists the state archivist to report that "while United States presidents from George Washington on have used the Christmas season as a backdrop to issue pardons, West Virginia governors do not."

"Hundreds of convicts have been issued gubernatorial pardons, but few, if any, were done in the spirit of the yuletide," the newspaper said. "Even when West Virginia had the death penalty, which was abolished by the state in 1965, a few governors commuted sentences to life, but none did so on Christmas."

Balancing the Budget in West Virginia

Gov. Joe Manchin will present a new state budget to the Legislature next week, when the House and Senate begin their 60-day regular session. He will also provide lawmakers his administration's latest forecast of projected revenues and spending for the next five years.

As The Associated Press reports, the last forecast saw widening funding gaps. The full brunt of the recession may have since only worsened those deficit threats. While Manchin and lawmakers again expect to tap federal stimulus funds to keep the current budget balanced, AP reports that they may soon need to find another strategy.

"House Finance Chairman Harry Keith White, D-Mingo, noted last week that the stimulus requires states to spend the bulk of their shares by 2011," the article said. "West Virginia's overall financial picture has White's Senate counterpart seeing serious, permanent cuts to state spending on the horizon."

The article also observes some silver linings. "State budget officials estimate that general revenue will finally resume growth during the 2012 fiscal year," it said. "Manchin also announced late last week that December's general revenues exceeded their estimates by around $32 million."

AP also reports separately on the fiscal terrain looming before state governments nationwide, citing how "forty-five states hold regular legislative sessions in 2010, most convening in January.

"As lawmakers head back to state capitols this month, budget woes range 'from bad to ridiculously bad,'" that article said, quoting David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poors in New York.

"There are some states, those hit particularly hard by the recession, that I don't think can cut spending enough. They're running out of things to cut," Wyss told AP, which reports that "Forty-three states and the District of Columbia have already slashed spending on popular services, including education, health care and services to the elderly and disabled."