Associated PressAssociated Press
FILE - Holly Winans, daughter of Sago miner Marshall Winans of Belington, W.Va., holds up family friend Ashley Fortney, 5, to point to an engraving of Winans at the Sago miner's memorial Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007, near Tallmansville, W.Va., on the one-year anniversary of the mine explosion that trapped and killed 12 miners near Buckhannon. A bill advancing in the West Virginia Legislature would strip the ability of a state regulatory agency to enforce coal mine safety laws. (AP Photo/Jeff Gentner, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The state of West Virginia is located in Charleston, W.Va. West Virginia Republicans forged ahead Tuesday with an amendment that would strip the state of its ability to cite coal companies for unsafe working conditions.

Democrats tried to derail the measure. Dozens of miners and former miners gathered at the Capitol on Monday night to testify against the bill. On the same day that the hearing happened, a veteran coal miner died. An air drill pinned him.

The miners said the regulations keep them safe.

The laws that are written, state and federal, are not written with ink. Barry Brown, a disabled coal miner who worked underground for 32 years, said that every one of the laws has blood on them. Doing away with the state department would be a worse thing for the state to do.

The bill will have a final reading in the House on Wednesday and will have to be considered in the Senate. It would strip the state office of miners of its ability to enforce laws, in fact, it eliminates all enforcement language from state code.

Instead of going to mines, inspectors will go for visits and make recommendations.

Penalties for safety violations would be removed under the proposal. Penalties and even prison time can be imposed on companies for failing to implement safety measures. The state has the ability to close down portions of a mine.

One of the co-sponsors is a Republican. Adam said he disagrees with the miners.

He said that he appreciated their passion.

A culture shift is needed to push the focus of inspectors more toward training than enforcement. He said there will be the same number of inspectors in the state with the same jurisdiction on the mines, but you're going to have a different outlook when you start. You will be looking for things that you can train on.

It may make companies feel freer to bring up concerns to the state about possible safety violations if they are not fined for them.

Tony Oppegard, a Kentucky lawyer who has represented miners in safety cases for decades, said the bill would not improve safety for miners. He said it was an anti- safety bill.

He said it cuts protection for coal miners in half.

The bottom line is what motivates the bill.

The operator doesn't have to worry about paying fines if they are an advisory agency.

In West Virginia, there are over 500 mines, quarries and coal handling facilities. State law requires inspectors to visit each mine at least four times a year.

A law that makes it a crime to give advance notice of an inspection to coal mine operators and miners can result in a fine of $15,000 or five years in prison. A company representative and a miner representative must accompany the inspector.

The minimum number of visits that must take place in a year and the requirement that mines can't be warned before an inspection are removed by the proposed bill. The requirement that a miner representative be allowed to attend was cut.

Kelly Blair, a Charleston-based state inspector who lost his oldest brother and uncle in mining deaths, said miners won't approach him if someone from the company stands by.

If you take away my ability to enforce, I can't do my job.

Steve, a safety committee member for the Harrison County Coal Mine, said when he writes up complaints to mine management they are ignored. State inspectors can cite the company when he takes it to them.

The hazardous conditions get fixed when the company pays for them. The miners are fine.

A group of somber miners prayed after the public hearing for the miner who died. He had 20 years of experience.

We want our miners to come home.

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