During the 2013 legislative session the Association established a Coal Caucus, made up of House of Delegate members who were friends of the industry.  The Caucus met every Monday morning during the session and was attended by an average of 40–50 legislators.  The goal of the Caucus was to build a solid core of support for issues that are of importance to the future of our industry and the jobs it provides.  An underground mine visit is being planned for the first full interim meeting scheduled for June 14-16 in Wheeling.  More detail on the mine tour will be forthcoming as plans for the interim meeting become final.

The 2013 Legislature ended its regular session on Saturday, April 13^th at midnight.  And, as is always the case, the Extended Special Session for the budget was called for the next week and was finished earlier than usual on Thursday, April 18^th.  This year, a total of 1,829 bills (665 Senate Bills and 1,164 House Bills) were introduced.  A total of 216 bills, 106 Senate Bills and 110 House Bills passed.

Below is a listing of legislation directly related to coal and mining that passed, but what is not included are the myriad bills that were not considered, many of which had some negative connotation for the industry.  During the 60 days there were more than 90 bills being monitored by the Association.

Members are reminded that the Property Tax Division of the State Tax Department had extended the time for taxpayers to file property tax returns for reserve coal to next week, May 1^st.  The original date had been April 1^st.   The Department has a narrow window of time to process these returns, and ask that you file the returns as they are completed rather than a mass mailing once all have been completed.

The 12^th Regional WV CEDAR Coal Fair will be held April 28 – May 4 at the Harless Community Center in Gilbert WV.  On Wednesday, April 17, Governor Tomblin presented CEDAR with a Coal Education Proclamation declaring the week as Coal Education Week in West Virginia. Ms. Vance’s 6^thgrade class from Omar Elementary attended the ceremony, wearing their handmade miner’s caps, one of which was presented to the Governor.

The agenda for the 12^th Annual CEDAR (Coal Education Development and Resource) of Southern West Virginia Regional Coal Fair is below.  There will be K thru 12 grade student projects on display, with every project focusing on coal.  These projects compete in seven categories, Science, Math, Social Studies, English/Literature, Music, Art and Technology/Multimedia.  Students from Mingo, Logan, Boone, McDowell, Wyoming and Wayne counties compete for prize money while learning about coal and its importance to our daily lives.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Mining & Reclamation will hold a Surface Water Runoff Analysis (SWROA) training session on May 14, 2013 at the Charleston Civic Center.  To register for the training session contact Leslie Oaks 304-926-0499 ext. 1506