We want to thank all of you for your support during this Legislative Session. At the time of this release the session is approaching the last couple days of the 2007 session. We have strived to serve you by addressing the issues that directly affect our district.

Four major concerns for our communities this year have been mine safety, methadone abuse, family court judges and medical coverage.

With the passage of Senate Bill 68 this week, our state continues its efforts to improve coal mine health and safety. This bill will authorize the Director of the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training to issue closure orders for mines under certain circumstances if danger is detected. It will also prohibit the use of a belt conveyor entry as an intake air course, provide for remediation of the effects of bottom mining and continue the Mine Safety Technology Task Force. In addition the bill will provide requirements for the design, construction, remediation and monitoring of sealed areas. Continued education for underground mine foremen-fire bosses will be required as well.

The regulation of methadone clinics has hit home to many of our communities within our district. On February 28 a public forum was held to address the concerns pertaining to methadone clinics. Delegates Rodighiero and Eldridge had several questions for the representatives about how the methadone clinics are operated. Several representatives on behalf of those clinics were present to defend their facilities. Your four Delegates, Hrutkay, Eldridge, Rodighiero and Ellis have stood firm against the way these clinics are being operated, the devastating effects on families and the related deaths in our area. This week the House will pass a bill to stop the establishment and operation of future methadone clinics within the state of West Virginia.

In relation to methadone, Senate Bill 447, which would regulate opioid treatment centers, is being considered in the House. An opioid is a chemical substance that has a morphine-like action in the body. It is mainly used for pain relief. Methadone is used to treat opioid addicts. This bill would provide specific minimum requirements to operate such a treatment program.

The bill, in its current form, would force the clinics to drug test every client requesting admission to make sure that person is actually an opioid addict. It would then force such clinics to continue testing to ensure clients are not doing other drugs with the methadone, which could be a lethal combination, and provide the state with reports tracking their clients' progress and why they left the program. It would also place a moratorium on any new clinics opening until a legislative study can confirm they adequately treat people, are needed and have conformed to the reporting regulations.

Another very important bill is House Bill 3106 and it is in the final stages of passage. This bill addresses family court judges. Logan county is in the ninth family court circuit while Boone and Lincoln counties are in the tenth. Both circuits will be receiving an additional family court judge. This bill will help with the heavy load that our two current family court judges have dealt with. Currently, each judge has been doing the work of two and are in dire need of assistance. This bill will give our district a total of four family court judges. This new legislation will take effect when the additional judges are elected during the 2008 primary and general elections.

House Bill 2772, which is sponsored by all four of us, was introduced in the Senate and is still being reviewed in the Finance Committee. This bill would ensure that the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) would continue medical and prescription drug coverage for Medicare eligible retired employees. The bill would also provides that if a Medicare/Advantage Prescription Drug Plan should fail, the PEIA would take all medicare eligible retired employees back into the existing plan or provide another plan of equal or better coverage. This is good news for all retirees.

We will have a complete report next week to review key points from this year’s session. Please feel free to contact Lidella Hrutkay at (304) 340-3134, email her at lhrutkay@mail.wvnet.edu , write her at Rm. 201-E, Bldg. 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305; Jeffery Eldridge at (304) 340-3174, email him a jeffeldridge96@yahoo.com, write him at Rm. 208-E, Bldg. 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305; Ralph Rodighiero at (304) 340-3154, email him at rrodigh@mail.wvnet.edu, write him at 217-E, Bldg. 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305; Ted Ellis at (304) 340-3139 or write him at 217-E, Bldg. 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305.