Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signs SB469, providing a funding mechanism for West Virginia’s $5 billion OPEB debt. (Photo/Steven Allen Adams)
By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed a bill making West Virginia the first state to deal with its multi-billion dollar retiree health [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin‘s substance abuse bill passed one committee today on the West Virginia Senate side, but still has two more committees to go through.
The Senate Health and Human Resources Committee passed SB437, Tomblin’s proposal that would create a regulatory framework in place to monitor [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — Teachers’ unions and other interest groups crammed into the office of the Senate Education Committee Chairman to hammer out language for a committee substitute to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s proposal for teacher evaluations and a mentoring program.
A Senate Education subcommittee chaired by state Sen. Richard Browning [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — An aide to the Governor since his rise from Senate President and Acting Governor is taking on the responsibilities of another state agency.
Jacqueline Proctor, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin‘s Communications Director, will serve as the Deputy Commissioner of the state Division of Tourism under Commerce Secretary Keith [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — If senators agree with changes to the legislation, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin can add finding funding for the state’s multi-billion dollar retiree health care debt to his list of successes since officially becoming Governor in November.
The West Virginia House of Delegates passed SB469, Gov. Tomblin’s proposal [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — Republicans in the West Virginia House of Delegates tried to amend Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin‘s legislation to pay down the state’s retiree health care debt after raising concerns about the bill’s specifics.
House Republicans offered five amendments to SB469, with all five failing. Two failed by voice [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — A bill making texting while driving a primary offense is now on its way to the West Virginia House of Delegates after passing the state Senate.
Senators passed SB211 unanimously today, after the penalties in the bill were changed. SB211 would make it a primary offense to [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — Another week has gone by, inching us closer to the halfway mark of the West Virginia Legislature’s 2012 general session. Feb. 9 will be the 30 day mark of the 60-day session.
As of today 1,608 bills have been introduced between the House of Delegates and the [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Senate put Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s public retiree health care funding proposal on the fast track to full passage by the Legislature later this week.
The state Senate suspended the rules requiring a bill be read on three separate days before passage and sent [...]

By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog
CHARLESTON — This could be the year that West Virginia finally deals with its multi-billion dollar retiree health care debt.
A bill proposed by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin during his State of the State address, SB 469, was introduced in the West Virginia Senate this morning and passed out [...]