The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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April 22, 2010

Helmick expects coal tax change to eventually pass

By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter

BECKLEY — Thirty counties that produce coal in West Virginia had been banking on sharing $59 million in severance taxes under failed legislation aimed at dedicating the first 5 percent of collections to them.

On the last night of the session, a glitch in the bill kept it from ever getting enrolled and going downstairs at the Capitol to Gov. Joe Manchin’s desk.

The idea was to send the initial 5 percent of the severance tax to counties where coal is produced over a five-year period, with certain strings attached on how they could spend it.

For instance, it couldn’t be spent on creating new government jobs or boosting salaries of those already on a county payroll.

Even with its unexpected demise, Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, insists the concept isn’t dead and likely will come to fruition within a few months, likely the next regular session in the winter of 2011.

“I don’t know that it will come back in a special session,” Helmick said Wednesday.

“Coal has been around for many, many years and will be around for many, many years. We’re going to do it in a reasonable way. It is a big issue. It is change in government. We all understand that.”

Helmick said it wouldn’t surprise him to see the matter become a subject for an interims committee study this year, then revived in bill form when the 2011 session begins.

“But will it pass?” he asked, then answered his own question.

“I see no reason why it won’t. It’s going to be part of our future in those counties. I think they need to be prepared for it. They need to be thinking about it. They need to be looking about the structure of their counties doing an asset audit.”

Figures kept by the West Virginia Coal Association showed Boone County, which pumps $60 million a year into the state coffers via severance taxes, would get $727,196 a year if the initial 5 percent went directly there.

Raleigh County would get a $299,017 bonanza, while Fayette’s projected share is $104,722.

Wyoming County stands to reap an extra $137,241, while the icing on the coal cake for McDowell would be $147,097, and Greenbrier would get $29,867.

“I’m a firm believer these counties should get a little break,” said Helmick, who has pushed this legislation in recent years.

“I’m a believer that the best decisions are the local decisions because people know what’s good for the local level.”

Operating under the adage that money is power, Helmick says counties need the empowerment of extra cash to chart their individual courses.

“I believe decisions should be made on the local level on a lot of those issues, such as infrastructure, health care and so,” he said.

“It’s been a topic in the West Virginia Legislature, and the reason that it has been a topic that’s gotten significant attention is because of a better understanding of how things really work and how government should perform. Not all decisions should be made at the state level.”

In his former role as a county commissioner, Helmick recalled efforts to get a hotel/motel tax that ultimately led to Pocahontas County financing a hospital.

Another motivation is the condescension Helmick has encountered across the state with regard to southern coal-producing counties.

“Coal counties and coal people have been shunned and looked down upon as being a lesser entity and pulling the state down,” he said.

“I’ve heard that so many times, in the Eastern Panhandle. All over West Virginia. The truth is, Boone County has given us $60 million for the last 20 years. Boone County is coal. Pocahontas is tourism. We use our money for medical services. What’s the difference in dedicating a little bit of coal money for the needs back home?”

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