The new law legalizing "real" fireworks in the state encompasses two maxims of the legislative process: Every law has unintended consequences, and when a predominately rural Legislature makes laws, folks living in cities frequently get the short end of the deal.
In talking with the bill's lead sponsor, Delegate Danny Hamrick, R-Harrison, he refreshed my memory that the debate on the bill during the regular session was almost exclusively about safety, without any discussion of the potential nuisance factor legalized fireworks would create.
Hamrick said he's since been made aware of complaints about noise, debris, terrified pets, etc., from people shooting off the newly legalized fireworks - complaints he said have come primarily from the Charleston area and the Eastern Panhandle.
Hamrick, from the little town of Lost Creek, said he personally hasn't had any complaints about fireworks from his constituents.
Naturally. If your neighbor is shooting off fireworks, it makes a world of difference if he's a mile down the road or literally next door.
The legislation does have a line allowing municipalities to prohibit or regulate fireworks, and Hamrick said he would prefer to address any nuisance issues that way.
"This is something I think should be handled on a local level, not by the state," he said.
Of course, that puts the onus on municipalities to enforce fireworks bans or restrictions, cities whose police officers surely have more pressing issues than trying to track down who's shooting off fireworks.
nnn
The final irony of the fireworks bill, which passed both houses unanimously, including support from the 26 legislators who signed Grover Norquist's no-tax pledge, is that the legislation imposes an 18 percent sales tax on fireworks sales.
According to Department of Revenue estimates, the fireworks tax should bring in $2.7 million a year - with 75 percent dedicated to the state veteran's homes, the reason the bill passed without opposition.
The sales tax was increased from the standard 6 percent to 18 percent in a strike-and-insert amendment in Senate Judiciary Committee, so many of the delegates who vowed to never vote for a tax hike may not have realized that's what they were doing.
nnn
Jim Justice was rightfully criticized for skipping out on the Democratic National Convention. After all, the party's gubernatorial nominee is generally expected to participate in the roll call of states.
(Which raises a separate issue, during these roll calls, how can it be that every state is a "great state of ...?" Is this some sort of Lake Wobegon gone amok? Wouldn't it be great if during the roll call, someone would admit they're from the "below-average, but trying really hard state of ...?")
The political reality is Justice had nothing to gain and plenty to lose by attending the convention.
First, he's running as a political outsider, and that image would be tarnished if he participated in a national party convention.
Secondly, he'd be playing into the main template that the state Republican Party has relied on for the past two election cycles: Ignoring the market forces that have driven down coal production, the party instead creating a purported "war on coal" by Barack Obama's administration, which they contend will be carried on by Hillary Clinton, and then the party makes some connection - real or fabricated - between their Democratic opponents and Obama/Clinton.
(Most recent exhibit: The Bill Cole ad that takes Justice's "We are united" quote from the state Democratic Party convention out-of-context, with pictures of Obama and Clinton superimposed with Justice.)
This has been the modus operandi for the state GOP going back to when Joe Manchin literally shot Obama's cap-and-trade bill to distance himself from the president.
Of course, Justice has also been disingenuous in campaigning that he will help coal make a big comeback.
In the last polls made public, going back to the May primaries, Justice had double-digit leads over Cole, and all indications are that those numbers have widened following Cole's presiding over the disastrous, endless special session impasse over the 2016-17 budget, contrasted with Justice's display of compassion and leadership following the June 23 floods.
Meanwhile, based on the last ad, which talk about the "Bill Cole-Donald Trump team," Cole's campaign has gone all in with Trump.
Cole's campaign is playing what may be the only viable hand it has, to hope that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's coattails (plus votes diverted from Justice by Mountain Party candidate Charlotte Pritt) can be sufficient to close the gap.
That's quite a gamble. While there's little chance that Trump won't carry the state, there hasn't been a more unpredictable or unstable major party presidential candidate in modern history.
Given that Trump is such an unconventional Republican, there's also questions about whether his candidacy will help down-ballot GOP candidates. After all, this is the candidate who famously told West Virginians they didn't need to vote in the May primary, since he had already clinched the nomination. Meanwhile, alas, the new legislative leadership eliminated straight ticket voting in 2015.
Also unanswered, will Trump supporters be inclined to turn out if, as Election Day approaches, national polling shows his chances of putting together an Electoral College victory are unlikely to hopeless?
nnn
Finally, a final item on the comparison of state budgets in West Virginia and Nebraska: As for why West Virginia has so many more state employees than similarly populated Nebraska, auditor's office spokesman Justin Southern researched the office's counterpart in Nebraska, and found explanations why the West Virginia's office has about 150 more employees.
A lot of responsibilities in West Virginia's auditor's office - payroll, processing invoices, P-card transactions, and travel expenses - aren't handled by the auditor's office in Nebraska, but instead by a separate agency, the Division of Administrative Services, which has about 490 employees.
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.