Shutdown of his mine led Ky. legislator to file bill reducing required emergency medical staffing

Remember that item we ran last week about the Kentucky legislator who benefited directly from coal mines and is pushing a bill to reduce the number of mine emergency technicians at a mine from two to one? Turns out he filed the bill after one of the mines was shut down briefly for not having any technician on duty, reports John Cheves of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Cheves writes, "In an interview Monday, Hall confirmed that Kimara was mining his coal when it was cited, but said that it would be unfair to blame him for the actions of his contractor. However, the incident does prove how hard it is for small mines to reliably find two of the state's 4,565 certified METs to work on a crew at any given time, Hall said." Steve Earle, a United Mine Workers of America official and lobbyist, told Cheves, "I think Mr. Hall clearly has a conflict of interest here. He needs to drop this nonsense and pull this bill."

Cheves also adds this new tidbit about another legislator from the Appalachian coialfield: "Another lawmaker, House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook, is a paid consultant to Beech Creek Coal, giving Hall advice about coal markets." (Read more)