A Marion County
“The new Republican majority is going to, in
my opinion, ram this through because the (West Virginia
“The title of that bill is fatally
flawed.”
The Creating Coal Jobs and Safety
Act of 2015, at 105 pages, specifically addresses a list of mine safety regulations
that supporters of the legislation have said are expensive and make it
difficult for West Virginia’s coal industry to compete with other states.
In some cases, the state
regulations addressed exceed existing federal regulations.
Overall, Del. Randy Smith
(R-Preston, 53) said it’s a good bill.
“When this session’s done on
Saturday, Monday morning I’m going to be five, five and a half miles
underground with my coal mining friends, buddies, brothers and I’m going to be
able to look them in the eye and tell them that I went to Charleston and tried
to preserve their safety and protect their jobs,” Smith said.
Opponents of the bill, like Caputo,
have argued the bill only gives more power to coal operators while compromising
miner safety.
“The needle never moved,” he said
of his efforts to change the bill through negotiations. “It was the way you guys
proposed the bill is the way the bill came out.”
“Would you agree that sometimes it’s very,
very tight margins of whether or not a mine can stay in business?” asked
Kercheval. “Yes,” answered Caputo.
“Would you agree that there are
elements of this that, if you don’t have to close a section to move equipment,
things like that, that maybe that mine can be just a little bit more profitable
and remain open?” asked Kercheval.
“I will never sell out safety for
profit,” Caputo said.
The 2015 Regular Legislative
Session continues through March 14.
