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House Finance Hears Bill Amending Hope Scholarship

Cheyenne DeBolt
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House Finance Hears Bill Amending Hope Scholarship

The Finance Committee met this morning to discuss an originating bill.

The originating bill would amend the Hope Scholarship Program. Counsel explained the changes would be:

  • Setting the annual amount to a flat $5250; this removes the funding link to school aid; $250 would go to the State Treasurer for administration of the program, and Hope students would receive $5000
  • Requires participating school to be in state, if a brick-and-mortar school; In FY25, $1.7 million went to out-of-state schools; virtual-online programs are not addressed as out-of-state schools
  • Removes provision requiring parents to “afford the Hope Scholarship student opportunities for educational enrichment such as organized athletics, art, music, or literature;” parents may choose to do this, but won’t be required
  • Sets the payments for the Hope Scholarship to 4 times a year instead of 2
  • Eliminates the following qualifying expenses:
    • AP exams, college admission exams, and prep courses for AP or college admission exams
    • Tutoring services
    • After school or summer programs
    • Instruments/equipment as part of the music education course/curriculum
  • Limiting nonpublic virtual online programs to only tuition and fees for the curriculum
  • Limits transportation cost
  • Focuses on tuition, fees, and curriculum
  • Technology continues to be a qualifying expense, but the board can limit purchasing, as it is currently
  • Require students under Individualized Instructional Programs to take the statewide student growth assessment required of public-school students; cost would be a covered qualifying expense, and the data would be used as it is for public schools
  • The bill would be effective for FY28

 

House Judiciary Advances Cold Case Bill

Soleil Woolard
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House Judiciary Advances Cold Case Bill

The House Judiciary Committee advanced several bills this morning.

Judiciary

House Bill 4603 would create a diversion process to allow parents who are having their children removed from their home to be placed with a family member under guardianship. This process is only available to select child abuse and neglect cases. Cases that are not available to this process include, but are not limited to, those where a parent has subjected a child to abandonment, torture, and chronic abuse. This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 4656 would address absenteeism in students and shift the focus from punitive to preventative. This bill would remove having 10 or more unexcused absences as a status offense. This bill would also provide different services to prevent chronic absenteeism, such as financial help, mental health support services, or transportation to school if needed. This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 4799 would establish the cold case task force for the State of West Virginia. This task force would investigate and prosecute offenders in cold cases. The cold case task force would be authorized to cooperate with federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies.  This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 4842 would clarify the civil cause of action for people exposing intimate images. This civil action would be similar to the civil cause of action for people who commit sexual extortion. This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 4850 would require online training to be provided for Executors/Executrixes of an Estate. This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 5341 would create a domestic violence registry. This registry would include several pieces of information about the names of the people who have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor offense of domestic violence. This information would include, but is not limited to, the address where the person will reside or resides at the time of registration, their Social Security number, a full-face photograph, a brief description of the crime or crimes for which the registrant was convicted, fingerprints and palm prints, and motor vehicle information. This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 5401 would clarify how West Virginia voters residing overseas can vote in West Virginia elections. This bill would clearly state that any individual who is a United States citizen who is temporarily living abroad and was a West Virginian resident can vote in the state and federal elections.

House Bill 5406 would make the WV State Police Forensic Laboratory responsible for certification, standards, and administration of secondary chemical tests. The bill also makes the forensic laboratory responsible for approving the devices and methods used in preliminary breath analysis.

House Bill 5416 would give trustees and pastors the authority to make a deal with only one trustee and the pastor, whether it be for borrowing money or encumbering property.

House Bill 5444 would increase the amount of fees to be paid by parolees based on their ability to pay, which would be an increase from $40 to $50. This fee would be only for the supervision.

House Bill 5449 would repeal the Addiction Treatment Pilot Program since the pilot program no longer exists.

House Bill 5454 would clarify the committee’s oversight authority over the West Virginia Fusion Center and direct the Legislative Auditor to conduct an annual audit of the Fusion Center.

House Energy and Public Works Discuss Individual EZ-Passes

Cheyenne DeBolt
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House Energy and Public Works Discuss Individual EZ-Passes

The House Energy and Public Works Committee met this evening.

Markup & Passage

House Resolution 13 proposes approval of United States H.R. 5966, the Ohio River Restoration Program Act, to bring clean water, enhanced fish and aquatic wildlife, economic benefits, and expanded recreation opportunities to West Virginia.

Committee Hearing

House Bill 4537 requires municipalities and public service districts to determine the cost of adding potential customers to water service from the municipality and the public service district, and to apply to the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council for available funding. Additionally, the bill extends service to potential customers who have made required deposits if a grant or grants are awarded to cover the fees for the service extension.

House Bill 4563 requires EZ-Passes to be assigned to individual drivers, not to automobiles. During the discussion, many people supported the idea, but the feasibility may be complicated by how tolls are currently collected. The bill was advanced to markup and passage.

House Bill 5511 allows a lump sum payment of accrued personal leave to full-time employees of a county school board upon the end of full-time employment due to death.

House Bill 5525 establishes the Southern West Virginia Clean Water Fund Act of 2026 to enhance water quality standards, test for, and remove various contaminants. The bill also states that a survey shall be conducted to replace lead service lines within all public water systems in the counties of Boone, Fayette, Greenbrier, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne, and Wyoming.

House HHR Advances Vape Safety Act

Soleil Woolard
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0
House HHR Advances Vape Safety Act

The House Health and Human Resources Committee discussed several bills.

House Bill 4517 would increase the accessibility of West Virginia’s child care tax credit for employers.  This bill was reported to the House Finance.

House Bill 4067 would make it so that any employee working 32 hours or more per week in a licensed child care center is eligible for a child care subsidy, regardless of their household income. This bill was advanced to House Finance.

House Bill 5437 would create the Vape Safety Act. This act would require vape shops to obtain a license that would cost $1,200. This raise to the fee would cover costs for the Alcohol Beverage Control commissioner. In addition to updating licensing requirements, all products sold by the shop will be required to be placed on a registry. These products will require FDA approval or pending approval to be sold in these shops. This bill was advanced to markup and passage.

House Bill 4989 would establish a cancer screening pilot program for firefighters.

House Advances Data Center Rule Bill and 18-20 Concealed Carry

Cheyenne DeBolt
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0
House Advances Data Center Rule Bill and 18-20 Concealed Carry

The House of Delegates passed ten bills, including the following four.

House Bill 4106 removes the licensing requirement for 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds to conceal carry a deadly weapon. Proponents argued that these individuals can already carry a weapon. Currently, they aren’t able to conceal their weapons. Opponents argued that removing the licensing requirement would eliminate the training required for concealed carry. The bill advanced to the Senate.

House Bill 4464 updated the definition of emergency-related Underground Facilities Damage Prevention. The bill clarified that an emergency includes “any emergency that requires immediate correction to assure continuity of services provided by or through an underground facility.” Without the passage of this bill, “emergencies” focus on the safety of the public and operator personnel. The bill also clarifies Board responsibilities and the duties of operators of underground facilities. The bill advanced to the Senate with 51 in favor and 43 opposed.

House Bill 4983 allows the Department of Commerce to adopt legislative rules governing the certification of microgrid districts and high-impact data centers. Yesterday, the House spent time discussing amendments to the bill, which failed.

Many opponents of this bill felt that the Department of Environmental Protection should play a role in the rulemaking for the certification of these entities, given the environmental and economic consequences.

Proponents of the bill stated that because data centers are an economic opportunity, regulation should fall to the Department of Commerce. Regarding yesterday’s amendments, proponents of the bill stated that they didn’t address the bill’s actual rules. Supporters of the bill felt the amendments would add burdens to economic development and could discourage companies from bringing high-impact data centers to West Virginia.

Today, Delegate Laura Kimble (R-Harrison) stated that when House Bill 2014 passed last year, the Senate would address local control and water concerns. When the concerns weren’t addressed, it was stated that the concerns would be addressed through rulemaking. She stated that this rulemaking bill does not address what was supposed to be addressed.

“I think this will have a chilling effect on the people of West Virginia who want to stay here,” Kimble said, “I believe it’ll have a chilling effect on people who live out of state and want to come home to West Virginia.”

The bill advanced to the Senate with 78 in favor and 16 opposed.

House Bill 4573 authorizes the Department of Human Services to provide the West Virginia Department of Education and county boards of education with information on transition programs and services for foster care students after graduation, along with opportunities in education, the workforce, housing, and support services.

During committee reports, the rules were suspended to read House Bill 4712 for the first time. The bill increases the penalties for DUI causing death. The bill will be known as Bailey’s Law.

Senate Bill 208 was on second reading and advanced to third with the right to amend.

Bills introduced can be found here.
Resolutions introduced can be found here.

Committee Meetings, Today, February 17

Committee Meetings, Tomorrow, February 18

Assaulting Police Dogs Bill Advances in Senate Judiciary

Jaidyn Carter
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0
Assaulting Police Dogs Bill Advances in Senate Judiciary

The Senate Judiciary Committee met on Tuesday afternoon and passed two bills regarding the involuntary hospitalization of patients and assaulting police dogs.

Senate Bill 742 would revise procedures related to involuntary hospitalization in hospital settings.

This bill would permit an authorized staff physician to order a 72-hour involuntary hold if the physician determines an individual is mentally ill and likely to cause serious harm to themselves or others, without first contacting a list of enumerated individuals.

This bill is intended to extend the time frame to file a mental hygiene petition from 24 hours to 72 hours following hospitalization.

Senate Bill 200 would create felony charges for individuals who willfully cause death or injury to public safety animals.

Public Safety Animal is defined in the bill as a dog or any other animal specifically trained to assist public safety officers or persons working under the direction of, or in cooperation with, public safety officers in the performance of their official duties.

If an individual willfully causes the death of a public safety animal, they would be guilty of a felony and would be fined no less than $2,000 and no more than $5,000 or imprisoned for no less than two years and no more than 10 years.

If a person willfully causes serious physical injuries to a public safety animal, they would be guilty of a felony and would be fined no less than $1,000 and no more than $3,000 or imprisoned no less than one year and no more than five years.

This bill was past in its current for my the Senate last year, but failed to complete action in the House of Delegates.

Both bills were reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.

School Nutrition Program Reform Bill Advances in Senate HHR

Jaidyn Carter
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0
School Nutrition Program Reform Bill Advances in Senate HHR

The Senate Health and Human Resources Committee advanced several bills regarding cancer prevention, school nutrition programs, foster care, and grant programs.

Senate Bill 662 would establish the Colorectal Cancer Screening and Diagnostic Colonoscopy and Treatment Pilot Program.

This program would be created within the Bureau of Public Health and would screen for and detect colorectal cancer among underserved populations.

The program includes, but isn’t limited to, the following:

  • Establishment of protocols for follow-up colonoscopies, diagnostic colonoscopies, and colorectal cancer treatment for underserved individuals who meet eligibility criteria
  • Provisions of grants to approved organizations
  • Compilation of data concerning the colorectal cancer screening and diagnostic colonoscopies, colorectal cancer treatment, and dissemination of the data to the public and any related outcome information, if available.
  • Colonoscopy services shall be provided by contracted colonoscopy sites under a Memorandum of Understanding.

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage, first being sent to the committee on Finance.

House Bill 4626 would establish a state grant program supporting clinical drug development trials for ibogaine.

This bill would authorize the Secretary of Health to administer a public-private partnership program to fund efforts seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for ibogaine as a treatment for opioid use disorder and other qualifying conditions.

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage, first being sent to the committee on Finance.

Senate Bill 745 relates to school nutrition programs and would require schools to post on their website the school’s breakfast and lunch menu, with the list of ingredients for each item on the menu.

Some of the food additives deemed as unsafe and would not be permitted as an ingredient in any meals served in a school nutrition program include:

  • Titanium dioxide.
  • Butylated hydroxytoluene
  • Butylated hydroxyanisole
  •  Tert-butylhydroquinone
  • Red Dye No. 3
  • Red Dye No. 40
  • Yellow Dye No. 5

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage, first being sent to the committee on Finance.

Senate Bill 763 would require all children placed into foster care to be screened for human trafficking upon entry into the foster care system by the Department of Human Services.

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.

Senate Bill 773 would require the Secretary of the Department of Health to propose legislative rules to include alpha-gal syndrome on the list of diseases required to be reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Alpha-gal syndrome is a tick-borne condition that could cause allergic reactions to red meat and would become a reportable disease in West Virginia. This bill allows state health officials to track cases and share data with the CDC.

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.

House Judiciary Amends Political Campaign Bill

Soleil Woolard
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0
House Judiciary Amends Political Campaign Bill

The House Judiciary Committee and its subcommittees met this morning.

Judiciary

House Bill 5066 would prohibit the release of the addresses and names of people who make contributions to political campaigns. If someone were to release said information, misdemeanor penalties are spelled out in the bill. This bill was reported to the floor.

Delegate Evan Hansen (D – Monongalia, 079) proposed an amendment to include the State treasurer in the protection outlined in the bill. This amendment was adopted.

House Bill 5105 would prohibit the financial exploitation of people recovering from addiction. Any individual who is in charge of a person in recovery’s finances that takes advantage of said finances is guilty of a misdemeanor and, if convicted, shall be fined up to $1,000 or put in jail for up to a year, or both fined and confined.

House Bill 5198 would increase the penalty for crimes against people who have a mental disability.

House Bill 5203 would prohibit any municipality from issuing any municipal ID for voting in a municipal election. This bill was reported to the floor.

House Bill 5214 would require parents with child abuse and/or child neglect claims against them to be drug tested before their children can be placed back into their care.

House Bill 4656 would address absenteeism in students and shift the focus from punitive to preventative. This bill would remove having 10 or more unexcused absences as a status offense. This bill would also provide different services to prevent chronic absenteeism, such as financial help, mental health support services, or transportation to school if needed.

House Bill 4799 would establish the cold case task force for the State of West Virginia. This task force would investigate and prosecute offenders in cold cases. The cold case task force would be authorized to cooperate with federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies.

House Bill 4842 would clarify the civil cause of action for people exposing intimate images. This civil action would be similar to the civil cause of action for people who commit sexual extortion.

House Bill 4850 would require online training to be provided for Executors/Executrixes of an Estate.

House Bill 5341 would create a domestic violence registry. This registry would include several pieces of information about the names of the people who have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor offense of domestic violence. This information would include, but is not limited to, the address where the person will reside or resides at the time of registration, their Social Security number, a full-face photograph, a brief description of the crime or crimes for which the registrant was convicted, fingerprints and palm prints, and motor vehicle information.

Legal Services

House Bill 5401 would clarify how voting in West Virginia elections works while residing overseas. This bill would clearly state that any individual who is a United States citizen who is temporarily living abroad and was a West Virginian resident can vote in the state and federal elections. This bill was reported to the Judiciary.

House Bill 5416 would give trustees and pastors the authority to make a deal with only one trustee and the pastor, whether it be for borrowing money or encumbering property. This bill was reported to the Judiciary.

House Bill 5067 would clarify the authority to enter into agreements with law-enforcement agencies of the Department of Homeland Security to seek certain grant funds. This bill was advanced to markup and discussion.

Homeland Security

House Bill 5444 would increase the amount of fees to be paid by parolees based on their ability to pay, which would be an increase from $40 to $50. This fee would be only for the supervision. This bill was sent to the Judiciary.

House Bill 5449 would repeal the Addiction Treatment Pilot Program since the pilot program no longer exists.

House Bill 5454 would change the authorities of the select committee’s oversight of the West Virginia Fusion Center. This bill would also direct the Legislative Auditor to conduct an annual audit of the Fusion Center.

House Bill 5206 would make certain acts of panhandling and solicitation illegal, fire departments, school organizations, and 501(c)(3) organizations are exempt from this.

Courts

House Bill 5406 would make the WV State Police Forensic Laboratory responsible for certification, standards, and administration of secondary chemical tests. The bill also makes the forensic laboratory responsible for approval of the devices and methods of preliminary breath analysis.

In addition to these changes, this bill would also give the rule-making authority to the State Police, rather than the Bureau of Public Health.

House Bill 4604 would increase the compensation of all panel attorneys and guardians ad litem up to $100 an hour.  The bill also creates an assistant guardian ad litem position.

 

Human Smuggling and Trafficking Bill Clears Senate

Jaidyn Carter
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0
Human Smuggling and Trafficking Bill Clears Senate

On Tuesday morning, the Senate introduced Senate Bills 960-978, adopted Senate Resolution 43 regarding Local Food and Farm Day and Senate Resolution 44 regarding the St. Joseph Central High School Boys Soccer Team.

The Senate also passed several bills, including House Bill 4433, regarding human smuggling and trafficking.

House Bill 4433 would make human smuggling and human trafficking a felony and add a definition for the term “illegal alien”.

Human Smuggling is defined in the bill as the act of knowingly transporting, transferring, receiving, isolating, enticing, or harboring an undocumented individual to avoid law enforcement. This does not include an immediate family member of the undocumented individual.

An illegal alien is defined in the bill as an individual who has entered the United States without authorization, has violated the terms of their admission, or is without a legal status and is subject to removal if apprehended. Further definitions from the bill can be found in code §61-14-1.

Senator Joey Gracia (D – Marion, 13) proposed an amendment to add language to the bill that would exempt good Samaritans from being threatened by a felony when attempting to lawfully help an illegal immigrant if it involves their immediate health, safety, and welfare.

The Senator also proposed within the same amendment to strike through language in the bill that allows immediate family members of an illegal immigrant to be an exception in terms of human smuggling. The Senator raised concerns regarding family involvement in human smuggling. Stating the International Organization for Migration has stated that 41 percent of the trafficking of illegal immigrants is done by immediate family members.

Those opposing the amendment raised concerns about the amendment potentially welcoming more undocumented immigrants into the country.

“If you would provide shelter or relief for people who entered this country illegally and are causing harm to this country, you should be prosecuted, and I think the gentlemen’s amendment would get us away from that,” stated Eric J. Tarr (R – Putnam, 04).

Following the discussion, the amendment was rejected.

Senator Ryan W. Weld (R – Brooke, 01) also proposed an amendment to add language to the bill stating the word “willfully” along with knowingly when regarding the definition of human smuggling.

The amendment was intended to clarify the intentions of human smuggling in hopes of not incriminating those who are doing a good deed without participating in a crime.

Following discussion, the amendment was adopted.

The bill, as amended, passed the full Senate and was sent to the House of Delegates for consideration.

House Bill 4474 would extend the Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementia Advisory Council’s sunset date, allowing the group to remain active beyond its original expiration.

The council advises the state on policies, programs, and resources for individuals living with Alzheimer’s and their families. The council would continue to bring coordination, expertise, and accountability in how West Virginia responds to those with Alzheimer’s and other Dementias by bringing together advocates, health professionals, caregivers, and state agencies to advise on how to handle those directly and indirectly impacted by the disease.

The Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementia Advisory Council would be able to continue implementing the State Alzheimer’s Plan and supporting initiatives in the state of West Virginia.

The bill completed legislative action and now heads to the Governor’s desk.

Afternoon Meetings:

Health and Human Resources at 1 p.m. in Room 451M

Economic Development at 2 p.m. in Room 208W

Finance at 3 p.m. in Room 451M

Judiciary at 3 p.m. in Room 208W

Morning Meetings for Feb. 18:

Natural Resources at 9:30 a.m. in Room 208W

The Senate is adjourned until Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 11 a.m.

Senate Education Advances School Calendar Reform Bill

Jaidyn Carter
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0
Senate Education Advances School Calendar Reform Bill

The Senate Education Committee advanced two key education bills Tuesday morning, addressing school calendar requirements and principal qualifications.

Senate Bill 899 modifies the requirements for becoming a school principal.

This bill would allow teachers with 15 years of experience at the elementary, middle, or high school level to be certified as principals at the same level for which they have taught for a minimum of 15 years.

The bill was reported to the Full Senate with a recommendation of passage.

Senate Bill 890 would change certain school calendar requirements from days, months, or hours.

This bill would change the minimum public school employment term from 200 days to 1,600 hours; and convert other public school calendar provisions from days or months to hours.

The time would be designated by the county board for employees to use for preparation for opening school.

This bill would also allow nonpublic schools to deliver instructions through alternative methods that count toward up to 25 hours of instructional time when schools are closed due to inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances. The hours of instruction can also count towards the 900-hour instructional time requirement.

Those opposing the bill raised concerns about a four-day work week becoming a possibility for schools, causing families to have to find childcare on weekdays. They expressed the importance of students attending school Monday through Friday in preparation for the workforce, mimicking the same schedule.

Supporters of the bill claim it provides a decrease in regulations for schools and allows counties to make decisions based on their area. They also expressed that schools could switch to a year-round schedule instead of a four-day week calendar, allowing families to plan vacations more and provide everyone with a break, including the staff.

Senator Eric J. Tarr (R – Putman, 04) proposed an amendment adding to the definition of the term “employment term” by further defining an employment term as a month being defined as 20 employment days or 160 employment hours, with the intention to address retirement concerns for teachers.

The amendment was adopted.

The bill, as amended, was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.

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