Patrick Martin, 31, of Jane Lew is set to be the West Virginia Senate’s youngest majority leader.

The incoming Senate president, Randy Smith of Preston County, has announced that Martin will be his wingman.

“Patrick is a bright and talented individual. I have said for a while that he is the hidden gem in our chamber and everyone is about to find out how gifted this young man is,” Smith said in the announcement.

“I have full confidence that he will no doubt be one of the most effective majority leaders in our state’s history.”

While Smith will typically preside over floor sessions from a dais, the majority leader regularly makes procedural motions. The majority leader also plays a big role on the Senate’s leadership team and promotes the majority party’s agenda.

Martin, R-Lewis, was elected to the Senate in 2020 and was re-elected this year, when he was unopposed in both the primary and the general. He served in the House of Delegates starting in 2017.

The Senate leadership is changing because the current president, Craig Blair of Berkeley County, was defeated in a primary election. So Blair is set to leave.

The Republican majority in the Senate met earlier this month and selected Smith to be the next president. He defeated two members of the outgoing leadership team, senators Tom Takubo and Eric Tarr.

Smith is now in line to be formally nominated and elected as president when the Senate gathers Jan. 8 for an organizational session.

Smith is likely to make significant changes across the leadership roles and committee chairs. Martin is the first that he has publicly announced.

“I am honored to serve under Randy Smith as he becomes Senate President and excited to work alongside all my colleagues in the Senate,” Senator Martin stated.

“Randy is a Godly man whose dedication to faith, family, and the people of West Virginia sets a strong example for us all. As the youngest Majority Leader in West Virginia Senate history, I’m eager to bring fresh energy to our work and help guide our state toward a brighter future.”

A new final rule was issued by the federal Department of Labor last week that will require coal operators who self-insure to post adequate security bonds that cover all of their black lung benefit liabilities.

The rule comes as a protection for coal miners who currently or could in the future receive black lung benefits, which are supposed to be paid by the operators who employed them and who, through that employment, exposed them to dangerous silica dust that causes black lung disease. 

“This is a long-overdue rule that will have a significant impact in helping to ensure benefits to miners who have contracted black lung will be paid, and be paid by those responsible — the coal companies,” said Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, in an emailed news release earlier this week.

The finalized rule requires self-insured coal companies to post collateral — through surety bonds or other forms — that is equal to 100% of their black lung benefit liabilities.

With the new rule, coal companies that merge or file for bankruptcy will not be able to buck their responsibility for paying out benefits. Roberts said coal companies often use the bankruptcy process to shift these expenses to taxpayers by transferring the responsibility to the federal Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. 

“That means taxpayers are now picking up the tab for coal companies that did not adequately protect their workers from dangerous levels of respirable coal dust,” Roberts said in his statement.

The trust fund exists to cover benefits for miners when no specific coal operator can be held responsible for their illness or when the operators fail to pay their share. Self-insured coal operators, however, are obligated to pay their own expenses. 

Between 2014 and 2016, bankruptcies at just three coal companies resulted in an estimated $865 million in benefit payments being transferred to the taxpayer-funded trust, according to a 2020 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The new rule came partially in response to that report, Muckian-Bates said.

The finalized rule is especially timely as two of the country’s largest coal producers — Arch Resources and CONSOL Energy — are in the middle of a merger that, once complete, will create a new, $5 billion coal company based in Pennsylvania. 

Those companies combined, Muckian-Bates said, report at least $300 million in black lung liability that — without the rule — could potentially be passed on to the trust fund.

Nationwide, Muckian-Bates said, it’s known that black lung benefit liabilities at self-insured coal companies total at least $615 million, but Milliman — a risk analysis consulting group — estimates that amount could actually be much higher, totaling between $9 billion and $14 billion.

Despite the high liability, Roberts said that only $119 million in security has been posted by self-insured coal companies to cover the costs of benefits.

If bankruptcies or mergers occur — which is likely given the ongoing decline in the coal market — the difference between what is posted and what is owed would be passed on to the trust fund, threatening its solvency and the access of benefits for coal miners who rely on it, Muckian-Bates said.

“This is a powerful rule to ensure that as the coal market becomes a bit more unstable — knowing that large companies have used these bankruptcies to shed their liabilities — this ensures that they can’t do that now,” Muckian-Bates said. “They can’t transfer that [liability] to a trust fund that’s … been a target sometimes of certain administrations.”

The rule is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 11. 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — While it may be crowded, last minute shoppers West Virginia might run into some of the best deals of the holiday season this weekend.

President of the West Virginia Retailers Association Bridget Lambert says her team estimates half of the state’s residents still have shopping to do, and retailers will be ready to welcome them in with deals.

“We expect over half of consumers in West Virginia to be completing their shopping list,” Lambert said when talking about this coming weekend. “We know that retailers are ready and prepared with great seasonal promotions for the shoppers who venture out this “Super Saturday.”

Despite Black Friday proving to be the best time for savings for in-person retail shoppers, Lambert says that stores know last-minute shoppers need good deals before the clock strikes midnight.

“They have great deals, and retailers market to consumers,” Lambert said. “They know once the season is rolling down in December, they mark things down, so it’s really a customer’s paradise this time of year when you go into the stores.”

Over 150 million customers are expected to be out shopping on what’s now known as “Super Saturday,” the final Saturday before Christmas Day, which this year falls on a Wednesday. Lambert says big crowds and heavy traffic in stores will likely come for retailers in the Mountain State.

“It will be very busy,” Lambert said. “We expect a lot of foot traffic in the stores, and we expect a lot of deals and seasonal promotions to be available for customers who are out shopping.

The estimated 157 million shoppers pursuing deals on Saturday will be a significant up-tick from 2023’s Super Saturday that brought out around 142 million people and will be just behind 2022’s record-setting Super Saturday that saw 158.5 million flock to the stores.

While malls and shopping centers will be providing deals for those willing to brave the crowds, Lambert says shoppers should be on the lookout for good deals at smaller, local establishments.

“We know that small mom and pop stores have extended store hours this time of year, so your main street merchants in your local community are rolling out the red carpet, as well as the other retailers who are in your local area,” Lambert said.