Bringing down the gavel

West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, a Republican from Clay, is facing scrutiny for his legal work representing data center and microgrid projects seeking environmental permits. Hanshaw, a lawyer with the Bowles Rice firm, is representing Fundamental Data, a company fighting legal challenges related to a natural gas-powered microgrid in Tucker County that would power proposed data centers. Additionally, Hanshaw, through Bowles Rice, is also representing Fidelis New Energy in Mason County, which is also seeking a clean air permit for its data center/microgrid project. Critics are raising concerns about a potential conflict of interest because Hanshaw voted for House Bill 2014, the data center and microgrid bill that passed the Legislature last year, and also for the Department of Commerce rules bundle implementing these new data center and microgrid districts. While the data center projects Hanshaw is representing predate HB 2014, the timing of the legislation and his continued legal representation raise questions about future votes on data center-related bills. Members of the House can request to be excused from voting if they believe they have a conflict of interest, with the presiding officer (Hanshaw, in this case) making the final decision. The article highlights this situation alongside a separate issue concerning a lack of transparency from a PAC connected to Senate President Randy Smith.