By STEVE ROBERTS - guest columnist

The Herald-Dispatch, Feb. 18, 2005

West Virginia appears to be headed very quickly on the path of being "Open for Business," thanks to the continued bold actions and leadership of Gov. Joe Manchin.

During his recent State of the State address, the governor called on lawmakers to work with him to continue his pro-jobs agenda and enact "balanced" civil justice reforms during the 60-day regular legislative session. Tort reform is one of the major needs of the state’s employer community.

The governor, who first tackled the state’s workers’ compensation problems in the special session, told lawmakers that it is time to end frivolous lawsuits in West Virginia, grow small businesses, forge closer links between education and business and run state government more like a business.

The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce couldn’t agree more.

I’d like to repeat these remarks made by Gov. Manchin during this address:

"As part of our collective commitment to build a stable and attractive business climate, we also need to take reasonable steps to reform West Virginia’s civil justice system.

"In doing so, we will stop frivolous lawsuits in the state of West Virginia once and for all. We must forge a middle course between the extremes on both sides of this debate and focus on the ultimate goal of our court system: the equitable and fair treatment of all parties.

"With that goal in mind, I will be proposing legislation that strikes a balance between protecting the right of an injured person to seek relief and the fundamental underpinning of American jurisprudence -- that a party should be treated justly and be required to pay only its fair share."

The West Virginia Chamber applauds the governor’s continued leadership in developing these bold action items to improve the state’s business climate.

The state’s employer community -- the vast majority of whom are small businesses -- are gravely concerned about the specter and costs of frivolous lawsuits.

Passage of fair and balanced civil justice reforms will aid West Virginia’s employer community in growing jobs and starting to alleviate a financial burden that has been deterring investment and employment.

Businesses large and small are grappling with the significant financial impacts of the litigious situation in our country.

A recent study found that our nation’s tort litigation system is costing small businesses an average of $150,000 per business a year. This is money that could be used to improve operations, enhance competitiveness, provide better benefits or, most importantly, hire more workers.

Resolution of the state’s workers’ compensation program and enactment of comprehensive civil justice reforms are the ingredients needed to cure the state’s business climate ills. Again, the chamber and the 5,000 businesses affiliated with it support the governor’s bold steps and call on the state Legislature to act just as decisively and to pass civil justice reforms.

Then, West Virginia will have come a long way to rejoining so many other states that have already improved their business climates and opened their doors for business investment and job growth.

Steve Roberts is president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce.