The Charleston Regional Chamber of Commerce is the largest regional Chamber of Commerce in West Virginia.  We represent over 600 businesses and their 40,000 employees.  Your Charleston Regional Chamber of Commerce is pleased to represent our members during this legislative session.

The Charleston Regional Chamber would like to call your attention to two pieces of legislation which we believe will have a positive economic impact:

HB 2688 – Natural Gas Pooling    The Legislature can help grow the state’s economy, create good paying West Virginia jobs, boost local tax revenues and usher in a new era of manufacturing by expanding the state’s pooling statute to include ‘shallow’ horizontal wells.  West Virginia’s lack of pooling laws for shallow wells places West Virginia’s gas industry at a competitive disadvantage.  The absence of a fair pooling statute, particularly at this time of worldwide oil and gas market instability, risks valuable opportunities for landowners, businesses and the State.

SB 42 – “Sunday Brunch” This bill unanimously passed the Senate and now heads to the House.  This bill sets time on liquor, wine, and beer sales for restaurants, private clubs and wineries (not liquor stores) to Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

As we grow a stronger “foodie” economy in the region, this bill can be another revenue stream for local eateries.  We can build from positive developments like “Restaurant Week” and this legislation will help locally owned restaurants, as well as making food service more tourist-friendly.

According to the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau, “tourism has a $649 million economic impact on Kanawha County, generating $54 million in state and local taxes and supporting 5,000 jobs” annually.

How to Contact your Legislator 

Via web:  Legislative members contact information can be found at the WV Legislature’s web site: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/

On this site, citizens can search to find their House and Senate lawmakers by name or district by utilizing interactive district maps.