State GOP Chairman Mike Stuart sent out an email this morning, ripping state lawmakers for failing to introduce any bills designed to spur economic development and create jobs. Stuart lambasted legislators for spending too much time on “Sudafed bills,” a driving-while-texting ban and creating an office of the lieutenant governor.

This is the first time I’ve covered a legislative session, and I’ve come away with two major impressions so far: State lawmakers spend an extraordinary amount of time singing “Happy Birthday” to each other. In unison. Everyone singing out loud.

I’m no mathematician, but with 34 state senators and 100 delegates, odds are there will be quite a few lawmaker birthdays — and a lot of singing — during a 60-day session.

My other impression: Legislators really like to bring their grandchildren, nieces and nephews to the House and Senate chambers. Lawmakers also, without fail, publicly announce/introduce the presence of those grandchildren and nieces and nephews during floor sessions. Perhaps those young ones have some ideas for creating jobs.

There’s an email circulating among volunteer firefighters in West Virginia this morning.

The email says legislation — introduced last Thursday — would give county commission’s extraordinary authority over volunteer fire departments. I made some phone calls and was told by a legislative staff member that the document was only a “rough draft,” and the language in dispute “won’t likely see the light of day.” Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper already is fielding complaints about the proposal, and he said he would adamantly oppose it. The draft bill would allow county commissioners to hire and fire officers at volunteer fire companies, and give commissioners control of firehouse equipment, vehicles and construction.

“That’s not the proper role of county commissioners,” Carper said. “There are too many county commissioners who don’t have the slighest idea how to manage a fire department. They need it to keep their noses out of it.”

Carper is investigating to determine who came up with the proposal — which also would give tax breaks to VFDs.

House Speaker Rick Thompson, D-Wayne, is having a fund-raiser Monday at the Power Alley Grill, as he prepares for a 2012 re-election campaign.
However, invitations sent out inadvertently featured a return address of “Thompson for Governor” — from Thompson’s ill-fated run in the 2011 special primary election.

That faux pas required the Thompson campaign to issue a releaseTuesday stating, “Rick Thompson is running for re-election to the House and fully supports Gov. Tomblin’s re-election.”

Since day one, the West Virginia Housing Fund has publicly been a huge champion of a low-income housing project being built by Charleston developer Doug Pauley on land owned by West Virginia Treasurer John Perdue near Point Pleasant. In 2009, Mason County commissioners rejected a request from Pauley and Perdue to write a letter of support — which Pauley needed to secure federal funding for the project under WVHDF rules. In response, WVHDF administrators suggested a way to circumvent the rules. They told Pauley he could file a discrimination complaint against Mason County commissioners. If the feds found that Mason commissioners had discriminated against low-income elderly and handicapped people, Pauley wouldn’t need the letter of local support. Federal housing officials investigated but didn’t issue any findings one way or the other. So the WVHDF went to Plan B. They eliminated the local support letter report requirement. In December 2010, they awarded Pauley a $3.67 million stimulus grant. Construction is now underway — despite the fact that the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office are investigating Pauley’s deal with Perdue.

Since the WVHDF has been so quick to praise the project — and help Pauley secure funding — I requested a copy of the agency’s 2007 analysis of Perdue’s property. I figured the WVHDF would readily want to disclose the two-page document because it would likely support their contention that the project was needed in Mason County. Turns out,  I did get a copy…of the first sentence. The agency redacted, or blacked out, everything else. On Friday, I left a message for Lonnie Stringer, who wrote the report, but haven’t heard back. Which has me wondering: Why does the WVHDF want to keep this document secret?

Here’s the latest on the story.

Republican Party Chairman Mike Stuart put out a media alert this morning with this “scoop”: House Speaker Rick Thompson’s wife, Beth, has been hired by West Virginia Auditor Glen Gainer’s office. Of course, Sunday Gazette-Mail readers of Phil Kabler’s column already knew that. Yet Stuart’s release makes no mention that the Gazette had it first. Stuart makes no bones about his hatred for the Gazette (though he always returns phone calls from Gazette reporters promptly and never ducks an interview request; Can’t say the same about his counterpart from the opposing party). So I guess it’s no surprise no props to Phil and the Gazette this time.

Here’s an excerpt from Stuart’s media alert:

MEDIA ALERT*
*
*
*IMMEDIATE RELEASE *
*December 19, 2011
*
*OFFICIALS WITH BENEFITS – A FAMILY AFFAIR*
*Spouses Network In Key State Government Employment*

CHARLESTON, W.V. – Beth Thompson, wife of Speaker of the House of Delegates
Rick Thompson, today joined the State Auditor’s office as a local
government purchasing card specialist.

“Congratulations to Beth Thompson and the Thompson family for her new
employment in state government,” said Mike Stuart, Chairman of the West
Virginia Republican Party. “It is reassuring to know that Democrat elected
public officials in West Virginia are at least successful in creating jobs
for their immediate family members. Mrs. Thompson joins a growing tradition
of the spouses of high-ranking Democrat officials in the state that get
state jobs and state salaries.”

Delegate Clif Moore, D-McDowell, is the latest state official to get popped for DUI. Moore says it’s “more public embarrassment than anything else.”

In an order filed this afternoon, the Supreme Court has denied motions by attorneys for the Putnam, Mason and Monroe county commissions, by an attorney representing Monongalia and Wood county voters, and by South Charleston lawyer Thornton Cooper to throw out House of Delegates and state Senate redistricting plans as being unconstitutional.

Because of the tight deadline for the court to act, an opinion explaining the court’s decision will be written “in due course” by Justice Thomas McHugh, while Justice Brent Benjamin reserved the right to file a dissenting opinion regarding the House redistricting plan.

The FBI investigation of Charleston developer Doug Pauley and state Treasurer John Perdue took an interesting turn last night. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI are now looking into campaign contributions made by Treasurer’s Office workers.

I’ve only talked to three Perdue employees who were interviewed at their homes last night, but they’re being asked the same question: Did you donate $1,000 (the maximum allowed) to Perdue’s campaign, or did somebody else give you the money to contribute to the campaign — a violation of election laws?

The campaign contributions were made last February and March when Perdue ran in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

I’d like to talk to more Perdue employees about their FBI interviews, so please call me at 304-348-4869, if you want to talk about what happened last night.

Also, I’m continuing to collect more documents about Treasurer Perdue’s land deal with Pauley. It’s clear now that West Virginia Housing Development Fund executives bent over backwards to see that the project got funded. In 2009, agency staff outlined conditions Pauley had to meet to qualify for federal funding. Pauley didn’t meet them. Nonetheless, Housing Fund chief Joe Hatfield sent Pauley a letter, congratulating Pauley for meeting the conditions. Housing officials refuse to say why the letter was sent. Pauley still hasn’t met the conditions to this day. Perdue serves on the Housing Development Fund’s board of directors. Pauley paid him $215,000 for an 11-acre property on which Pauley is building an apartment complex. The Housing Development Fund staff awarded Pauley $3.67 million in federal stimulus money last December.

For the second day in a row,  a state official will be removing “acting” from his title.

Senate Democrats voted 17-11 in caucus this afternoon to support Sen. Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, as Senate president, to fill the vacancy created Sunday, when Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin resigned to take the oath of office as governor.

Kessler, previously the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, had been serving as acting Senate president in Tomblin’s absence since January.

It’s on:  The state Supreme Court Wednesday afternoon issued show cause rulings for all five petitions challenging legislative redistricting (Three challenging the House of Delegates redistricting plan,  two versus Senate redistricting).

Oral arguments on all five cases will begin Nov. 17 at 10 a.m.  (In what’s shaping up to be one of the more lively weeks at the Capitol in recent memory…)