CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- From the governor's chief of staff to the governor's cousin to the Senate president's wife to Marshall's head football coach, the list of state employees who commute to and from work in state vehicles is lengthy.

A total of 814 employees claim payroll deductions for the community value of their vehicles, as required by the IRS.

That, of course, doesn't count the 90 employees that the legislative auditor's office determined are commuting in state vehicles, but have failed to file the code 115 allowance form with the state auditor's office.

In light of the coverage that the recent Post-Audit Division report generated, I've received numerous requests to run the entire list of state employees who commute in their state cars.

As always, your faithful scribe is willing to risk carpal tunnel to comply, although the list will have to be spread out over a few columns, given its length.

While most of the listed agencies have only a handful of employees (usually the top administrators) granted commuting privileges, the exceptions are Division of Highways (with 377 state-vehicle commuters) and Department of Environment Protection (with 258 commuters).

(I understand it's common practice for Highways administrators and engineers to drive to the district headquarters or DOH garage nearest their home, perform some perfunctory function there - and then commute to Charleston in their state vehicle. At that point, they're not only getting a free commute at taxpayer expense, but they're also on the clock for purposes of calculating work hours and overtime.)

So, let's get rolling:

Governor's Office (1), chief of staff Larry Puccio. (Ironically, Gov. Joe Manchin put Puccio in charge of efforts to get a handle on personal use of state vehicles.)

Department of Education (1), Mark Anthony Manchin, executive director, School Building Authority.

Public Broadcasting (1), general manager Dennis Adkins.

Higher Education Policy Commission (1), Chancellor Brian Noland.

School of Osteopathic Medicine (2), president emeritus Olen Jones, Lawrence M. Kelley.

Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College (1), President Joanne Tomblin, wife of the Senate president.

Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety (1), Secretary James Spears.

Alcohol Beverage Control Commission (6), Anoop Bhasin, John Duncan, Randy Haynes, Shawn Smith, Commissioner Dallas Staples, Deputy Commissioner Keith Wagner.

A total of 814 employees claim payroll deductions for the community value of their vehicles, as required by the IRS.

That, of course, doesn't count the 90 employees that the legislative auditor's office determined are commuting in state vehicles, but have failed to file the code 115 allowance form with the state auditor's office.

In light of the coverage that the recent Post-Audit Division report generated, I've received numerous requests to run the entire list of state employees who commute in their state cars.

As always, your faithful scribe is willing to risk carpal tunnel to comply, although the list will have to be spread out over a few columns, given its length.

While most of the listed agencies have only a handful of employees (usually the top administrators) granted commuting privileges, the exceptions are Division of Highways (with 377 state-vehicle commuters) and Department of Environment Protection (with 258 commuters).

(I understand it's common practice for Highways administrators and engineers to drive to the district headquarters or DOH garage nearest their home, perform some perfunctory function there - and then commute to Charleston in their state vehicle. At that point, they're not only getting a free commute at taxpayer expense, but they're also on the clock for purposes of calculating work hours and overtime.)

So, let's get rolling:

Governor's Office (1), chief of staff Larry Puccio. (Ironically, Gov. Joe Manchin put Puccio in charge of efforts to get a handle on personal use of state vehicles.)

Department of Education (1), Mark Anthony Manchin, executive director, School Building Authority.

Public Broadcasting (1), general manager Dennis Adkins.

Higher Education Policy Commission (1), Chancellor Brian Noland.

School of Osteopathic Medicine (2), president emeritus Olen Jones, Lawrence M. Kelley.

Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College (1), President Joanne Tomblin, wife of the Senate president.

Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety (1), Secretary James Spears.

Alcohol Beverage Control Commission (6), Anoop Bhasin, John Duncan, Randy Haynes, Shawn Smith, Commissioner Dallas Staples, Deputy Commissioner Keith Wagner.

Auditor's Office (2), Jack Berry, Charles McKinney.

Treasurer's Office (5), Richard Fisher, Linda Hawkins, Patrick Jack, James Prater, Jack Roop. (Treasurer John Perdue was not on the list.)

Department of Agriculture (7), Timothy Brown, William Campbell, Janet Fisher, Melissa Garrett, Richard Hannah, Carolyn Hefner, Roy McCallister. (Likewise, Commissioner Gus Douglass was not listed.)

Attorney General (1), Chief Deputy Fran Hughes.

Supreme Court (1), Scottie Conrad.

St. Marys Correctional Center (1), William Wimer.

Marshall Community and Technology College (2), Keith Cotroneo, Herbert Karlet.

Marshall University (47), Bill Bissett, Bill Burdette, Royce Chadwick, Michael Cochran, Steve Cotton, F. Layton Cottrill, Michael Cummings, Sarah Denham, Joseph Feaganes, David Finney, Jan Fox, Mark Gale, Todd Goebbel, Robert Gray, Derek Gwinn, Mitchell Jacobs, head basketball coach Donnie Jones, Christopher Kane, President Stephen Kopp, Leonard Kraus, Larry Kueck, Anita Lockridge, Robert Marcum, John Mercer, Richard Minter, Matthew Monroe, Scott Morehouse, Gregory Morrison, James Nelson, Paul Nichols, Gayle Ormiston, Phillip Ratliff, Meredith Rowsey, John Shannon, Jeffrey Small, Jared Smith, John F. Smith, Thielen Smith, head football coach Mark Snyder (wonder if his car ever breaks down in the third quarter?), Jordanna Soso, Shonda Stanton, David Steele, John Sutherland, Darren Tillis, Jeffrey Waggoner, Roxanne White, Richard A. Worner.      

(More to follow in future columns.)

I'm hearing from multiple sources that the frontrunner to be named by Manchin to succeed Kanawha Circuit Judge Irene Berger is Phyllis Carter, administrative law judge for the Human Rights Commission and wife of West Virginia State University President Hazo Carter.

If that's true, her selection, along with the nomination of state Democratic Party Chairman Nick Casey for a U.S. District Court seat, may cause some to question whether the merit selection process for judges is as apolitical as its advocates suggest.

Condolences to Senate Clerk Darrell Holmes on the unexpected loss of his wife, Nell Jean, last week. The Holmeses were one of those rare couples who, after 50 years of marriage, still held hands in public.

Finally, Manchin admitted last week he was trying to butter up celebrity chef Jamie Oliver with dinner at the Governor's Mansion and a certificate making him an honorary West Virginian, in hopes the reality program Oliver is filming in Huntington - recently dubbed the fattest city in America - will not depict the state in a completely negative light.

No word yet on whether Manchin is extending a dinner invitation to the editors of Total Beauty magazine, which last week ranked Huntington fifth on its list of cities with the ugliest men in America.

Reach Phil Kabler at ph...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1220.