Quite a lot of “Acting “ taking place in WV politics

What title should the West Virginia’s 80th Legislative session have? We just might need one with all the auditioning, role playing, asides, screen tests, and mainly “acting” that wild, wonderful West Virginians will watch once the curtains are drawn back on January 12, 2011.

Earl Ray Tomblin is the “Acting” Governor. Now, rather than elect a new State Senate President or President Pro Tem, the resolution yielding the biggest compromise to our elected officials in the State Senate focuses on a new position titled “an Acting Senate President.” Senator Herb Snyder, D-Jefferson, makes an excellent point in Phil Kabler’s latest Charleston Gazette column, stating that all bills must be signed by the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, and then the Governor. If there’s confusion surrounding which Senate President (actual or pro tem) has the authority to sign bills into law, then anything and everything passed during the next legislative session could be thrown out all together.

This new “acting” position creates less confusion in both the short and long term, seems to be a perfectly reasonable solution to deliver a great performance during the Senate’s opening act on January 12th, but I have just one question: who will take the initiative and sponsor the resolution? And since politics runs on a seniority basis, (most of the time), will a more senior member of the Senate become the “Acting” President? Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, has declared in print and on the air waves that he has the votes he needs to serve in the Acting Governor’s absence from the legislature. While I’d assume that he would become the “Acting” Senate President, I can’t help but state the fact that no plan is certain until those senators walk through the Senate Chamber doors.

Now, where do I find my program?