An editorial from The Herald-Dispatch
So that completes one part of the equation in that amendment. Now comes the other part, one that the legislature must carry out. That task is making sure the freedom given to the Scout organization doesn’t result in harm to local businesses.
The overall argument for changing the state’s Constitution was pretty clear. The preserve, a 10,600-acre property in Fayette County next to the New River Gorge National River, is a high-adventure camp filled with a wide variety of world-class facilities. It is the new permanent home of the Boy Scouts’ national Jamboree every four years as well as a place where up to 40,000 scouts are expected to visit every summer.
However, in the off season, so to speak, the facilities are mostly idle. Scout officials parleyed with state officials to discuss the reserve’s potential as a venue for non-Scouting events, but the hangup was that the Boy Scouts organization could lose its tax-exempt status if facilities were tied in with any profit-making groups.
Thus, the proposed constitutional amendment, which was geared strictly toward the Summit Bechtel Family Reserve.
There’s no question that the presence of the preserve in West Virginia should bring more visitors to the state, particularly when Scout families travel to it in the summers. There’s also little doubt that if the reserve is able to attract other high-profile events, such as extreme sports competitions and the like, even more people could be drawn to the state.
But lawmakers, who were tasked by the amendment to develop rules and regulations to protect local and regional businesses before the amendment can go into effect, must do its work…