Please Contact Our Representatives to Oppose Forced Pooling House Bill 2688 (HB 2688)

Dear Hancock County Land & Mineral Owners,

House Bill 2688 (HB 2688) hasn’t passed in the House or Senate yet.  It was just passed by the House Energy Committee yesterday so it will now go to the House floor for a vote, maybe as soon as next week. Then the Senate will vote on it.  So, there is still time for us to stop this bill!

Please contact our local representatives:

Pat McGeehan    (R - Hancock, 01)


CONTACT

pat.mcgeehan@wvhouse.gov
Capitol Office: Room 226E, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3397
Home: 616 Florida Avenue #5 Chester, WV, 26034 Home Phone: (304) 374-7018 Business Phone: (304) 374-7018

Mark Zatezalo    (R - Hancock, 01)


CONTACT

mark.zatezalo@wvhouse.gov
Capitol Office: Room 224E, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3120
Home: 540 North 12th Street Weirton, WV, 26062 Home Phone: (304) 748-1624 Business Phone: (304) 491-0937

Ryan Ferns    (R - Ohio, 01)


CONTACT

ryan.ferns@wvsenate.gov
Capitol Office: Room 439M, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7918
Home: 37 Jenna Way Drive Wheeling, WV, 26003 Home Phone: Business Phone:

Here is a drafted letter that I urge you to send to each representative:

"As a land and mineral owner in                    County, WV, I am writing to inform you of my opposition to any legislation, more specifically HB 2688, that supports and advances the practice of seizure of private property in the form of 'unitization', 'lease integration', or 'forced pooling' of my privately held mineral rights.       

       
Legislation of this type is a violation of our constitutional rights regarding private property, and will strip landowners of their negotiation strength as well, should they be willing to lease their property."

 

Views: 1251

Replies to This Discussion

Good news - Pat McGeehan is on our side.  Here is his email response to me a few moments ago right after I emailed him regarding House Bill 2688:

"Todd, 

Thanks for the note. I'm doing what I can to kill this bill...it will be difficult to do, but I'm trying to round up more opposition. 
I don't compromise on property rights."
 
Pat  
Pat McGeehan   
Delegate, WV House  
1st District  
616 Florida Avenue  
Chester WV 26034  
Office: 304-340-3397  
Mobile: 304-374-7018  

Please don't limit this to ourselves as land and mineral owners. 

Please urge your family, friends and neighbors to contact Mr. Mark Zatezalo in particular.  He has already voted in favor of HB 2688 on the House Energy Committee.  Maybe if we can round up enough of his constituents in opposition to the Anti-Landowner and Pro-Corporation Bill, then we can change his mind on his vote on the bill this week:

  

Mark Zatezalo    (R - Hancock, 01)

CONTACT

mark.zatezalo@wvhouse.gov Capitol Office: Room 224E, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3120 Home: 540 North 12th Street Weirton, WV, 26062 Home Phone: (304) 748-1624 Business Phone: (304) 491-0937

Make no mistake, these oil and gas companies will take your oil and gas for free if they can and this bill will help them do it.

I sent emails to all three, heard back from McGeehan only. He supports landowners. Everyone affected needs to write...NOW.

The bill is now off of the agenda for the House Judiciary Committee this week thanks in large part to the efforts of Delegate Pat McGeehan.  Please take the time to thank Pat.  He told the House Speaker that he is prepared to speak for hours on the landowners behalf to stop the bill.  But make no mistake, the fight is not over as there are plenty of votes to pass the bill if we the public don't speak up and make it clear that we will not have our property rights compromised.

Pat McGeehan    (R - Hancock, 01)

CONTACT

pat.mcgeehan@wvhouse.gov Capitol Office: Room 226E, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3397 Home: 616 Florida Avenue #5 Chester, WV, 26034 Home Phone: (304) 374-7018 Business Phone: (304) 374-7018

On the other hand, these two members of the Senate (Craig Blair and Mitch Carmichael) need to hear from those of us that oppose the bill as they have indicated that they don't mind the bill as it helps the Oil and Gas industry.  But at what cost -- the cost of the rights of private landowners and their negotiating power.

Craig Blair    (R - Berkeley, 15)

CONTACT

craig@craigblair.com Capitol Office: Room 217W, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7867 Home: 47 Wasser Drive Martinsburg, WV, 25403 Home Phone: (304) 754-5040 Business Phone: (304) 754-9031

Mitch Carmichael    (R - Jackson, 04)

Majority Leader

CONTACT

Mitch.Carmichael@wvsenate.gov Capitol Office: Room 227M, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7855 Home: 18 Colonial Drive Ripley, WV, 25271 Home Phone: (304) 372-4667 Business Phone: (304) 372-4667

Thanks Todd, Wrote these members with our concerns, our acreage is about 2500 feet from the Allison pad. Tried to keep it short but expressed our concerns to be able to negotiate a fair deal. Hope our other members write. Joe

Todd, After 24 hours, Yahoo returned my email to zatezalo. Said it was undeliverable???

Joe,
My email was sent successfully to him:
mark.zatezalo@wvhouse.gov

West Virginia residents and landowners,

The House Judiciary Committee is voting on the Forced Pooling Bill known as HB 2688 this Monday morning.  Mr. Ryan Weld is currently undecided which way to vote.  His vote could be the deciding vote!

Those who oppose forced pooling should email Ryan Weld. 

Ryan Weld    (R - Brooke, 02)

CONTACT

ryan.weld@wvhouse.gov Capitol Office: Room 224E, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3367 Home: 2225 Marianna Street Wellsburg, WV, 26070 Home Phone: (304) 737-4185 Business Phone: (304) 670-6605

Also, here is a link to the all of the members of the House Judiciary Committee.

I wouldn't hurt to email each member:

http://www.legis.state.wv.us/committees/house/HouseCommittee.cfm?Ch...

House Judiciary  - Agenda

Monday, February 23, 2015, 9:00 AM

Location: Room 418

9:00 AM Meeting called to order

Roll call

  Approval of minutes

  SB357/HB2566  Coal Jobs and Safety Act of 2015 

HB2688  Providing for the unitization of interests in drilling units in connection with all horizontal oil or gas wells

I emailed every member listed.

Thanks for your efforts Joe.

I just got finished sending an opposition email to each of the 25 members of the House Judiciary Committee.

Please ask your family and friends to send also.

 

Forced Pooling - Dead

http://www.charlestondailymail.com/article/20150315/DM0104/15031942...

Thanks in large part to Delegate Pat McGeehan.

Here is his info for those of you who would like to thank him:

Pat McGeehan    (R - Hancock, 01)

CONTACT

pat.mcgeehan@wvhouse.gov Capitol Office: Room 226E, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3397 Home: 616 Florida Avenue #5 Chester, WV, 26034 Home Phone: (304) 374-7018 Business Phone: (304) 374-7018

The roll call shows 21 Republicans and 28 Democrats voting against the legislation. Delegate Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock and leader of the Liberty Caucus, said his group worked to drum up opposition. The caucus opposes legislation that takes away personal freedoms, McGeehan said, no matter which party is behind the bill.

“Forced pooling, we saw as a gross violation of private property rights because it affects the entire state,” he said. “Thousands if not tens of thousands of West Virginia residents would be affected by that and forced to sell their mineral rights or their land rights for artificially low prices. Essentially it’s a form of legal plundering whereby a gas company can come in and take what is an individual’s natural right to property. We wanted to be sure we defeated that because we want to advance the cause of liberty, but sometimes there are harmful, detrimental policies we need to play defense on to protect the people of West Virginia.” 

RSS

© 2024   Created by Keith Mauck (Site Publisher).   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service