Quote of the Day

“You can’t take it personal. That’s just the way Washington works."

-- U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, talking to Newsweek about the repeated entreaties from the Obama administration while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee works to unseat her.

They Voted For You: Banking

U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., helped defeat "a plan to spare hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure through bankruptcy, a proposal that President Barack Obama embraced but did little to see through," The Associated Press reports.

Byrd was among a dozen Democrat who joined with Senate Republicans to scuttle the measure in the 45-51 vote. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., did not vote.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois had championed and negotiated the proposed amendment, "which Obama had said was important to saving the economy and promised to push through Congress," AP reports. "But facing stiff opposition from banks, Obama did little to pressure lawmakers who worried it would encourage bankruptcy filings and spike interest rates."

W.Va. Teacher Groups Continue Fight over PEIA Seat

Groups representing teachers are jockeying for a seat on the influential finance board of the Public Employees Insurance Agency, The Charleston Gazette reports.

With the seat reserved for the union with the most members, the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia and the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association cite their partnership agreement to claim that status.

The seat has been held by Perry Bryant, who has represented the rival West Virginia Education Association. Bryant withdrew his nomination for re-appointment to the board last month, the newspaper reports.

Bryant "will continue to serve on the PEIA Finance Board until Gov. Joe Manchin appoints somebody else," the article said.

WVEA President Dale Lee told The Gazette that "the governor's office asked for Bryant's withdraw, and proposed that both Bryant and an AFT representative could sit on the finance board," but that the Senate later pulled the necessary legislation.

They Voted For You: Federal Spending

U.S. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, helped President Obama mark his 100th day this week "by advancing "a $3.4 trillion federal budget for next year - a third of it borrowed - that prevents Republicans from blocking his proposed trillion-dollar expansion of government-provided health care over the next decade," The Associated Press reports.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, voted along with every other House GOP member against the budget bill. The 233-193 roll call also include 17 Democrats opposing the measure.

U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., also voted against the bill, in a 53-43 roll call that again saw no Republican member support the legislation. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., did not vote.

"Wednesday's House and Senate votes to adopt the nonbinding budget blueprint were only a first step toward Obama's goal of providing health care coverage for all Americans," AP reports. "The budget plan for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 sets the parameters for subsequent tax and spending bills expected to boost clean energy programs and student aid and extend many of former President George W. Bush's tax cuts."

W.Va. Medicaid "Redesign" Takes Another Hit

Another study has come away critical of West Virginia's effort revamp its Medicaid program, The Associated Press reports.

"Mountain Health Choices makes some benefits contingent upon signing contracts that pledge recipients will regularly visit their doctor and take their medication as directed, among other things," AP's Tom Breen explains. "Recipients who don't sign those contracts are enrolled in a health plan with fewer benefits than they had received under traditional Medicaid."

"The Institute for Health Policy Research at West Virginia University conducted interviews with state officials, health-care providers, patient advocates and other groups in 2008 and 2009 to evaluate the program," the article said.

Among other conclusions, the report found that "tens of thousands of West Virginians on Medicaid are getting less medical care than they used to," Breen writes.

They Voted For You: Credit Cards

All three of West Virginia's U.S. House members voted for "a bill to restrict credit card practices and eliminate sudden increases in interest rates and late fees that have entangled millions of consumers," The Associated Press reports.

U.S. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st; Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd; and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, helped pass the Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009 in a 357-70 vote.

"The measure would prohibit so-called double-cycle billing and retroactive rate hikes and would prevent companies from giving credit cards to anyone under 18," AP report, but adds that "if they become law, the new provisions won't take effect for a year, except for a requirement that customers get 45 days' notice before their interest rates are increased. That would take effect in 90 days."

W.Va. Budget Update: April Revenues Top Estimate

West Virginia lawmakers and Gov. Joe Manchin wanted to wait until after April's tax collections came in before proceeding with a new state budget. The Associated Press reports that "the month's general tax revenues should exceed estimates by $15 million to $20 million."

"That would put state government back on track to end the current budget year June 30 balanced or with a minor surplus," the article said. "A key month for annual tax collections, April's numbers suggest the Legislature won't have to cut spending in the next budget beyond the $200 million Gov. Joe Manchin has already announced."

The House and Senate finished that 60-day session on April 11, and plan to complete a new state budget between May 26 and June 6, AP notes.

AP also reports that at least one other state, Mississippi, has delayed completing its next budget because of the troubled economy. "West Virginia is among at least 42 states that have projected gaps in their upcoming budgets," the article said. "These threatened deficits totaled $121 million at one point, though the latest tally shows states have since reduced them to a combined $67.4 million."

The Charleston Daily Mail also reports on April's figures, while The Intelligencer of Wheeling checks in with local lawmakers regarding the upcoming session work.

Berger Possible Obama Pick for Federal Bench

Citing "courthouse sources," the Charleston Daily Mail reports that federal officials have been interviewing colleagues of Kanawha Circuit Judge Irene Berger, "a sign she will be officially appointed to the U.S. District bench in the near future."

"Berger, a circuit judge for 14 years, is expected to replace Southern District Judge David A. Faber, who assumed senior status on Dec. 31," the newspaper reports.

The article also lists several "rumored candidates" for Berger's replacement: "House of Delegates Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Carrie Webster, D-Kanawha; Joanna Tabit, a lawyer with Steptoe & Johnson and former deputy attorney general; Fran Hughes, deputy attorney general; and John Hackney, a judge on the West Virginia Court of Claims."

Update: U.S. Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., had earlier recommended Berger, and did the same for veteran lawyer and Democratic politico Ned Rose for a opening on the state's northern federal court district.

Behavioral Health Centers Keep Pressure on Manchin

Advocates of legislation that would increase state funding to community mental health centers continue to urge Gov. Joe Manchin to sign the bill, The Charleston Gazette and others report.

As MetroNews explains, "supporters of Senate Bill 672 delivered 672 letters with 672 ink pens to the governor's office Wednesday. The Mental Health Stabilization Act of 2009 would provide another $1.5 million in funding for 29 community behavioral health services."

The Charleston Daily Mail also covered Wednesday's event.

Having lobbied successfully for the legislation, the state's behavioral health centers and other funding supporters have kept up the pressure on Manchin after his administration slammed the bill on the eve of its passage during the recent regular session.

Their public relations campaign also includes radio ads calling on the governor to sign the measure.

Capito Still on White House Guest List

President Obama continues to include West Virginia's sole Republican in Congress in his efforts to reach out across party lines, Politico reports.

It counts Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, among 37 House members -- and just seven from the GOP -- invited to a White House event last week with their spouses.

The Charleston Daily Mail follows up with Capito's husband, who attended both that reception and one just for spouses the following day.

Update: The social entreaties didn't prevent Capito from joining every other Republican in the House and Senate to vote against a $3.4 trillion federal budget for next year, The Associated Press reports.

June reports ordered in hospital crowding case

A Kanawha Circuit judge wants to hear proposed solutions by June 1 to crowding at West Virginia's two psychiatric hospitals, The Associated Press and other report.

Judge Duke Bloom also wants to hear from a mediator that month, following two days of testimony regarding Huntington’s Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital and William R. Sharpe Hospital in Weston.

"There are on average 100 more patients than there are beds for them at the two hospitals," AP's Tom Breen reports.

"Witnesses testified Monday about comprehensive behavioral health plans, new beds being added in hospitals and $17.5 million spent since 2006 for a variety of mental health programs," Breen writes. "In the long term, though, reducing the number of involuntary commitments that have seen the state’s hospitals packed will require preventive mental health care, said Vickie Jones, deputy commissioner of the Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities."

The Charleston Gazette also covered the hearings, while AP has a separate report from Friday's testimony.

Special Session Update

The Senate's judiciary chairman wants the upcoming special legislative session to include one of the more contentious issues debated by lawmakers in recent year, The Associated Press reports.

Sen. Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, wants to revive a failed bill from the regular session that aims to " regulate independent political advertising and corporate political spending in West Virginia," the article said.

AP reports separately on a more likely item for the special session agenda. "The governor and lawmakers all thought his proposal to promote alternative and renewable energy sources passed on the (regular) session's final night," that article said. " But legislative clerks reviewing the work of the session have found a technical error... That means the bill never actually passed."

Update: The Journal of Martinsburg reports on an area senator hoping to revive a bill "that would have increased the amount of funding that the communities housing West Virginia's four racetracks could receive from the games." The Register-Herald of Beckley reports on another lawmaker's push for a failed regular session proposal "so that West Virginians can examine every item in the state budget" online.

Judge Rules for Ex-Lawmaker Mezzatesta

Former House Education Committee Chairman Jerry Mezzatesta has convinced a circuit judge to order his re-hiring as a "community specialist" for the Hampshire County school system, MetroNews reports.

The former Democratic legislative leader was fired in 2005 from his $60,000 job "because redirected $35,000 in state Department of Education money to volunteer fire departments in Hampshire County," the report said. Judge C. Reeves Taylor "ruled that there was not enough evidence to support Mezzatesta’s decision to redirect the money was a 'willful neglect of duty.'"

A lawyer for Mezzatesta says he "does plan to return to his job with the Hampshire County school system, but it’s not clear when," MetroNews reports. "The Hampshire County School Board can appeal the judge’s decision."

Update: Others with coverage include The Associated Press and The Charleston Gazette.

Adding Topics to Manchin's Agenda

Since he announced a three-item special session agenda Monday, and said he may seek to add more failed session bills to his list, Gov. Joe Manchin has been offered several suggestions.

The state's Consolidated Public Retirement Board has asked the governor to revive a House-passed bill allowing it to run "the newly created Emergency Medical Services retirement plan," The Charleston Gazette reports.

The Senate let the bill idle "after the House amended in an expensive proposal to provide health insurance benefits to EMS workers who retire at age 50," the article said.

But one bill Manchin has sworn off would dedicate state funds to aid troubled municipal police and fire pension funds, both WSAZ-TV and the Herald-Dispatch of Huntington report.

"I can assure you the feeling of the Legislature is not to jump in there and take on any municipal pensions when we have a hard enough time running our state responsibilities and liabilities," Manchin is quotes as telling Huntington officials during a Wednesday visit there.

Mental Health Care in W.Va.

The Associated Press reports that "as behavioral health care providers wait for Gov. Joe Manchin's decision on a bill that could boost payments for their services, the state is looking to establish more than 100 new beds for patients at public and private psychiatric hospitals."

"State health officials say the effort is one component of its plan to provide care for West Virginians suffering from mental illnesses' AP's Tom Breen writes. "Mental health care advocates, though, say adding new beds ignores the underlying problem."

Manchin, meanwhile, told The Charleston Gazette on Wednesday that he hasn't decided whether to sign the bill boosting payments, "but one of the bill's sponsors says there is enough support in the Legislature to override a possible veto."

Manchin also told The Gazette that "he is concerned the bill could interfere with federal Medicaid guidelines," and "may not have been "vetted enough" because it didn't go through either chamber's Health and Human Resources committee. "

Behavioral health care centers continue to urge the governor to sign the bill, with recent coverage of that from the News and Sentinel of Parkersburg and (updated) Public Broadcasting (with audio).

In a related development, The Register-Herald of Beckley reports that "negotiations that began 18 months ago have produced a non-binding letter of intent to build a new, 100-bed facility on the campus of Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital to treat the mentally ill."

W.Va. Gets Royal Visit

Jordan's King Abdullah II included West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle in his recent visit to the U.S., the Charleston Daily Mail reports.

Before meeting Tuesday with President Obama, the monarch and his entourage rode motorcycles through Jefferson County over the weekend and stopped at a local restaurant for coffee and tea, the article said.

Quote of the Day

"Mainly what we’re concerned about as regulators is the ability to develop land after mining. You need valley fills if you’re going to have a viable post mining economy. You need flat land."

- Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman, while telling Public Broadcasting (with audio) that "he is frustrated by the Environmental Protection Agency stepping on his agency’s toes."

W.Va. workforce agency brushing up on ethics

The 400 or so employees of West Virginia's workforce development program must review and sign an "ethics code of conduct" amid a conflict-of-interest investigation targeting one of its administrators, The Charleston Gazette reports.

Workforce West Virginia tells the newspaper that the recent distribution of the Ethics Act Code of Conduct for Public Employees is a reminder "of current policies that have been in effect for some time."

But the agency also acknowledges that the directive, and planned ethics training, follows "investigations into whether agency administrator Mary Jane Bowling improperly helped steer federal grant money that was ultimately used by her son, convicted Cross Lanes computer executive Martin Bowling."

The Gazette has reported extensively on the prosecution of the younger Bowling and the ensuing scrutiny of his mother's actions at the agency.

W.Va. delegation reacts to Bayer blast hearing on Capitol Hill

Several of the state's members of Congress are weighing in after a U.S. House committee hearing, covered by The Associated Press and others, showed that "Bayer CropScience withheld information from emergency responders after a deadly explosion at a West Virginia chemical plant last summer."

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce fielded testimony Tuesday after a probe revealed that that the company 'engaged in a campaign of secrecy' following the blast at the Institute plant that killed two people," the article said.

But as committee investigators explain in their summary memo, the explosion "was particularly ominous and unnerving because a 'residue treater' weighing several thousand pounds rocketed 50 feet through the plant, twisting steel beams, severing pipes, and destroying virtually everything in its path."

That massive projectile "came close to compromising a tank holding methyl isocyanate, or MIC," AP reports. "The same chemical was responsible for the deaths of thousands in Bhopal, India, when it leaked from a former Union Carbide plant in 1984."

"Had this projectile struck the MIC tank, the consequences could have eclipsed the 1984 disaster in India," the committee report said.

U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, told Public Broadcasting that "she doesn’t support replacing MIC just yet."

(Update) The report had noted that Bayer’s actions "stand in stark contrast to other chemical companies that have already switched to safer technologies. In 1985, for example, directly after the MIC catastrophe in India, another chemical company, DuPont, altered its processes to eliminate the storage of large volumes of MIC."

"MIC is a critical ingredient to a lot that are made at that plant," Capito said. "I couldn’t say shut it down. I don’t know if that would mean shutting the entire plant down."

Audio here (corrected link). Capito also issued a statement after the hearing. "I applaud the committee for providing much-needed scrutiny in this case," it read in part. "We know that an incident like this can put the community at risk and it’s only appropriate to expect that manufacturers will be forthright in addressing these incidents quickly and transparently."

U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., released a statement as well. "I commend those first responders who tried desperately, and successfully, to protect their communities, with little assistance from Bayer," it read in part. "Unfortunately, the fears and suspicions of the community have been confirmed by today's hearing."

Others with coverage include The Charleston Gazette and MetroNews. The House committee site offers transcripts of the opening statements of its chairmen, the submitted testimony of Tuesday's witnesses, photos taken after the blast, other supplemental documents and audio of the hearing.

W.Va. Upgrades Stimulus "Transparency" Web Site

West Virginia has launched a new Web site meant to help taxpayers keep tabs on the federal stimulus funds flowing into the state, The Associated Press and others report.

Recovery.wv.gov currently offers totals in the various stimulus categories, now estimated at around $1.8 billion over the next few year. It also has details on some of the areas, including planned highway projects.

"Among many other components, the site contains a search feature and allows individuals to view information by topic or by county," Gov. Joe Manchin's office said in a release. "Visitors will also be able to sign up to receive updates via email, RSS feeds or Twitter to stay apprised of all the latest developments. "