By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
House Democratic Leader Sean Hornbuckle of Cabell County was joined by Delegate Kayla Young of Kanawa County and Delegate Evan Hansen of Monongalia County. Deborah Stiles, Tucker County resident and Democratic Candidate for the House of Delegates representing Tucker and Grant Counties, also gave comments during the event.
“The Robber Barons like the Tech Baron Billionaires of today, took advantage of loose laws to amass huge fortunes on the backs of the people through exploitation of the resources of our beautiful State,” Stiles said. “Indeed the Counties of Grant and Tucker, as with the rest of West Virginia, have a long history of resource exploitation.”
Stiles went on to speak on the history of industry boom and bust in the region with logging, tanneries and other industries entering and eventually leaving the area due to globalization and lost union fights. She also said that little the State Legislature passed ever did anything to assist.
“The business and tax environment created since then though, by the West Virginia Legislature in successive sessions, has not resulted in the economic diversification needed for a sustainable and healthy economy,” Stiles said.
Stiles acknowledged that the Ridgeline Project would bring many temporary and some permanent jobs to the area and that many think that factor may outweigh the negatives of the project. Stiles said she wanted to hear from as many people as possible what their thoughts were on the Project.
“Some believe these promised benefits, especially the tax revenue, outweigh concerns over noise pollution, water usage, light pollution and most importantly fostering a type of development that could alter forever, and negatively, the natural world upon which we humans depend. That’s why its so important for me to hear from as many of you all as possible,” Stiles said. “From as many constituents in Tucker and Grant Counties as possible, so that I can best represent this district in November.”
“We all know we love our property rights,” Hornbuckle said.
The Dems outlined in their plan for HB 2014 reform the need for local control, water rights, rate payer protection and the need for tax revenue to remain within the Counties.
“We’ve seen time and time again in the State of West Virginia how somebody comes in, dirties up the land, tears up the environment and leaves us with nothing,” Hornbuckle said. “Its unacceptable and again, we just won’t stand for it.”
Delegate Kayla Young spoke on HB 2014 and its impact on tax revenue. Specifically, as it related to how the taxes were evaluated by the State.
“Something that I don’t think is being talked about enough in this bill is evaluation of the places,” Young said. “Before hand there would have been 100% of the property taxes going to them. It would have been valued at market value. In House Bill 2014, they got down to salvage value. That’s 5%.”
The Dems outlined their plan to fix HB 2014 as the following:
* HB 4509 – Restoring local control over data centers
* HB 4822 – Redirecting data center tax revenue to healthcare, counties, and schools
* HB 4832 – Protecting groundwater and streams from data center impacts
* HB 4195 – Placing a two-year cap on electric rates
During the question and answer session, Hornbuckle was asked about the possibility of a moratorium on Data Centers in the State. Hornbuckle said that they were open to anything. He said he felt that more research needed to be done and if a moratorium was needed to accomplish that, he was open to it.
“We are exploring all option right now,” Hornbuckle said.
Stiles outlined that other places had successfully utilized moratoriums in order to either stop data centers, such as Maine’s recent moratorium. Or historically, in the case of fracking, to take time to see what can be done or what approach would be the best.
“Just to let the dust settle until they could see what was the best approach from the regulatory controls. So I’m not a legislator now, but I would think, yeah, a moratorium might be something, given its been something that’s been successfully done elsewhere,” Stiles said.
Another question raised the issue as to why the subject of Data Centers was not addressed during the Economic Development Committee meeting during the Legislative Interims earlier in the day. Hornbuckle said that he is on the Committee, but was out on other Committee business and got in late to the meeting, but called the issue, “telling.”
“But I think its very telling that the West Virginia Legislature, that we are confining the data center topic. Its almost like we’re hiding,” Hornbuckle said.
Hornbuckle blamed the issues on what the Dems called a Republican “Supermajority” in Charleston. He said that no checks and balances existed. It was the “Supermajority” that the Dems blamed for what they saw as forcing through HB 2014.
“That is the issues we have with the Supermajority,” Hornbuckle said. “Nothing good ever comes from that.”
The question of a public measure on Data Centers was asked. Young said that would require a Constitutional Amendment to implement. In order to pass, 2/3 of each governing body of the Legislature would have to vote on the measure.
“It would require a Constitutional Amendment where 2/3 of each body of the Legislature would have to pass something to say that Data Centers have to be approved by the local county or municipality, the same way they do alcohol,” Young said. “That’s an option we are open to, absolutely.”
