CHARLESTON — The House Technology & Infrastructure Committee approved a bill on Monday to lend more transparency to Division of Highways spending and another to ensure railroad workers have safe rides to and from their job sites.
The DOH bill is HB 2012, the country roads accountability and transparency bill. As introduced, it directs the state auditor to supply on its wvcheckbook.gov state spending transparency website financial information about DOH contracted projects in all 55 counties.
The information would include the project name and location, the funding source and budget, and the name and address of the contractor.
Members passed the bill with amendments pending that will be taken up when it reaches the Government Organization Committee. Among them, the amendments would require that DOH and the auditor cooperate to get DOH data to the auditor, and that only information the DOH has shared with the auditor for the past three years (plus any future spending) will be posted.
The railroad bill is HB 2390. Railroads currently contract with taxi companies around the state to provide rides to and from railroad worksites. Taxi services are subject to Public Service Commission oversight and the bill proposes to exempt railroad contract carriers form PSC jurisdiction to open the market to other carriers, if railroads want that option.
Jeb Corey, owner of C&H Taxi in Charleston, told members that some smaller taxi services serving rural areas rely on railroad work to stay afloat because there aren’t enough regular fares to bring in revenue. This bill could drive some of them out of business.
Delegate Brent Boggs, D-Braxton and a retired railroad engineer, explained that workers frequently end their shifts several hours from home and need rides back home or to the place they’re lodging.
He said most taxi services — such as C&H — are reliable operators but there are some that are subpar. They have cars that are falling apart or drivers who pick up their fares at 4 a.m. and ask the passenger to drive the two hours to the hotel because they’re too tired, or prioritize other paying fares over the contract work and force the workers to wait for hours for their ride to arrive.
“It puts the workers in a horrible, horrible situation,” he said. “To railroad workers, this is a safety issue.”
Jason Wazelle, Norfolk Southern railroad government relations manager, said that the unions have brought the safety issue to their attention. “The unions said it’s a huge issue. They would just like an option.”
Linda Bouvette, PSC attorney, said she was unaware of any complaints from the railroads about this issue.
Delegate Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, picked up on Bouvette’s comment and on Corey’s and said the bill could make it impossible for a little old lady in a rural area to get a ride to the grocery store.
But Boggs said this has been a problem for years — he’s not a sponsor of this bill but introduced similar bills previously — and the unions have conveyed the message to the PSC.
The bill passed in a voice vote: It was close but no one demanded a roll call or show of hands. It goes to Judiciary.
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