Post by Logan on Mar 7, 2016 23:36:38 GMT -6
A bill that would shield natural gas drillers and other industries from certain types of lawsuits faces an uphill struggle for passage before the end of this year’s legislative session, West Virginia lawmakers and lobbyists say.
Corky Demarco, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, said the bill is not on any agenda in the House of Delegates and he isn’t confident that it will come up for a vote during the last week of the session.
The bill passed the Senate last month, but it has stalled in the House, which DeMarco thinks is the result of uninformed policymakers and members of the public. There are a lot of uninformed people in the state, he said, who are quick to pass judgment.
“West Virginia is its own worst enemy,” he said, “but that is my opinion, and I work in the industry.”
The bill (SB 508) would give gas drillers — and potentially a wide variety of industrial and other activities — immunity from “nuisance lawsuits,” in which citizens allege that activity by someone else is unlawfully interfering with their use and enjoyment of their property. The bill was approved by the Senate and is pending in the House Judiciary Committee.
See more at: www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160307/bill-to-shield-industry-from-lawsuits-in-wv-appears-dead
Corky Demarco, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, said the bill is not on any agenda in the House of Delegates and he isn’t confident that it will come up for a vote during the last week of the session.
The bill passed the Senate last month, but it has stalled in the House, which DeMarco thinks is the result of uninformed policymakers and members of the public. There are a lot of uninformed people in the state, he said, who are quick to pass judgment.
“West Virginia is its own worst enemy,” he said, “but that is my opinion, and I work in the industry.”
The bill (SB 508) would give gas drillers — and potentially a wide variety of industrial and other activities — immunity from “nuisance lawsuits,” in which citizens allege that activity by someone else is unlawfully interfering with their use and enjoyment of their property. The bill was approved by the Senate and is pending in the House Judiciary Committee.
See more at: www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160307/bill-to-shield-industry-from-lawsuits-in-wv-appears-dead