(AP) CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Testing coal miners for drugs presents both benefits and burdens to West Virginia regulators, the House and Senate Judiciary committees heard Monday as lawmakers pursue measures this session to improve mine safety.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has proposed a wide-ranging mine safety bill that includes a mandatory, random screening program for all mine jobs requiring certification. The random testing should annually screen half of any employer's certified workforce, the legislation says.

The two committees launched a two-day series of hearings Monday for that bill and others. Lawmakers seek to focus on proposals that respond to the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion. The worst U.S. coal mining disaster in four decades, the underground Raleigh County blast killed 29 miners. The second hearing is slated for 2 p.m.Tuesday in the House of Delegates Chamber.

The Boone County Commission could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars if recently announced coal mine layoffs last for an extended period of time.

"It's going to hurt everybody in our county," Commission President Mickey Brown told MetroNews Monday. "We're totally dependent upon coal."

Both Patriot Coal and Alpha Natural Resources announced layoffs at various southern West Virginia coal mines last week. Several of those are in Boone County.

Brown says coal production actually peaked in Boone County in 2007 but severance tax revenues have stayed steady because of the high price of coal per ton.

"If it wasn't for the price---our coal severance would have been way down," Brown said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va.

A West Virginia company is working on a piece of equipment designed to keep miners safer.

Trinity Resources demonstrated its a mobile mine safety chamber this week at the West Virginia Mining Symposium in Charleston.

The company headquartered in Putnam County has been working on the project for about three years.

The device resembles a big steel box on bulldozer tracks and is designed to keep underground miners safe in the event of an explosion or collapse.

The Daily Mail reports that the aptly named Guardian Angel contains enough oxygen to keep 15 miners alive for up to four days. Food, first aid gear and water also can be placed under the floor panels in the chamber. And it's also equipped with a toilet.

By Taylor Kuykendall, Reporter - email

During a panel discussion entitled "Obama's No Job Zone," coal industry leaders decried President Obama's energy and environmental policies at the West Virginia Coal Symposium Friday morning.

The discussion opened with Josie Gaskey, director of the Pennsylvania Coal Association. Her state's industry, she said, faces problems from the "overreach" of various regulatory agencies at the federal level.

By Taylor Kuykendall, Reporter - email

At a meeting of the West Virginia Coal Association Friday morning, Kentucky and Ohio industry officials called for answers as to why a natural gas company has been funneling money to groups who are fighting the coal industry on environmental and health grounds.

Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, spent the last few minutes of his presentation to West Virginia coal miners and industry executives discussing his disgust with Chesapeake Energy for their funding of anti-coal campaigns.