CHARLESTON — Gov. Earl Ray  Tomblin pledged Wednesday to lead West Virginia into “a new and dynamic chapter” by creating jobs, making mines safer, getting the most out of Marcellus shale gas and fighting the drug scourge.

In the packed House of Delegates chamber, Tomblin also vowed to keep fighting the Obama administration over coal regulations and keeping a tight rein on state expenses.

“There will be challenges along the way, but make no mistake, our trajectory will be upward,” the Democratic governor declared.

“It is our strength, talent, creativity and clarity of purpose that gives us the capacity to achieve greatness.”

Tomblin invited all hearing him to pitch in and to share talents and skills to make West Virginia a better place to live.

“Now is the time to build on our strength,” he said.

Tomblin applauded the West Virginia mindset that finds lawmakers — from Democrat to Republican, liberal to conservative — willing to work in harmony to make life better for all.

Unlike the nation’s capital, he said, West Virginia policymakers cut waste and taxes, make it easier to expand the economy, and look at policy from a viewpoint of reality, apart from political bickering that leads to gridlock.

More than once he lit into the Environmental Protection Agency, under constant fire from the coal industry over regulations it feels are too stringent and that are smothering production.

“This is West Virginia, where we appreciate the need for reasonable, open environmental regulations but understand the fundamental need for jobs and for low cost, reliable energy developed right here in the United States of America,” Tomblin said.

Calling it “a war on coal” by the Obama administration, Tomblin vowed to personally take on the EPA until it understands that a key to America’s future lies in the use of natural resources.

“It is a fight from which I will not shrink, and one that I fully expect to win,” he promised, evoking thunderous applause.

“Coal is, and always will be, a part of our future.”

Turning to mine safety, he alluded to the tragic explosion April 5, 2010, in Raleigh County that snuffed out the lives of 29 workers at the Upper Big Branch mine, once owned by Massey Energy.

Tomblin said he would offer a bill to improve rock dusting standards, guard workers who blow the whistle on unsafe practices, insist on methane sensors at longwalls, and demand more pre-shift reviews.

Another element the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration found disturbing in the Upper Big Branch inquiry and one that a federal prosecutor used in bringing to justice a former Massey security chief was the practice of alerting underground foremen when an inspector came on the property.

Tomblin told the joint House-Senate assembly he would bar this practice, while calling for more training for self-rescuers with an accompanying plan to launch a year-long study of training that engulfs inspectors, foremen and miners.

“Coal mining is a dangerous profession, but we can make it safer,” the governor said. “One death in our mines is one death too many.”

In a related vein, Tomblin said he would attack a major societal ill — a drug scourge that is considered an epidemic across West Virginia.

In the fashion of Virginia and Kentucky, the governor said he would inaugurate a drug testing program for miners.

Drug abuse stretches far beyond the pits, however, and Tomblin acknowledged this, terming substance abuse “an equal opportunity destroyer of dreams and lives.”

“It affects the poor, the affluent, the educated and everyone in between,” the governor declared.

Raising criminal penalties isn’t the answer, he said, but instead the state must rely on technology to enhance a program to monitor prescriptions and curb the practice of “doctor shopping” that finds traffickers and abusers alike getting unlimited supplies of narcotic pain killers.

What’s more, Tomblin wants to require anyone enrolling in a tax-financed workforce training program to pass a drug screen.

“Now is the time to get serious about ending drug abuse and addiction,” he said.

Yet, the path to collective recovery will be neither quick nor without hard work, Tomblin cautioned.

Tomblin promised to seek legislation to “further refine our incentives” in the recently regulated Marcellus shale gas industry in an effort to better posture West Virginia to compete with other states, but provided no details.

As for infrastructure, he will ask lawmakers to put half of any surplus in an infrastructure fund once the Rainy Day kitty reaches 15 percent of general revenue to improve roads, water and sewer systems and broadband access.

Tomblin then reached out in another controversial realm — cell phone chatting and texting while driving. For three years, some lawmakers have sought without luck to ban hand-held devices in traffic.

“This is a dangerous activity,” he declared, announcing plans for a bill to bar the use of both while driving.

“It is unsafe and it puts all drivers at risk, especially our young people. Now is the time to save lives. I want West Virginians to remain free from distracted drivers on our public highways.”

On education, he referred to a recent efficiency audit performed by outside consultants, saying his administration has a plan to save some $90 million in public schools annually.

That audit called on the use of new technologies to help rural pockets, give local officials more power over schools, improve methods to evaluate teachers, enhance the mentoring program and pay teachers adequately.

“We cannot achieve all of these goals overnight,” Tomblin cautioned.

“But it is one of my highest priorities.”

One proposal would incorporate student achievement into every teacher performance evaluation by codifying a pilot program in existence and expanding it with annual assessments.

Another measure would set up a pilot program to help struggling local schools, he said, by giving administrators and educators flexibility to attract qualified instructors.

Tomblin said the idea will work in tandem with the Reconnecting McDowell Project, a public-private pact that entails some 40 groups focusing on a wide range, from jobs and economic development to housing, transportation, technology and student services.

Learning thrives beyond the classroom, he said, and in that regard, Tomblin hailed the coming Boy Scout Jamboree next year in Fayette County, one that promises to entice 50,000 scouts and leaders to the Summit Bechtel Reserve.

“We pledge to make the Scouts as proud of their decision to come to our state as are to have them here,” the governor said.

Tomblin introduced Mike Patrick of Bechtel Summit Reserve and Steve McGowan, lead volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America.

Touting fiscal responsibility as a benchmark of his service in government, Tomblin said his new budget is balanced, unlike Washington, D.C., where “uncontrolled spending has led to uncertainty, a lack of confidence, and a fundamental breakdown in the operation of government.”

Tomblin warned that the rising federal debt can only mean decisions in Washington that negatively impact his state.

“But this is West Virginia,” he said.

“Our finances are a source of strength. We have a proven record of balancing budgets. We have one of the best Rainy Day funds in the nation, with a surplus of over $820 million. We pay our bills on time and we keep our financial commitments to our retirement systems.”

Even with major strides in lowering business and individual taxes, Tomblin said the future seems ominous with “exploding Medicaid expenses, increased enrollment, medical cost inflation, declining lottery revenues and uncertain economic times.”

Even so, he said, West Virginians needn’t despair.

“We will meet these challenges with the same pragmatic approach that we have applied over the past 25 years as we have grown from a state on the brink of bankruptcy to become a beacon of fiscal health in a nation where shortfalls have been the norm,” he said.

Yet, one dark cloud remains on the horizon, and Tomblin vowed to offer specific legislation to erase the Other Post-Employment Benefits liability, which recently was halved by the action of the Public Employees Insurance Agency board.

“With OPEB under control, West Virginia will have the ability to reach the upper echelons of financial strength and stability,” the governor said.

To heavy applause, Tomblin introduced Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Gentry III and Staff Sgt. James Providenti, part of the first and final units sent to Iraq, and 1st Sgt. Robert Cassas, deployed to Afghanistan.

Tomblin then announced the West Virginia Employment Initiative Program to heighten job opportunities for acting duty personnel and veterans by providing training and vocational counseling, job searches and referrals to employment openings.

“It is right and fitting that we do all that we can to serve those who have served us, sacrificed for us and done so much to preserve our freedom and protect us from harm,” he said.

Winding up his first State of the State address since becoming governor in his own right in the special election last Oct. 4, Tomblin revived his campaign theme — more jobs, lower taxes.

“It not just a slogan,” he said.

“It is a strategy. Together, we are making it happen in West Virginia. We will not only celebrate our accomplishments. We will reshape our future. We will build a new West Virginia. One where our schools prepare our children for future employment, our communities are drug free, good jobs are plentiful, and our families can stay and prosper in West Virginia.”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com