Blog – Page 150

House of Delegates Passes Broadband Expansion Bill

House Floor Session

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January 28, 2019

The West Virginia House of Delegates passed the Broadband Expansion Act of 2019.

The House took up House Bill 2005 Monday and considered three amendments—two of which were adopted.

Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, defended her amendment, claiming the tax structure involved in the bill would be unconstitutional and her amendment sought to correct this issue.

Delegate John Shott, R-Mercer, argued the amendment was unneeded and that there had been no issues reported by the state Supreme Court. The House rejected the amendment.

The bill passed the House and will be reported to the Senate.

Four other bills were passed in the House today:

House Bill 2036 relates to permitting vehicles displaying disabled veterans’ special registration plates to park in places where persons with mobility impairments may park.
House Bill 2209 allows military veterans who meet certain qualifications to qualify for examination for license as an emergency medical technician.
House Bill 2547 relates to the election prohibition zone.
House Bill 2600 relates to the publication of sample ballots.

All other bills for second and first reading were advanced and the House adjourned.

The House also passed a resolution to memorialize the life of the Honorable Paul W. Mckown, veteran, athlete, teacher, coach, and public servant.

The House of Delegates will reconvene Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Senate Sends Education Reform Bill to Committee of the Whole

Senate Committee

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January 28, 2019

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Senators from the majority party motioned a call for a committee of the whole to review the comprehensive education reform bill.

Sen. Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, questioned the body following a call for the entire Senate body to review Senate Bill 451, a bill which would create comprehensive education reform.

Prezioso raised concern over Senators seeking to quickly advance the multipurpose bill.

Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, further explained that the idea behind the motion was to give Senators who are unaffiliated with the Senate Education and Finance Committees an opportunity to ask questions surrounding the bill.

Further Democrats rose in opposition to the motion, yet following a call for the yays and nays, the motion passed.

Members also passed Senate Bills 55, 101, 124, 241, 268 and 269.

Senate Bill 124 would create a felony offense for actions of cruelty to animals which cause serious injury or death of animal.
Senate Bill 241 would permit county court clerks to scan certain documents in electronic form.

Senate Bill 440 through 450 were also introduced to the Senate.

Senate Bill 441 relates to higher education campus police officers.
Senate Bill 445 would increase salaries of WV State Police, public school teachers, and school service personnel.
Senate Bill 450 would exempt recipients of the Purple Heart medal from paying vehicle registration fees.

The following committees will be meeting today:

The Senate Committee on Natural Resources will meet at 1:45 pm in 208W.
The Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance will meet at 2:15 in 451M.
The Senate Finance Committee will meet at 3 p.m. in room 451M.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet at 3p.m. in room 208W.

The following committees will be meeting tomorrow:

The Senate Military Committee will meet at 10 a.m. in 208W.
The Senate Roads and Transportation Committee will meet at 10 a.m. in 451M.
The Senate Education Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in 451M.

The Senate Education Committee convened to read over the comprehensive education refo

Senate Committee

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January 25, 2019

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The Senate Education Committee convened to read over the comprehensive education reform bill, 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25.

The proposed bill, which would bring about major reform to the state’s education system in addition to establishing public charter schools, prompted many questions from Senators.

The bill contains a large section pertaining to the formation of public charter schools, in addition to language which aids in establishing the public charter school.

Many Senators raised questions concerning this section, mainly concerning if money allocated from public charter schools would be drawn from public school boards. Rucker stated that 90 percent of a public charter school’s funding would be derived from a local public school boards.

Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, showed concern for the amount of public school board funding which could potentially go towards the formation of a charter school. The Senator asked how a community may choose or refuse the establishment of a public charter school, to which the committee chair called upon Emily Schultz, director of state advocacy and policy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Schultz explained that a charter school authorizer would have to recognize a need for the charter school within a community and then measure the desire of local citizens to establish the school. To measure this desire, the community would have to participate in public forums and gain letter of references.

The director clarified that public charter schools aren’t the answer for every community, and if citizens have no interest in establishing a charter school, planning for the school with cease.

“These schools won’t be the solution for everyone, but some have shown to have useful tool for serving students,” Shultz said.

Shultz also stated that there is a national charter school fund which could potentially allocate up to $400 million to be used for establishing schools.

When comparing public charter schools to public school systems, Shultz also discussed two differences based on food service and transportation. The committee learned that food service providers are usually contracted out for charter schools, while charter schools offer no form of transportation money. According to Shultz, transportation has historically caused a strain on charter schools.

Committee members received updated versions of the bill which contained amendments that were added following the introduction of the bill on Thursday afternoon.

The committee reviewed a nine page abstract which outlined major changes in the bill pertaining to—

PEIA coverage
School levy systems
A new $250 tax credit for teachers
A new open enrollment process
An increase in the state’s student/teacher ratio
Specified responsibilities for school counselors
A modified school calendar
A teacher’s input on the promotion of students
Creation of separate allocations to be used for exceptional students
A five percent pay increase for teachers and service personal, including additional pay compensation for teachers who are fully certified to teach in math classes.
Establishment of individuals counties qualifications concerning employment
Establishment of education savings accounts, also known as, ESA’s.

Rachelle Engen of the Institute for Justice came before the committee to explain that ESA’s are funds transferred from a treasure to the parents of a students for the use of tuition money. The money is intended to be used to cover tuition costs for online or private school and materials.

Engen explained that ESA’s have no fiscal impact on public schools and are intended to grant parents the opportunity to enroll their student in a private school.

Following a brief discussion, the Senate Education voted to report the bill out to the floor but first be referenced to the Senate Committee on Finance

Judiciary Discusses and Advances Foster Care Bill

House Committee

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January 25, 2019

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The Judiciary Committee convened Friday, taking up a bill that updates regulations of the foster care system.

Under House Bill 2010, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources would be required to change its rules regulating foster children in a way that would allow parents to treat foster children the same as they would treat their natural children. This would ensure foster children are able to travel and participate in the same activities that other siblings in the family can enjoy.

The committee considered several amendments including one suggested by Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, and Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio. This amendment provided a new section in the bill requiring the department to conduct a study and make recommendations for improving services provided for kinship foster care families. The committee advanced the bill in a 13-11 vote and the bill next heads to the House floor.

The committee passed Three other bills, which next head to the House floor. House Bill 2521 relates to permitting fur-bearer parts.

The bill provides that in addition to pelts, other parts may be sold, traded or bartered. These include carcasses for making lures and baits; carcass parts including glands, skulls, bones, urine, and claws taken during the legal season. The bill also adds language permitting the sale, trading or bartering of the hide and tails of legally killed squirrels.

House Bill 2503 modifies right to counsel for non-offending parents in abuse and neglect cases. This bill seeks to address the issue of abuse and neglect cases often hosting numerous attorneys appointed to represent non-offending parents whose parental rights are not implicated in the action.

The last bill reviewed was Senate Bill 177, which relates to the Fire Commission rule relating to State Building Code. The current rule provides guidance for all building and construction throughout the state. This bill amends a current legislative rule by adding a required sunset provision and updating an energy efficiency standard for commercial buildings from the 2007 edition to the 2010 edition of the International Property Maintenance Code.

The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet Monday, January 28, 2019 at 9 a.m.

Judiciary Begins Talk Over Intermediate Courts, Approves Bundle

Senate Committee

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January 25, 2019

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The Senate Judiciary met Friday morning to talk about an intermediate court bill.

Senate Bill 266 would introduce a West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals. This is the fifth year that the Senate has introduced an intermediate court bill.

There would one be one Court of Appeals, which would consist of three judges. Judges would serve for a ten-year term, and are eligible for reappointment. Qualifying judges must be a member of the West Virginia Bar, practice law in the state for ten years, and may not be engaged in practicing law while serving. Their annual salary will be $130,000 per year and will include retirement benefits.

The Appellate Court would have decisions in:

· Circuit courts in civil, guardianship, and conservatorship cases

· Family courts

· Administrative agencies

· The Workers’ Compensation Board of Review

The Court would have jurisdictional limitations in:

· Criminal proceedings

· Juvenile proceedings

· Child abuse and neglect proceedings

· Mental hygiene proceedings

· Cases involving challenges to election practices

· Appeals from Public Service Commission

Evan Jenkins, State Supreme Court Justice, attended the meeting to answer any questions members had about the implications an appellate court would have in West Virginia.

The bill was not voted on, and will be on next week’s agenda.

The Committee also discussed Bundle 7, which included 12 other bills.

One of those bills was Senate Bill 178 which relates to the Lottery Commission and West Virginia Lottery sports wagering. The bill would require regulatory requirements to sports betting in the state for operators. Those requirements would include:

· Operators must follow the video surveillance and security standards for cashier’s cages.

· Operators must maintain a minimum cash reserve that is adequate to cover the outstanding sports pool.

· Operators must obtain a pre-launch and annual system integrity and security assessment by a licensed, independent professional.

· Operators must follow a policy of investigating and responding to patron complaints within ten calendar days.

· Operators may only accept wagers from patrons located in the state of West Virginia while placing the wager.

· Operators must provide the Lottery Commission with direct access to all sports betting systems.

The Committee approved the bundle, and was reported to the Senate to be voted upon.

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Bill on Third Reading Rejected in the House of Delegates

House Floor Session

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January 25, 2019

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The House of Delegates convened at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan 25, in the House Chamber to consider a number of bills for passage.

Six bills were on the agenda for third reading on this day. Among these bills was House Bill 2005, the Broadband Expansion Act. This bill would attempt to expand internet access for rural areas within the state that currently do not have the technical capabilities for internet. This bill, generally, would specify the regulatory authority for the juxtaposition and cooperation of small wireless facilities, in order to better increase access.

House Bill 2005 was postponed until Monday’s House meeting.

House Bill 2009 is an education bill that would create a specialized program underneath the Innovation and Education Grant Program that would recognize state schools that meet or exceed certain benchmarks as “mastery” schools. This would thereby increase a school’s merit. House Bill 2009 passed through the House unanimously, and will be advanced to the Senate for further consideration.

House Bill 2435 is a bill that would allow the State Attorney General to investigate violations of criminal law, such as state embezzlement cases, as recommended by the Committee on Special Investigations.

This bill was drafted to address the specific and limited issue of a county prosecutor not prosecuting a case due to a conflict of interest, and then several other state prosecutors choosing to not pursue the case as well.

Delegate John Shott (R-Mercer), argued that the situations in which this bill would take effect would be rare, considering most of the time the county can solve these situations at the local level.

“This bill would solve for the few, frustrating times that this situation happens, where nobody is willing to prosecute a public official. This ensures a safety net,” Shott said.

Despite the argument for the bill’s rare use if implemented, House Bill 2435 got bipartisan opposition.

Delegate Pat McGeehan (R-Hancock), argued strongly against the bill.

“This bill concerns me because it greatly centralizes power in Charleston,” said McGeehan. “We should be greatly wary when it comes to centralization.”

McGeehan continued, “We’re giving the Office of the Attorney General, a political office, the power to prosecute potentially high profile cases. Politicians have a tendency to not act morally, but to act on account of their public image.”

Delegate Shawn Fluharty (D-Ohio) was also strongly opposed to the bill along with many House Democrats.

“This bill calls for more layers of government than what is required for murder trials,” said Fluharty.

Due to the strong opposition, House Bill 2435 failed on its third reading.

House Bill 2446 is a bill that would establish a Blue Alert Plan which would aid in locating a law-enforcement officer who has disappeared in the line of duty or locating dangerous suspects. This bill also passed unanimously.

House Bill 2509 was another bill that generated controversy in the House on this day.

This bill would clarify that the theft of a controlled substance would be a felony in the state, as the current statute doesn’t specify that individuals stealing a controlled substance could be charged with a felony.

Delegate Mike Pushkin (D-Kanawha) had concerns about who the bill would target. He argued that the bill would go after individuals who are drug addicts and need help, or people who would get a felony for stealing a small amount of a controlled substance.

“We are putting this clause into a code that is meant to go after big fish,” said Pushkin. “If this bill passes, it’ll go after small fish. Prisons are reserved for people we are afraid of, not people we’re mad at.”

House Bill 2509 passed by a close margin.

House Bill 2527 would specify that the prison time for lottery forgery crimes must be one to five years. This bill was also passed by the House.

Bills on first and second reading were all advanced to their appropriate committees.

The House was adjourned until 11am Monday, January 28, 2019.

Committees Meeting Today:

House Judiciary will meet at 1 p.m. today, Jan 25, in 410-M.

Committees Meeting Before Floor Session Monday:

House Judiciary will meet at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan 28, in 410-M.

Senate Passes Bill to Protect Consumers from Automatic Purchase Renewal

Senate Floor Session

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January 25, 2019

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The Senate met on Friday morning to discuss one bill on third reading.

Senate Bill 253 would end the practice of ongoing charging of consumer credit or debit cards or third-party payment accounts without the consumer’s express consent for ongoing shipments of a product or ongoing deliveries of services. The bill would require that businesses provide clear and conspicuous disclosures relating to automatic renewal offers or continuous service offers.

A few senators expressed concerns that the bill could hurt small businesses in the state. They continued by saying the bill could cause major lawsuits to smaller businesses.

The bill passed 27 to 3 and was reported to the House.

Senate Bills 426 to 439 were introduced.

The Senate is adjourned until Monday at 11 a.m.

The following Committee will meet today:

Education at 1 p.m. in 451M

The following Committee will meet on Monday:

Judiciary at 9:30am in 208W

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House Legislation Jan. 21-25

Tyler Hilbert

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January 25, 2019

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As of 4 p.m. on Friday, January 25, 2019, there have been 677 bills introduced in the House of Delegates. Of those bills, twenty-four have been passed by the House and have been advanced to the Senate for further consideration. Noteworthy Bills that passed the House This Week:

House Bill 2190 would modify bail requirements. This would allow for the release of people with certain misdemeanors, providing that they appear in court on their allotted date. This bill also passed the House last session.

House Bill 2311 would stop requiring full year reportage of short term merchant licensees. Currently, statute requires that those who receive a short term license for selling goods temporarily within the state have to report those taxes throughout the entire year. This bill would only require them to report those expenses until the fees are paid off.

House Bill 2362 would place language that allows counties to adopt a policy which allows any qualified voter to vote by emergency absentee ballot who is confined to a specific location within the county on or after the seventh day preceding an election and prevented from travelling to a polling place and voting in person because of; illness, injury, physical disability or immobility to extreme advanced age.

House Bill 2193 would revert savings bonds that have been completely unclaimed for five or more years back into the hands of the state. This bill is an attempt to provide a purpose for the thousands of unclaimed savings bonds currently in the possession of the state.

House Bill 2095 would take measures to further assess a public West Virginian K-12 student’s college readiness in 11th and 12th grade. This would allow a progress report to be administered to 12th graders to assess their readiness, but eliminates the requirement that a student placed in transitional education programs as a high school senior must re-take a college readiness assessment if the student has already taken the examination or assessment in their 11th grade year.

House Bill 2423 would prevent certain convicted sex offenders from taking on a supervisory position in an organization largely involving children. State organizations such as 4-H camps, religious organizations, and many other extracurricular or curricular programs would no longer be permitted to staff those convicted of certain sex crimes if this bill passes.

House Bill 2009 is an education bill that would create a specialized program underneath the Innovation and Education Grant Program that would recognize state schools that meet or exceed certain benchmarks as “mastery” schools. This would thereby increase a school’s merit.

House Bill 2446 is a bill that would establish a Blue Alert Plan which would aid in locating a law-enforcement officer who has disappeared in the line of duty or locating dangerous suspects.

House Bill 2527 would specify that the prison time for lottery forgery crimes must be one to five years.

Bills to be considered in the House

House Bill 2005 is known as the Broadband Expansion Act. This bill would attempt to expand internet access for rural areas within the state that currently do not have the technical capabilities for internet. This bill, generally, would specify the regulatory authority for the juxtaposition and cooperation of small wireless facilities, in order to better increase access.

House Bill 2532 is a bill that would allow West Virginia citizens to make $3, $5, or $10 donations to the West Virginia 4-H Foundation, the West Virginia Farm Bureau Foundation, and/or the West Virginia Future Farmers of America Educational Foundation when they renew their driver’s licenses.

House Bill 2195 would create a sentencing commission within the state of West Virginia. This bill would legislate the creation of an executive subcommittee under the West Virginia governor’s committee on crime, delinquency, and correction that would research, collect, and provide oversight regarding sentencing practices in the state. Multiple state agency executives would serve on this board.

House Bill 2423 would prohibit sex offenders from being in a supervisory position over children within the state. This would limit individuals on the sex offender registry from taking any administrative or supervision-based role in activities and organizations for kids such as religious organizations, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4 H clubs, sporting and scholastic teams, and various camp organizations.

House Bill 2070 would allow people in the state of West Virginia to operate a motorcycle without a helmet providing that they’ve held a motorcycle license for at least two years and are 21 or older.

House Bill 2008 aims to amend the process in which the nonpartisan elections of WV Supreme Court of Appeals Justices are carried out. This bill would provide that if any candidate were to not receive the majority of votes in an election, a run-off election would be conducted within the next 30 days.

House Bill 2011 would create a program in the state known as the Road Maintenance Program that would allow for a program in every district of the state to contract out with private contractors in order to perform road maintenance within that district. The WV Division of Highways and Legislative Auditor would oversee the efficacy of this bill if it were to pass.

House Bill 2012 aims to increase transparency efforts when it comes to road work conducted within the state. This bill would mandate the creation of a free website that the West Virginia public could access in order to get information on road work being conducted in their areas, and how much those projects cost. This bill requires the State Auditor to develop and maintain this website.

House Bill 2565 would require oil and gas producers and/or those entities severing oil and gas from West Virginia land to pay a user fee for the use of secondary roads. A pro-rated amount of those fees would be redistributed to the counties whose secondary roads are being used.

House Bill 2540 relates to prohibiting the waste of game animals, game birds, or game fish. This bill would make it unlawful for any person to cause through carelessness, neglect, or otherwise to let any edible portion of any big game or game fish to go to waste needlessly. This would also make it unlawful for any person to take any big game and only take the head, hide, antlers, tusks, paws, claws, gallbladder, teeth, beards, or spurs and leave the rest of the carcass to waste. Any person in violation of this law would be guilty of a misdemeanor and a fine of not less than $500 or more than $2,500, or confinement in jail not less than 10 days or more than 100 days. And a suspension of hunting and fishing license for five years.

House Bill 2360 The purpose of this bill is to place the Athletic Commission, after June 30, 2019, entirely under the control of the Lottery Commission. Currently, the Athletic Commission is located on the premises of the Lottery Commission, and Lottery provides the Commission with necessary administrative support and management.

House Bill 2547 is related to election prohibition zones. This bill has an amendment that would change the election prohibition zone from 300 feet to 100 feet.

House Bill 2600 amends state code relating to publication of sample ballots. Currently, counties do not interpret the current statures in place so there is no uniform understanding. This bill would help clarify this for the counties.

House Bill 2602 describes the inclusion possession of known stolen property in the offense of receiving or transferring stolen property. This would add the language “possession” and would allow the same charges for theft to be applied to those who own property and know it is stolen.

House Bill 2407 was first on the agenda, a bill to modernize the Nursing Practice Act. This bill would require that registered professional nurses in the state cannot practice without a license. Additionally, the bill also renames the board that oversees registered nurses, details the requirements for the composition of that board, and establishes permit and license requirements.

House Bill 2492 was also advanced to the House Floor without much discussion. This bill would revise the communication mechanism in which abuse and neglect cases could be reported within the state. It would allow the WV Department of Health and Human Resources to explore other methods of reportage that victims could access, such as an electronic portal.

House Bill 2524 would permit a West Virginia license pharmacist to move prescriptions for maintenance drugs that are for thirty days to be 60 or 90-day prescriptions when needed. In order for a pharmacist to do this, a list of criteria must be met for both the patient and the drug being administered. This would mostly apply to medications such as birth control, which are taken by a patient over a long term period.

House Bill 2525 would permit licensed pharmacists to administer tobacco cessation therapy drugs to people over the age of 18 in the state of West Virginia without having to have a prescription. This bill was voted to advance to the House Floor with recommendation that it should pass.

House Bill 2531 would permit advanced nurse practitioners with a specialization in psychology to perform assisted therapy with the proper training. This would allow for more staffing opportunities for struggling state mental health facilities, which struggle to employ mental health experts. This bill was advanced to the floor with the recommendation that it should pass.

House Bill 2530 would create a voluntary certification for state recovery residencies, if they choose to become a part of the certification process. The DHHR would have discretion over how they facilitate accreditation, and how they evaluate the practice of the certified residencies. The bill has no force of law, and is completely voluntary.

Senate Legislation Jan. 21-25

Joelle Gates

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January 25, 2019

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As of 4 p.m. Friday, January 25, 2019, the 17th day of the first regular session of the 84th Legislature, 439 bills have been introduced to the senate. Of those bills, 22 have passed and have been sent on to the House for further consideration.

SB 1: This bill would require the establishment of Advanced Career Education (ACE) programs and creates the WV Invests Grant Program, both of which are for the purpose of increasing access to career education and workforce training.

SB 3: The bill would establish the WV Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act. The bill would establish a process for wireless providers to access public rights-of-way:

Cities may implement design guidance to compensate for historical areas and deal with problems such as unsightliness.
These guidelines may not be discriminatory and must be reasonable.
Sets right-of-way access annual rent per pole at $25.00
Establishes a permitting process to be implemented by a municipality;
Establishes attachment procedures for utility poles;
Sets the annual rent at $30.00 per;
Establishes application fees of $200 each for the first 5 poles, then $100 each thereafter;
Every five years the fee may be adjusted upwards by 10% rounded to the nearest 5 dollars.

SB 17: Current law requires that persons convicted of certain listed sexual offenses must undergo “physical, mental and psychiatric” examinations to be eligible for consideration for probation. This bill would allow a psychological exam in lieu of a psychiatric exam.

SB 18: This bill would remove the requirement that a person must have a valid concealed handgun license to lawfully keep a firearm in their vehicle on the Capitol grounds. The Committee Substitute states that a person who may otherwise lawfully possess a firearm may keep a firearm in his or her vehicle if locked and out of view.

SB 61: This bill would add to the current listed offenses for which interception of communications (commonly referred to as “wiretapping”) may be authorized by a Court. The offenses being added would be first and second degree murder, first degree robbery, treason and participation in an organized criminal enterprise.

SB 62: The bill would require participation in drug court program before discharge of certain first-time drug offenses. People charged with simple possession of an opioid or opiate controlled substances would be required to undergo evaluation for enrollment in a drug court program or drug treatment program. If one successfully completes the drug court or drug treatment, the charges could be expunged.

SB 152: The bill would authorize the judicial expungement of certain misdemeanors and non-violent felonies from a person’s criminal record. The bill would allow a person to petition for expungement for the allowable misdemeanors one year after completion of incarceration or any period of supervision, whichever is later. A petition to expunge a felony may be filed three years after incarceration or the end of supervision, whichever is later.

>SB 191: This statute would authorize the Commissioner of Agriculture to modify §61 CSR 1 et seq. relating animal disease control. This rule would add new definitions to “feral swine” and “immediate slaughter.” It would also add a rule prohibiting the transportation of feral swine.

SB 223: The bill includes eight bills relating to Bureau of Commerce The proposed bills include:

SB 240: The bill would repeal certain legislative codes that are obsolete or are no longer authorized. The codes that would be repealed would have no impact to citizens of the state.

SB 253: The bill would end the practice of ongoing charging of consumer credit or debit cards or third-party payment accounts without the consumer’s express consent for ongoing shipments of a product or ongoing deliveries of services. The bill would require that businesses provide clear and conspicuous disclosures relating to automatic renewal offers or continuous service offers.

SB 255: This bill would reconstitute the Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council to include three more members, which include “three persons from the general public who are voting members.” The bill would also re-format some provisions and clarifies the appointment of other members.

This bill passed last session but was vetoed by the Governor.

SB354: This is a supplemental appropriation requested by the State Auditor’s Office. The supplemental would expire $1.5 million dollars from the Auditor’s Offices’ Securities Regulation fund and appropriate them to the Auditor’s Office Chief Inspector’s Fund.

Lawmakers Eye Foster Care Improvements

Hannah Graham

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January 25, 2019

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Foster Care Bill Generates Buzz in West Virginia

A House bill that would bring significant changes to West Virginia’s foster care system is generating conversation within the walls of the state Capitol this week.

House Bill 2010 would move care of foster children from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to the hands of a managed care organization. The managed care organization would be responsible for facilitating care programs for foster children and would be responsible for the behavioral, dental, and general healthcare for these children.

The bill also aims to put foster children who need to be placed in residential care facilities in facilities within the state, providing the state can adequately provide care.

The DHHR would have until the beginning of 2020 to contract this jurisdiction out to a managed care organization, a contract that the state agency is already working on outside of the legislation and proposing for public comment.

Those who support the bill say the change will help revitalize a struggling state foster care system. However, opponents are wary about relinquishing the responsibility of healthcare to a private entity.

The House Committee on Health and Human Resources held a public hearing at 9 a.m. on Tuesday to hear the myriad concerned and supporting voices.

A primary argument against the bill is that House Bill 2010 would add unneeded bureaucracy to an already difficult process of getting treatment for a foster child.

Carey Jo Grace, representing West Virginia’s Our Children Our Future, argued against adding another agency to the already difficult life of a foster child in the state.

“These children need love and support, not more red tape,” Grace said.

Those who support the measure argued for the ability of managed care organizations to bring comprehensive and specialized care to foster children, who oftentimes go without. Jill Rice, representing UniCare, supported the bill.

“The use of these MCOs provides a single point of accountability for families,” Rice said. “Managed care organizations have the expertise, experience, and organization to maximize comprehensive care. We’ve been a part of this effort to get foster children care in the state since 1996, and we’re well-equipped to handle this.”

The urgency to address foster care is one that the state of West Virginia feels has been a long time coming.

With an opioid epidemic that seems to have sunk its teeth into every corner of the state, foster children seem to be largely forgotten victims. The DHHR reports almost 7,000 West Virginian children are currently in the foster care system with many having no permanent place to call home.

In his budget presentation earlier this week, DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch told the Senate Finance Committee about 154,000 West Virginians are affected by substance use disorder, a major contributor to the amount of children in state care.

Despite the number of foster children increasing by about 3,000 in the past five years, the DHHR has significant staff shortages. Of the DHHR’s 1,200 vacant positions, 213 are in child welfare.

For these reasons, the DHHR has taken the stance that it could benefit from subcontracting a managed care organization.

“We need to have a managed care system for our foster care children,” Crouch said. “We’ve been working on that for some months. We are excited about making that change.”

DHHR Deputy Secretary Jeremiah Samples told the House Health and Human Resources Committee earlier this week the DHHR would continue to have a substantial say in the foster care system, and would work in tandem with the subcontracted managed care organization to ensure quality care for these foster kids.

The DHHR, under this bill, would choose the managed care organization, and place performance parameters by which to evaluate the organization. Additionally, the draft legislation contains a sunset provision, which would require the program to be renewed by the DHHR secretary in 2024.

The House Health and Human Resources Committee advanced the bill with amendments. One amendment proposed by Delegates Barbara Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, and Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, established an independent third party, an ombudsman, to investigate complaints and hear issues that foster parents may have with the managed care organization, with the goal of maintaining accountability.

As of this writing, House Bill 2010 has been passed through House Judiciary Committee with amendments. It is expected to go to the House Floor for passage next week.

Delegate Joe Ellington, R- Mercer, one of the sponsors, is among the lawmakers fighting for its passage. He argues although the bill isn’t a silver bullet, it’s an important step forward in revising the state’s foster care system.

“We’re trying to improve the care for these kids, it’s something that we will evaluate, there are controls in that. And obviously one size doesn’t fit all, but we are trying to move on this.” Ellington said.

There are 41 states that facilitate care for foster children using some sort of managed care organization model, and Ellington argues the proposal is what the state needs to revitalize the disjointed system.

“These states found that over time, they are better able to provide better care and keep better medical records and make sure that we’re not duplicating services, and make sure that we’re not placing children without knowing what their needs are.” Ellington said.

However, lawmakers including Delegate Cody Thompson, D- Randolph, have many concerns about the bill.

“This is privatization. We’re not trying to privatize worker’s compensation or anything like that, these are our children,” Thompson said.

Thompson addressed what he would like to see done with the state’s foster care system.

“The DHHR is severely underfunded and has been. They always talk about how the DHHR can’t find employees and how they’re struggling to keep up with their work, but if we funded it with this money instead of trying to privatizing it those problems would be alleviated,” Thompson said. “People don’t want to work there because the pay is low and the work is stressful. You’ve exacerbated their resources, and you continue to cut their funding, so of course it’s suffering.”

Despite differing opinions, many agree that the situation is urgent for WV foster children.

“At the end of the day these services aren’t currently being provided,” Delegate Ellington said. “I’d like to see this bill pass to begin to provide these services adequately, but if not, something has to be done. Something has to be done for the kids.”