There’s a saying in the West Virginia capitol that “dead opossums run at midnight.” It basically means bills you thought were dead will revive on the last night of the session and try to sneak through. Why they can’t just say it without an obfuscated euphemism, I’ll never know. Regardless, an opossum zombie did try to go out for a jog thanks to the Democratic leadership and Senator John Unger. But the Democrats and Republicans whack-a-moled it before it got too far.

House Bill 3167 allowed members of the teachers retirement system who are absent from employment while serving as an officer or staff of a statewide professional teaching association or a statewide service personnel association to count this service towards retirement credit. In other words, employees of the WVEA or AFT — both non-state entities — could still pay into the state retirement system and get full state benefits.

When the Democratic leadership brought it up in the waning hours of the session, some Senators asked if this had ever been done before. The answer was an emphatic no.

In general, it sets a bad precedent allowing those who are out of the system to still get the benefits of being in it. Imagine the uproar in the business community if Union Carbide had allowed employees who quit and started working for DuPont to still pay into the Carbide pension plan.

Besides being a bad bill in general, it was drafted with one person in mind: Delegate Mike Caputo’s brother, Frank.

Frank Caputo is the official representative of the WV-AFT. He is believed to be responsible for clandestinely stirring up West Virginia’s teachers and getting them to strike. With only a couple more years to pay for until he gets full retirement, this bill was crafted to help him use the time he was allegedly fighting the state to get benefits from the state.

In order to bring up the bill, the Senate had to suspend the rules requiring the bill be read on three separate days. To suspend the rules, the Senate must have the consent of 3/4 of those elected. That means seven can dissent and block the bill.

The motion to suspend the rules was made and seven Senators voted against it:

* Caruth
* Oliverio
* Prezioso
* Sprouse
* Unger
* Wells
* Yoder

The Senate leadership was not happy at all that it had died so they pressured Senator Unger into changing his vote. Because he was on the prevailing side of the motion, under the Senate’s Jeffersonian rules, he has the right to ask that the legislature reconsider the motion to suspend the rules.

After the Democratic leadership offered him enough blue books to mail to every citizen in the state, Unger stood and asked to reconsider the motion.

The Democratic leadership thought they had won, but while they were whispering in Unger’s ear, the word was getting around what the bill was really about and whom it was targeted for.

When they reconsidered the motion, ten Senators voted against it:

* Boley
* Caruth
* Deem
* Jenkins
* Minard
* Oliverio
* Prezioso
* Sprouse
* Sypolt
* Yoder

And with that, the opossum collapsed on the floor with its limbs askew.