WVFA eNews Weekly

Members of the new House of Delegates majority have been sworn-in by West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin

New Majority Party
Chooses Leadership Team

State Senate
President - Bill Cole (R-Mercer)
Majority Leader - Mitch Carmichael (R-Jackson)
Finance - Mike Hall (R-Putnam)
Judiciary - Charlie Trump (R-Morgan)
Education - Dave Sypolt (R-Preston)
Energy, Industry & Mining - Jeff Mullins (R-Raleigh)
Government Organization - Craig Blair (R-Berkeley)

House of Delegates
Speaker - Tim Armstead (R-Kanawha)
Majority Leader - Daryl Cowles (R-Morgan)
Finance - Eric Nelson (R-Kanawha)
Judiciary - John Schott (R-Mercer)
Education - Amanda Pasdon (R-Monongalia)
Energy - Woody Ireland (R-Preston)
Government Organization - Gary Howell (R-Mineral)
Health - Joe Ellington (R-Mercer)

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/wvf-nwl/articles/?aid=299964&issueID=40933 to view the full article online.

RESCHEDULED:
* Area 1 - Monday, Jan. 5, at the Copper House Grill located at 1155 Airport Rd, in Pleasant Valley, WV. Time: 6:00 p.m. (social period) 7:00 p.m. (meal)
* Area 2 - Wednesday, Jan. 7, at Landes Ruritan Club Building (5 miles south of Petersburg route 220). Time: 6:00 p.m.

AS PLANNED:
* Area 3 - Thursday, Dec. 18, at The Gandy Dancer Theater in Elkins. Time: 6:00 p.m. (social period) 6:30 p.m. (meal)
* Area 4 - Tuesday, Jan. 6, at Ryan’s Restaurant located at 1320 N. Eisenhower Dr. in Beckley. Time: 6:30 p.m.
* Area 5 - Wednesday, Dec. 17, at Buffalo Wild Wings located at 2501 Mountaineer Blvd. in Charleston. Time: 5:30 p.m.
* Area 6 - Thursday, Jan. 8, at the 4-H Camp facility across from Wood County/Interstate Fair. Time: 5:00 p.m. (exhibit viewing) 6:30 p.m. (meeting)

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/wvf-nwl/articles/?aid=299684&issueID=40933 to view the full article online.

Feb. 12, 2015 - WV Wood Technology Center, Elkins, WV

March 11, 2015 - Mountaineer Food Bank, Gassaway, WV

April 1, 2015 - Rupert Community Center, Rupert, WV

April 16, 2015 - WVU-P Staunton Annex Building, Parkersburg, WV

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/wvf-nwl/articles/?aid=299685&issueID=40933 to view the full article online.

Breakfast:
The Election and its Effect on 2015 Legislation - Speaker Invited

Symposium:
Northern Long-Eared Bat Update - Kathy Becket, Steptoe & Johnson - Speaker Confirmed

Birthplace of Rivers as National Monument - Speaker Invited

Managed Timberland Tax - Kathryn Arano, WVU - Speaker Confirmed

Premises Liability (Landowner Liability) - Speaker Invited

Waters of the U.S. - Steve Butler, WV Farm Bureau - Speaker Confirmed

Urban Forestry - Liz Moss, WVDOF - Speaker Confirmed

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/wvf-nwl/articles/?aid=299686&issueID=40933 to view the full article online.

A federal plan to list the Northern Long-Eared Bat (NLEB) as endangered has drawn enough opposition that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reopened the public comment period. Reopening of the comment period allows YOU to provide comments on the proposed rule. The public comment period is open until Dec. 18, 2014. A final decision on the proposal is due on April 2, 2015.

How listing the NLEB under ESA impacts forest stakeholders

If the NLEB is listed as endangered by the USFWS, the current proposal would trigger a blanket prohibition of restrictions causing hardships for millions of forest landowners across the country. Proposed restrictions include:

Restrictions on warm season timber harvesting from April to October.
Limiting activities within a 5-mile radius of bat hibernacula.
In known or potential summer habitat, restrictions will be in force within a 1.5-mile radius of any known roost tree or 3 miles from any location where NLEB have been captured or acoustically detected.
Example from interim guidance as a conservation measure for protecting the bat-"retain and avoid impacting potential roost trees, which includes live or dead trees and snags equal to or greater than 3 inches diameter at breast height (dbh) that have exfoliating bark, cracks, crevices or cavities."
Any activity that involves removing summer roosting trees could impact the species and result in an unlawful take. However, tree-clearing restrictions that may be imposed would likely have a minimal impact on preserving the species.

Visit http://forestamerica.org/alerts?vvsrc=%2fCampaigns%2f37705%2fRespond%3funregistered%3d1sbb-bwrHy671CHs4G1JKQ%26vvcgRD%3dAJRF9N922t%26vvsbr%3ddl5k4H3AFds67eVOYyVIyw to view the full article online.

According to WVFA ally, WV Chamber of Commerce, the last day to file comments on the proposed emergency rules to the Minimum Wage and Maximum Hours Standards Regulations is this Friday at 5:00pm. HB 201, passed in May of 2014, only authorized emergency rules to be proposed for "the amendments" in the act, which includes a change to the definition of "employer", changing the tip credit available to employers and the increase in the minimum wage. Among many things, the emergency rules that were proposed:

* Create conflict and inconsistency with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
* Significantly change the rule concerning employees on duty for extended periods of 24 or more consecutive hours, stating that when an employee’s 8 hour sleep period is interrupted by a call of duty, the employer must count the entire sleep period as hours worked.
* Create an expanded and contradictory definition of when an employee must be paid for hours spent "on-call." * If an employer tells an "on-call" employee to stay within a certain geographical proximity or the "on-call" employee is told not to drink during the "on-call" time, the employee may argue that he or she was not free to do as pleased during the "on-call" time, and therefore should be paid for the "on-call" time.
* May lead to higher costs for employers and more wage & hour litigation.
* The West Virginia Chamber has filed comments and urges all employers to also file comments by the deadline, which is 5:00 p.m., Friday, December 19, 2014. To view a sample comment letter, please click here.

Visit http://www.naylornetwork.com/wvf-nwl/pdf/Min_Wage_Letter.pdf to view the full article online.