By Elana Simms

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee was the object of the Virginia Coal Association’s attention in the 1999 election cycle.

The association contributed $82,250 to General Assembly members. Seven of the top 10 recipients sit on the committee, which deals with commercial law, corporations, industry and other issues.

The top five recipients of the Coal Association’s support were:

• Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr., R-Winchester, $5,000.
• Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-Williamsburg, $4,000.
• Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, $3,250.
• Del. John H. Rust Jr., R-Fairfax, $2,500.
• Sen. Richard L. Salslaw, D-Springfield, $2,500.

The association distributed $40,750 among 61 House members and $41,500 among 32 senators.

Tommy Hudson, president of the Virginia Coal Association, said the organization has a relatively simple way of determining which legislators receive money.

"Basically we give to people who are on committees that deal with our legislation," he said. "We support the people who support our industry."

The association gave more to Republicans than Democrats.

In the House, 16 Democrats got a combined $14,000, while the group divided $26,750 among 45 Republicans.

In the Senate, 14 Democrats received a total of $11,500 from the Coal Association, while 18 Republicans got $30,000.

Hudson said his organization’s contributions are nonpartisan and go to those who encourage "good business."

"I don’t think anybody would vote for anything based on who contributed what to whom," he said. "The reason we give donations is because we want to help support good government. I think every business wants a friendly business climate. We believe in a free market economy."

Sen. William C. Wampler, R-Bristol, chairman of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, received $1,000 from the association. This session, he championed a bill to extend tax breaks for coal companies, aiming to preserve jobs in the mining industry.

Coal production in Virginia fell from 47 million tons in 1990 to 34 million in 1998. The number of miners plummeted, too – from 10,200 to 5,800. To stem the loss of jobs, the General Assembly in 1996 approved tax subsidies for coal companies.

The Coalfield Employment Enhancement Tax Credit encouraged companies to mine Virginia’s coal reserves by giving them a $2 tax credit for every ton of coal taken from a thin seam – a strip of coal-producing land measuring 36 inches or less in thickness.

The law gives a $1 tax credit for every ton of coal taken from a thick seam.

The tax credits expire in 2002. Wampler’s bill would extend the subsidies to the year 2008. The Senate and House unanimously passed the proposal.

Hudson said he has no numbers on whether the existing tax breaks have boosted coalfield employment, the intended goal. Some experts say the subsidies prompted coal companies to extract 15 million more tons of coal than they would have. Without the tax credits, they said, employment would have dropped even more.

According to Hudson, coal companies are now looking to collect the subsidy. They recently filed for $28 million in tax credits for coal mined in 1996.