WV House bill gutting state mine inspectors' enforcement powers prompts public hearing, draws UMWA

WV House bill gutting state mine inspectors' enforcement powers prompts public hearing, draws UMWA ire


A West Virginia House legislative committee has advanced to the full House of Delegates a sweeping bill that would strip away nearly all enforcement powers from the state’s mine law enforcement office, setting off a heated debate on the House floor Friday and resulting in a scheduled public hearing next week.

The House Government Organization Committee on Thursday afternoon advanced House Bill 4840, which would remove the powers of the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training to issue orders or financial penalties to mine operators for failing to meet safety standards, and eliminate operator mine permit fees.

HB 4840 would remove the minimum number of “visits” that mine inspectors must make to all the mines in their districts, discard a requirement that governor nominees to the state mine safety board representing operators have experience in “health and safety,” and get rid of a provision allowing for inspectors to examine mines with no advance notice.

“We are completely opposed to this insult to West Virginia miners and especially to their families, who have a right to expect them to come home safe and sound at the end of every shift,” United Mine Workers of America spokesman Phil Smith said of HB 4840 in an email Friday.

Read more: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/legislative_session/wv-house-bill-gutting-state-mine-inspectors-enforcement-powers-prompts-public-hearing-draws-umwa-ire/article_56c0e38d-9b8a-58cf-aef8-6877ecd6dbb5.html