HB357 HFA Miley 2-26

            Delegate Miley moves to amend the bill on page 61, line 80, following section 41, by inserting a new section 42, to read as follows:

Ҥ22A-1-42. Economic and safety impact studies of the 2015 Coal Jobs and Safety Act.

            (a) The West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Research and the Center for Business and Economic Research at Marshall University in furtherance of section four, article three, chapter eighteen-b of this code shall study the economic impacts of the “2015 Coal Jobs and Safety Act.” The study shall include: the impacts to coal industry employment, profitability and permitting costs, and any other economic impacts as can be identified as being affected by this legislation, and how alterations in administrative function have impacted the effectiveness of any permitting and civil penalty assessments, and whether any regulatory changes of the legislation have caused state permitting delays or primacy concerns for the Department of Environmental Protection or the federal government, or otherwise jeopardizing the state’s authority over its mining regulatory program.

            (b) The Office of Miners Health, Safety and Training shall also conduct a study of the impacts of this legislation to safety within the coal industry, analyzing accident rates, impacts on safety records and miner job performance, including substance abuse. The Office shall also report on the effectiveness and success of these revisions, including any impacts to miner safety and whether there is any increased or perceived likelihood of accidents as a result of these changes; and further, whether abolishing the Diesel Commission have resulted in any discernable change to safety and the use of diesel equipment in underground mines.

            (c) The studies mandated by this section shall be provided to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance of the West Virginia Legislature by December 31, 2016, and annually thereafter.”