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Permalink Reply by sally on March 4, 2015 at 3:32am

My question is: is this the best that we get and should we sit back and see happens or should we still be calling and urging legislators to vote against it?

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Permalink Reply by Dan Warner on March 4, 2015 at 12:41pm

It looks like it passed the House, but it still has to get through the Senate.

Now we will need to let our Senators know how we feel about the bill.

http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/roster.cfm

Given the current political climate, it is likely to pass there, too.

All we can do is go with our conscience.  I'm not usually an activist myself, but this issue has been forced into my sphere of attention, and I will sleep better knowing that I tried.

Remember, too, that it is more than a pass/fail situation.  The bill could be amended further in the Senate, before passing, so we needn't let go of the wheel yet.

This is a case of a tireless industry lobby, returning to the table time and time again, each time shaving off a little from the last request and calling it a 'compromise'.  The strategy has been to support legislators who are in favor of forced pooling, while at the same time wearing down the opposition with their claims of good faith.  The result is, over time, the opposers end up feeling as if they should be more 'reasonable'.  

These representatives don't always have the time to understand an issue thoroughly, so what might sound like compromise to them, in many cases is just a reworking. or a relabelling of the same language.  To some extent, they will listen when a constituent points out a potential conflict.

To say we've done our best, we have to summon the same tirelessness as the oil and gas lobby.

Be specific.  Don't be long-winded, but relate how the bill will affect you or someone you care about.

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Permalink Reply by sally on March 4, 2015 at 12:54pm

Most of the opposition I heard was concerning taking away private property rights. Isn't there also a concern that your bargaining power is taken away too?

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Permalink Reply by Dan Warner on March 4, 2015 at 1:15pm

They are one and the same.  

Forced pooling means that we will be allowed to negotiate terms for our private property,

...as long as we do it their way.

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Permalink Reply by sally on March 4, 2015 at 8:33am

The House is reading and discussing this bill HB2688 now. You can listen online.

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