Sunday, October 12, 2025
Sunday, October 12, 2025
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House Finance Advances Five Bills in Afternoon Meeting

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The Finance Committee met this afternoon to consider five bills.

House Bill 215 allocates $2.8 million of surplus to the Department of Environmental Protection for grant match on the Minden Superfund Site Clean Up and litigation.

House Bill 211 allocates $100 million of surplus to the Federal Funds/Grant Matching for future match needs.

House Bill 214 allocates $2 million of surplus to the Office of the Inspect General, Department of Health for various unfunded statute requirements. The $2 million will be used to help move the Human Rights Commission to a more accessible location, purchase additional vehicles, as the current fleet is in bad shape, and other mandates.

House Bill 219 allocates $1.05 million to the Public Defenders Services for the Public Defenders Corporation which was not funded in the budget. The PDS personnel has no line item in the budget as they are not state employees, they perform a state service but are paid through the corporation. This will increase the base budget in future years.

House Bill 224 provides the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation spending authority for $1.7 million for jail maintenance. Currently, there is not a line item in the budget for regional jail maintenance.

The Committee will be meeting at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 6.

House Convenes for Second Special Session

Today, the House of Delegates convened for the Second Extraordinary Session of 2024.

To read, the Governor’s Proclamation, click here.

The House suspended the rules and passed eight bills. Additionally, the House adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 1.

House Bill 201 appropriates $10 million of surplus to the State Board of Education for the Communities in Schools.

House Bill 202 increases the spending authority of the Division of Highways for fiscal year 2025 by $150 million. These funds were already appropriated, and now the division can spend it.

House Bill 203 appropriates $1.2 million of surplus to the Department of Veterans’ Assistance for capital outlay, repairs, and equipment at the Barboursville Veterans’ Home.

House Bill 204 appropriates $375 thousand of surplus to the WV State Police for capital outlay, repairs, and equipment.

House Bill 205 appropriates $15.6 million of surplus to the National Guard.

House Bill 206 appropriates $2 million of surplus to WVU for the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.

House Bill 207 appropriates $379.4 thousand of surplus to the Department of Education for pay increases to teachers at the School of the Deaf and Blind, as they were missed in the budget bill for pay increases.

House Bill 208 sets the framework for the state to become an agreement state with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The bill keeps the Department of Health as the State Radioactive Control Agency and allows for certain low-level materials to be controlled by the state instead of the federal government. This does not apply to high-level materials. West Virginia is one of 11 states that are not an agreement state.

The remaining introduced bills were read the first time and referred to a committee.

The House is adjourned until 6 p.m. on October 6th, 2024.

Committee Meetings, Today
The Education Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. in Room 434.
The Finance Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 460.

Committee Meetings, Sunday, Oct. 6
The Education Committee will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 434 if today’s agenda is not completed.
The Finance Committee will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 460.

Committee Meetings, Monday, Oct. 7
The Finance Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 460.

Interim Report: Joint Committee on Finance

The Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Finance met Monday morning at the Donald F. Black Courthouse Annex for the second day of September legislative interim meetings in Parkersburg.

The focal point of the meeting was continued (from August interims two weeks ago) questioning of West Virginia Department of Human Services officials regarding where state and federal funding for child care subsidies comes from, as well as the seeming lack of progress in attempting to combat the state’s substance use disorder crisis.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tarr (R-Putnam) asked Cynthia Persily, the cabinet secretary for the Department of Human Services, exactly how the state funds the Child Care Assistance program through the Bureau for Family Assistance. The program provides financial assistance to working parents or parents attending public colleges to subsidize the cost of family-based child care or licensed center-based child care for families that meet income requirements.

Persily explained that the Child Care Assistance program receives its funding though the child care development fund made up of state dollars and a line of child care maintenance from federal funding. The program is also receiving funding through two federal funding block grants and TANF surplus dollars according to Persily.

Persily informed members that the Child Care Assistance Program receives just over $124 annually, with over $116 million coming from federal dollars and $7.9 million in state funding.

Delegate Matthew Rohrbach (R-Cabell) asked Persily about state funding to combat the substance use disorder crisis in West Virginia, and the state’s apparent lack of return on investment.

Two weeks ago, the Joint Standing Committee on Health received a bleak report from Jeremiah Samples, a senior adviser to the Legislature, regarding West Virginia’s drug use statistics and policies.

Citing statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Samples informed members that overdose deaths in West Virginia between 2017 and 2022 increased by more than 55 percent, overdose deaths between 2010 and 2022 increased by 135 percent, and overdose deaths between 1999 and 2022 increased by 1,690 percent.

Rohrbach mentioned Monday that state spending on the West Virginia substance use disorder waiver — which helps pay for prevention and treatment services — was $13 million in fiscal year 2019, growing to $160 million in fiscal year 2024. He wondered how state spending could increases by more than ten times in five years as overdose deaths continue to skyrocket?

Persily said that looking at substance use disorder treatment with only overdoses as a measurement of success fails to produce a true reflection of the good work that is being done. She said other measures to consider include seven-day and 30-day follow-ups with those who complete rehabilitation and connecting individuals with housing and employment.

“We are not just looking at overdoses as the end result of SUD treatment, because quite frankly people who are in treatment are less likely to have overdoses than people who are not in treatment,” Persily said.

She also reminded lawmakers of a law they passed earlier this year, requiring automatic enrollment of the substance use disorder population into managed care programs. The bill requires DoHS to develop performance-based outcome measures for state-funded substance use disorder programs.

Persily said the DohS proposed those measures and she believes those managed care programs are indicators of success nationally in the fight against substance use disorder.

Interim Report: Joint Judiciary Committee

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The Legislature is in Parkersburg for interims this week. Today, the Judiciary Committee heard about cemetery law.

There are regulations on company cemeteries. However, many cemeteries in West Virginia are privately owned by families and churches. Privately owned cemeteries are exempt from regulations, although many try to abide by the regulations laid out for company cemeteries. Cemetery abandonment, neglect, and damages can arise when there is insufficient funding, staffing, or volunteers to upkeep the cemeteries.

West Virginia has code on cemeteries, but it is a bit scattered and focuses on criminal damage rather than abandonment, neglect, or weather damage.

Ohio code covers abandoned cemeteries by stating that a trustee can turn over the cemetery to a municipality or county by stating that they cannot maintain it. In Kentucky, the Attorney General’s Office handles cemeteries. Pennsylvania allows for 25 citizens in a five-mile radius to petition the township if a cemetery is in disarray. In Maryland, there is a regulatory board for cemeteries and the county/municipality can appropriate or raise funds for cemeteries. Virginia can take over cemeteries with eminent domain if they aren’t being cared for.

If someone in West Virginia needs help with a cemetery that is neglected, damaged, or abandoned, they can contact state or local government, contact the insurance company for the cemetery, reach out to volunteer groups, apply for grants, if a natural disaster – contact FEMA or contact other buyers to purchase the cemetery.

Interim Report: Workforce Development and Labor Issues

Scott Adkins, West Virginia’s unemployment secretary, told members of the Legislative Oversight Committee on Workplace Development Tuesday that for every unemployed person in West Virginia there are about one and a half jobs available.

The number of unemployed state residents stands at 33,100 according to the most recent figures. There are currently around 48,000 job openings in the state.

West Virginia’s unemployment trust fund balance currently sits at more than $420 million, a figure Adkins described as “pretty healthy.”

While describing job market figures as relatively stable, Adkins gave the example of West Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, usually about 4.1 to 4.3 percent and currently standing at 4.2 percent for the most recent month, July 2024. The unemployment rate is  the percentage of people in the labor force who are unemployed. An unemployed person is defined as working age, available for work and be taking steps to find a job.

According to Adkins, as of August 23, Workforce West Virginia showed 10,772 West Virginians receiving unemployment benefits.

Adkins said the state currently has nearly 19,000 people determined to be eligible for unemployment and receiving their first week of benefits, a figure that is up 15 percent compared to a year ago.

The average duration of unemployment across all sectors went from 12.9 weeks in the second quarter of 2023 to 13.4 weeks through June 30, 2024. Adkins said 12-14 weeks duration is fairly typical.

West Virginia’s workforce participation rate, long a sore spot in the state’s economic outlook, currently stands at 55.1 percent according to Adkins. The workforce participation rate includes both people who are employed and those who are looking for work. The figure is calculated by dividing the labor force by total adult population. The national workforce participation rate is 62.7 percent.

Interim Report: Joint Standing Committee on Finance

Members of the Joint Standing Committee on Finance heard from Division of Human Services Cabinet Secretary Cynthia Persily on Monday morning, the second day of August interim meetings.

During  April interim meetings the DoHS told lawmakers the department would need $2.3 million per month, or about $23 million, to fund the Child Care Assistance program at the current rate beginning in September for the remaining 10 months of the current fiscal year. The additional funds were needed to abide by new federal rules that take effect in September requiring states to fund child care providers based on enrollment at individual facilities instead of attendance.

Persily informed lawmakers that funding for the program was coming from surplus dollars in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. While the program is currently projected to have adequate funding through the end of the year, Persily said it is hard to predict when that funding will run out.

Lawmakers questioned Persily as to why DoHS is not using funds set aside for the department in the May special session. The Legislature passed a bill in May restoring more than $5 million to the Department of Health and more than $183 million to DoHS. The bill allows the secretaries of the departments to transfer money out of these new reserve funds to provide money for other line items. Persily said they had no plans to touch that funding until the fourth quarter – April, May, and June – of the current fiscal year.

In other news in the meeting, with Republican lawmakers consistently expressing support for phasing out the personal income tax over time, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tarr, (R-Putnam), asked Department of Revenue Deputy Secretary Mark Muchow about the state’s six-year revenue and expenditure forecast and whether revenue officials were factoring in future costs that could affect tax revenues in out-years.

Muchow said that the recent trend in record-breaking end of year tax revenue surpluses are likely coming to an end for the time being.

“It’s unusual to have huge revenue surpluses like we’ve had here in recent years,” Muchow said. “There’s a lot of factors that generated those huge revenue surpluses, including trying to keep the budget pretty flat. Over the long run, our revenues are going to be more in line with spending, and you’re not going to see every year a $400 million or $500 million surplus.”

Tarr and other lawmakers have been frustrated about being blindsided by the governor’s request for the additional 5 percent personal income tax cut, with legislative leaders not consulted.

“If there’s further discussion that’s had about accelerating a tax cut beyond the economic growth of the State of West Virginia with our projected expenses in mind, could you bring that explanation or have somebody from the Governor’s Office bring that explanation to this committee at some time before session,” Tarr asked.

Interim Report: Committee on Insurance and PEIA

The Committee on Insurance and PEIA met this afternoon to discuss the rollout of the updated prior authorization law in West Virginia. The goal of the updated law is to promote and require electronic prior authorizations (EPAs) among healthcare providers and insurers. EPAs reduce administrative burden and allow for the bundling of services and treatments for each episode of care. An episode of care requires one prior authorization to treat a specific ailment, even if the treatment drugs, procedures, services, etc. All must be submitted on the patient’s EPA. This enhances timely patient care.

In 2019, House Bill 2351 was passed to require insurers to accept EPAs as of July 1, 2020. The bill required forms to be available online with an electronic portal for EPAs to be submitted and for it to be accessible on the insurance provider’s website. If providers change, EPAs are required to be carried over for 3 months. EPAs must include a comprehensive list of treatments. Insurers must inform patients if step therapy protocols are in place for specific treatments. Insurers must confirm receipt of EOA and review and respond promptly.

In 2023, Senate Bill 267 mandated the EPA usage of all healthcare providers. The bill continued the requirement of episode of care and the 3-month carryover. The bill also required the portal address to be provided on insurance cards. The bill added the reporting requirement to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner and the Inspector General of the DHHR. The bill also added civil penalties for violating prior authorization law.

A Gold Card provider is exempt from prior authorization requirements. The exemption may be awarded to providers based on their prior authorization track record. On average, they must provide 20 procedures a year and in 6 months have a 90 percent final prior approval rating. If requirements are met, providers may not have to submit prior authorizations for 6 months.

The timeframe requirements are that the insurer must respond in 5 business days for non-life threatening or routine medical care. For life-threatening or nonroutine medical care, insurers must respond in 2 business days. If the EPA is incomplete, insurers must return the EPA to the provider within 2 days for the provider to update and resubmit.

Data reporting is quarterly and includes the number of EPAs requested by providers, total denied, total appealed, total approved after appeal, providers with gold card status, and providers who’ve had goal card status revoked.

Interim Report: VFD and Emergency Medical Services

Colleen Hilton, founder and  & CEO of Alli Connect, gave a presentation to the committee regarding the company’s app that can provide digital mental heath services to first responders.

Hilton told the committee that first responders are notoriously hesitant to seek mental help because of trust and privacy reasons and because they have traditionally thought they should be immune to such issues.

She also explained that most mental health programs are reactive, in that if a first responder is seeking help — and usually by that time they’ve got a major problem — the first responder has to find it on their own.

That process doesn’t provide data insights and doesn’t make customized recommendations for an individual first responder based on their specific needs.

Hilton told members that she hopes Alli Connect’s app can change that by treating first responders quickly, before a mental health crisis occurs, while protecting user privacy.

Hilton explained that this AI-powered wellness solution helps to match a first responder with a counselor based on needs and specialization. The platform is both mobile and web-based.

Alli Connect began serving emergency response agencies in Washington state and has recently expanded into Texas, Illinois and Alabama.

Hilton, a licensed therapist for over 20 years, explained the technology.

“It not only takes a proactive approach for the individual, but also streamlines the process of getting them to the correct care in a timely manner, and really leaning on tech and AI, machine learning to do that, so we really have a scalable, accurate solution,” Hilton said.

The key to the Alli Connect service is early detection, and one of the barriers to early detection is confidentiality and privacy.

“So we know through our tech that everything is private,” Hilton said. “We provide them with the tools where they can do their own self-assessment and understand wellness and resilience from a baseline and track that over time so we’re not waiting for a crisis to happen.”

Lawmakers expressed optimism about this technology and were hopeful that West Virginia could utilize it in the future. According to data provided, the state has lost first responders by suicide in each of the last five years.

Interim Report: Joint Committee on Education

The Joint Committee on Education met this afternoon. First, the committee received an update on the implementation of House Bill 3035 and House Bill 5405.

HB 5405 provides for the professional development of educators. According to the Superintendent, the Department of Education is planning to use the $14 million over several years. The funds will be used to provide additional math specialists ($3.5 million) and provide K-3 teachers and administrators with development in the science of reading ($5.4 million). The remaining $5.1 will be used to help support less certified teachers to become fully certified and provide professional development for other teachers.

The bill also provided $1 million for county grants. The department will be awarding up to 20 $25,000 grants to counties in January or February 2025. Counties will also have the option to receive an additional $25,000 in year two. An additional grant period may be scheduled if all funds aren’t awarded in round one.

House Bill 3035 is the Third Grade Success Act. The goal is to have 80 percent fidelity in the next three years. This year, over 1,700 teachers attended the Summer INVEST Conference in Morgantown and Charleston. Funding for the act is coming from the Early Literacy Fund ($5.7 million) and the Mathematics Fund ($886,000). The Department will work with schools to set goals, provide action steps, and continue data collection.

To impact student achievement, schools must address basic needs, attendance, discipline, and mental health. To address these, the department is using resources that already exist. In an initiative called STRIVE WV, the department is pointing students and educators to resources that already exist in the state for student well-being and school success. STRIVE WV = Strengthen Behavior responses, Targeted assistance, Regular assistance, Increased achievement, Valid data practices, and Empower support teams.

Finally, the committee heard from HBCU Bound Athletics about attracting student-athletes to WV’s historically black colleges and universities. The non-profit organization helps lower-income high school students with recruiting to colleges to bring more student-athletes to WV with a focus on HBCUs. The goal is to show students what resources are available to them for college and educate them on what scholarships are available and what they need to attend college as an athlete.

Interim Report: LOCEA

The Legislative Oversight Commission on Education met this afternoon.

The Commission received an update on the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The Chancellor stated that 43,540 students received the Higher Education Grant or Promise for the 2024-2025 academic year. With new funding the Higher Education Grant was able to be double the award to $6,800 and a College Access Grant of $2,000 was able to be provided to students who needed additional help. Due to last year’s delay and issues with the new FAFSA guidelines, paper applications were filled out and are still being processed. With the new FAFSA process, institutions will not be able to do bulk corrections this year, which is placing an administrative burden on the institutions. The Higher Education Policy Commission did receive a grant to fund a marketing campaign. The HEPC intentionally did not put dates on the advertising material so that it could be used in future years.

The HEPC is concerned about 2025 FASFA. The US Department of Education has already pushed the FASFA application availability from October to December. The Commission is fearful of another delay.

The Legislature’s efforts in May were extremely helpful for students.

The Commission also heard about WVBE Policy 2423 – Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. The policy hadn’t been updated in nine years and the Board of Education felt it was time for an update. The Policy sets the standards for county policies relating to student health, prevention of disease, and educating students and school personnel on communicable diseases.

The School Discipline Report was provided to the Commission. Professional Training will be provided to principals in October regarding discipline, expectations of behaviors, and multi-tier support available. Over 80 percent of students in WV schools are behaving in a manner that does not require discipline. Of the children getting in trouble, several are receiving in-school suspension. Out-of-school suspension is only assigned if a student is a repeat offender or if the behavior is severe. The top three suspension reasons are possession of a controlled substance, threatening harm to others, and possession of a deadly weapon.
Commission members requested additional data and for comparisons to be made between previous years and now.

Finally, the Commission received the student transfer report.