Manchin Focuses On Next Moves

Pledges not to interfere in broadcasting content

The Charleston Gazette, April 13, 2005

Gov. Joe Manchin promised Tuesday not to interfere with public broadcasting’s programming or newsgathering when he becomes chairman of the state Educational Broadcasting Authority.

In an interview with Gazette editors, he also laid out some of his plans for the future after two back-to-back legislative sessions in which most of his initiatives passed. Right now, his top priority is to sell voters on a $5.5 billion constitutional amendment to refinance the state’s pension debts. And he’s planning a top-to-bottom review of state salaries. He wants to make sure they are in line with the private sector and more uniform across different state agencies.

Manchin said he wants control over the Educational Broadcasting Authority to make it more efficient and accountable to voters, not because he wants to change its content.  “We have no intention of influencing the programming in any way,” he said.

The bill (HB2891) makes Manchin the chairman of the EBA, and gives him the power to hire and fire its executive director. It sunsets in four years, meaning that unless lawmakers extend it, the EBA board will return to the way it is now. Of the 15 state-run public broadcasting authorities, only West Virginia ’s gives so much power to the governor, according to Skip Hinton, president of the National Educational Telecommunications Association.

Manchin said he has no plans to change personnel at the EBA or any other agency. Instead, each agency is coming up with a management plan for its future. “If you don’t line up with your management plan, then you remove yourself,” he said.

A Washington , D.C. , lawyer hired by the EBA said the bill could cause problems with the group’s license from the Federal Communications Commission. Manchin presented an invoice from that firm, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, showing it was paid more than $2,100 for that opinion. The EBA was part of Manchin’s legislative agenda, almost all of which passed the Legislature by Saturday.

Manchin said his greatest achievement was eliminating third-party bad-faith lawsuits in exchange for a promised $50 million in savings from the insurance industry. “Everybody told me it couldn’t be done,” he said.

At first, he said, the insurance companies promised only a rate freeze, but that was not good enough for him. “I let them stew for a month,” he said, after which they agreed to rate rollbacks. Manchin said the rate rollbacks should start no later than the end of September, but he is encouraging the insurance companies to move more quickly.

He also said he planned to work for drug rebates, despite the failure of a bill giving the state pharmaceutical advocate more power. Even without the bill, the existing Pharmaceutical Cost Management Council has the ability to negotiate for lower drug prices. Manchin said, “You’re going to see some exciting things” in the near future regarding drug-cost savings for state agencies. He said he is working with Illinois and others on the cutting edge in seeking savings from the drug industry.

As for pay raises, Manchin did not indicate whether he would sign a bill giving the increases for judges, magistrates and constitutional officers, including the governor. He said he did not want the bill. “I have great reservations about it,” he said. Manchin wanted all state workers to wait until the fall before discussing pay raises. Still, he said judges have gone many years without raises and have the money in the court budget to do it.

Also, chief of staff Larry Puccio is putting together different groups to study state salaries, he said. Similar workers in different agencies can receive very different salaries, he said, and that makes no sense. Manchin said any changes would not likely reduce salaries, but some employees might receive bigger increases than others. For example, he pointed to Child Protective Services workers, who until recently received such low pay that many positions were left unfilled.

Manchin also said he would tackle the state’s tax structure, something that former Republican Gov. Cecil Underwood spent a lot of energy trying to change, with little success.

Manchin also said he would review how Governor’s Contingency Fund money is given out. The money is intended for emergencies, but $72 million under former Govs. Underwood and Bob Wise went to nonemergency pet projects, according to a Gazette analysis.

Also, House Finance Chairman Harold Michael steered millions in contingency funds to his district, Hardy and Pendleton counties. Hardy County has received $6.7 million from the contingency fund since 1997 — more than any county in the state — even though the county ranks 42nd out of 55 counties in population.

Manchin said he would exert more authority over his contingency fund. “I’ll have more control over that, and I think people know that,” he said.