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HB 5223 now goes before the Senate after House members from throughout the state and both the Republican and Democratic parties characterized it as a necessary move to stimulate the economy in the five southern coalfield counties the bill focuses on.

“Every year we talk and talk about how we can revitalize Southern West Virginia,� Delegate Mark Dean, R-Mingo, said in a House floor speech prior to the HB 5223 vote Tuesday. “Here’s a bill that gives us a real estate at the table of economic development.�

“We’ve got to have some help somewhere,� the bill’s lead sponsor, Assistant Majority Whip Adam Vance, R-Wyoming, said in a House floor speech Tuesday. “Due to the areas that we live in, we don’t have any navigable rivers. We don’t have four-lane highways running through here and there and everywhere. The roads are not the best, I’ll just be honest with you … It takes what would take some of you guys maybe 15 minutes to travel a certain distance between 35 and 40 just because of the roads.�

The goal of the council HB 5223 would create would be economic development in Boone, Logan, McDowell, Mingo and Wyoming counties. The body would work with officials within the Commerce department to educate businesses investing or interested in investing in the southern coalfields about access to economic development assistance, including tax credits.

HB 5223 would allow owners of state property in the five counties to provide “low cost and economical� use and sharing of that property, including computers and research labs, to aid any business in the area at a reduced-cost reimbursement to the state.

The council would be required to report annually to the governor and Legislature on progress of technical assistance support provided by the program and “the strategic plan� for the southern coalfield counties.

Economic Development department head would lead council

The chairperson of the council would be the executive director of the Department of Economic Development, which indicated in a fiscal note analyzing the bill’s potential financial impact projected a $200,000 cost in fiscal year 2024. The fiscal note anticipated an additional employee’s salary, benefits, travel and marketing expenses.

Southern coalfield counties’ populations and tax bases have dwindled amid the coal industry’s long decline.

Delegate Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, said her father will never move from McDowell County despite what she characterized as severe economic distress in the county that needs addressed.

“We have to remember the residents that are overlooked that are unseen, their voices are not heard. And I stand in agreement of this bill wholeheartedly,� Hamilton said.

Sponsor says bill takes key step out of governor’s hands

HB 5223’s progress follows the dormancy of what was supposed to be the similarly focused Coalfield Community Grant Facilitation Commission created by HB 4479 of 2022.

The commission was set up to consist of governor appointees to facilitate grants for coal communities by providing grant applicants with technical assistance and matches for local entities applying for grants.

But months went by without Justice naming any appointees to the board, causing concern by late 2022 that West Virginia was missing out on technical assistance programs designed to help communities leverage federal infrastructure funds.

ReImagine Appalachia and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition addressed a letter in September 2022 to Justice recommending commission nominees, including retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, vice president of economic innovation at West Virginia University; West Virginia Mine Wars Museum Executive Director Mackenzie New Walker; and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams.

Governor’s Office press secretary C.J. Harvey told the Gazette-Mail in December 2022 that Justice was considering potential commission appointments. Harvey noted that the commission wasn’t funded by the Legislature.

Justice named five appointees in February 2023. Four of those terms expired Dec. 31, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

The commission was required by HB 4479 to submit a report by Dec. 1 of each year to the Joint Government and Finance Committee summarizing grant assistance applications received and statistics on commission actions and grants awarded.

The committee never received an annual report from the commission, according to House of Delegates Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director Ann Ali.

“We’ve had other authorities or groups made in the past that required funding, required appointment from the governor, and nothing was ever moved on,� Vance, an underground coal miner, said at a House Organization Committee meeting at which HB 5223 advanced last week. “So we took this bill and we went ahead and done that for him, took it out of his hands, put in who needs to be on it and also to try to get these five counties a seat at the table to try to get some help.�

Similar bill already to governor’s desk

The Legislature has sent a similarly focused bill to the governor that would create an authority board aimed at securing economic development projects that benefit southern West Virginia counties.

SB 354 would create a 15-member board that includes representatives of economic development agencies in McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Wayne and Wyoming counties and governor appointees from the private sector.

Under SB 354, the board could seek out public-private partnerships, propose legislation for bonding and tax credits to facilitate economic development along the Interstate 73/74 corridor stretching from northern Michigan to eastern South Carolina.

If SB 354 becomes law, the authority could acquire and lease property, with the right to develop and use property and open it to public use. The authority also could contract with any other West Virginia state governmental agency or the federal government.