Around the Dome
Dwayne O’ Dell, Director of Government Relations
As I step back and look at the last day of the 60-day 2016 Legislative Session, a few thoughts come to mind. With more than 1,600 bills introduced, numerous committee meetings, and long House and Senate sessions, when you break it all down, it’ s about what’ s best for West Virginia’ s future.
In the early morning of the last day, I saw lobbyists, delegates, senators, and of course, private citizens. One in particular caught my attention— a dad with his young daughter was walking about the Capitol and stopped at the massive statue of U. S. Senator Robert C. Byrd. I thought, after all the disagreements, discussions, denials, and demands, that it all comes down to what is best for the overall good of West Virginia families. This is represented by the young father who was leading his daughter around the Capitol. What will West Virginia look like when this little girl grows up to possibly lead her own child someday around our Capitol?
This thought means even more when each of us concentrate upon what the future holds for our families. West Virginia Farm Bureau has continued a long history during this session of standing strong on conservative family values, protecting individual freedoms and property rights, and building strong foundations for future generations. I believe that while much has occurred during this legislative session, much remains to be accomplished.
One of the major issues of the 2016 Legislature involved how oil / gas resources are developed in this state. No doubt, West Virginia needs this enterprise to provide jobs and tax bases. In my view, it is imperative for West Virginia to maintain and expand its status in the energy sector. However, the development of West Virginia oil and gas reserves, including drilling, pipeline expansion, and other infrastructure upgrades, must not come at the expense of private property rights. Future legislation must include a balanced approach that encourages companies to develop oil / gas reserves while at the same time
protecting the surface owners’ and mineral owners’ rights.
The Legislature must consider all who are involved, along with ensuring that drilling is conducted with the use of the best of technology from an environmental standpoint. I believe that some of the legislation as proposed by Delegate Ireland and others contained many positives. Hopefully the WVFB, oil / gas developers, legislators, and other stakeholders will work together in the coming months to develop legislation that can be enacted to further strengthen and guide oil / gas development and protect private property rights at the same time.
Nationally, the American Farm Bureau reports that the U. S. Senate has failed to reach an agreement on the Biotech Labeling Solutions Act as proposed by Senator Roberts of Kansas. This legislation was needed to set a national standard for GMO labeling. Failure to pass this bill, according to many economists, may add numerous dollars to food manufacturing, and ultimately the consumers will pay the cost. This legislation was supported by over 300 farm groups, companies, and other entities.
GMO / biotechnology has been approved as safe by the FDA and USDA. Over 70 percent of our corn and 90 percent of our soybean production are GMO varieties. Activists are calling for labeling of any food that contains GMO or biotech varieties to indicate that there may be a safety issue with the product. Due to the Senate’ s failure to act, interstate commerce will be threatened and small family-owned companies will face a penalty of $ 1,000 per day if their products enter into the Vermont food chain, either intentionally or unintentionally.
Really, this vote is a vote against American consumers and ultimately the farmers of America who have used technology to improve production in order to feed the world’ s population. Efforts are now underway to reconsider the recent Senate decision.
see O’ Dell, page 23
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 5