West Virginia lawmakers discussed the state’s vaccine requirements and exemptions with medical experts during Tuesday’s meeting of the West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Committee on Children and Families.

West Virginia is currently one of five states that allows only medical exemptions — not religious or philosophical — for mandated school vaccines.

Shannon Kolman, senior policy specialist in the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Health Program, told lawmakers that vaccinations are required when a child is enrolled in a public school. In West Virginia, a parent or guardian is able to apply for a medical exemption through a physician.

State Epidemiologist Shannon McBee told members of the committee that the state Bureau of Public Health has received 198 requests for medical vaccine requirement exemptions over the past five years. The requests are sent by a child’s physician. McBee said about 75 percent of those exemptions have been approved.

McBee also noted that the state has not offered “reciprocity” to residents from other states who have gotten exemptions for vaccination mandates and then moved to West Virginia.

“West Virginia is considered to have an exemplary immunization model with no recorded outbreaks of measles,” McBee said. “The most common requests that are approved by the Bureau for Public Health are for children who have immunosuppressive medications or have a documented severe reaction to a vaccine or are the recipient of an organ transplant.”

Senator Rollan Roberts (R-Raleigh, 09) objected to the lack of reciprocity.

“So we are telling people from other states don’t come into West Virginia?” Roberts said.

Dr. Joseph Evans, former chief medical officer of Marshall Health and former chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Marshall University, told members that the World Health Organization has identified vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health.

Evans echoed McBee’s statements, pointing to the state’s strict vaccine laws when touting West Virginia’s high vaccination rate in school-age children, and for the lack of outbreaks in vaccine-preventable illnesses. He noted that the state has not had a measles case for instance, since 2009. He also mentioned that nationally, the school vaccination rate has declined among school children since COVID, but West Virginia’s has been higher.

“Thanks to our vaccine laws, our state is among the best and safest from vaccine-preventable illness,” Evans said. “We are a model for other states trying to decrease vaccine-preventable diseases. We need to keep our vaccine laws. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

Several lawmakers disagreed with that sentiment throughout the meeting, questioning the efficacy of the vaccine as well as advocating for freedom of choice with regard to every vaccine.

Committee Chairman Mark Hunt (R-Kanawha, 08) ended the meeting by announcing that this would not be the last discussion the Legislature has regarding the state’s vaccine laws.

State Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston assured lawmakers during interim meetings Tuesday at the Capitol that the Division of Highways is continuing to “plan their work and work their plan.”

Wriston touted his agency’s accomplishments while emphasizing that the catalyst for them is a return to to the agency’s core mission as a maintenance organization. He noted that there is a maintenance plan in every highway district in the state, plans are available to be viewed online, and the agency has hit its goals of near 100 percent completion in each district.

Wriston noted that his agency is always mindful of being responsive to the public because that is who they serve. To that end, he told the committee that mowing along secondary roads has become a top priority because it was the number one complaint in recent months. Beginning in 2024 the agency plans to purchase a large brush mower for each district and assign one person the duty of mowing nothing but secondary roads full-time.

Wriston mentioned that canopy trimming of overhanging trees has become a priority in recent years as trimming back trees goes hand in hand with making mowing and road maintenance easier.

The Joint Committee on Government and Finance met this afternoon and received an update on broadband in the state and an overview of general revenue.

Currently, there are five broadband projects under construction with two projects completed. Seven more projects will start construction by the end of the year. The total number of address passed is at 1,500. Currently, there are 1,300 targeted addresses, which have no broadband. With passing addresses included, the total number served is 2,000 addresses. You can view the ARPA Broadband project on the dashboard.

Revenue reported that at the end of the state’s first quarter, personal income tax revenue was equal to the number this time last year. This is impressive because of the income tax cut. Severance tax numbers are low because the price of production is low. Production numbers are up but the price is low. Severance tax revenue is down 73.4 percent from a year ago. Total revenues are down 7.1 percent, but considering the tax cut this percentage isn’t too low. October revenue is almost flat with the state being a couple of million under budget. The 2024 tax cut will be the property tax refunds. In 2025, the trigger formula will be put in place. The 2024 general revenue without severance tax will be compared to the 2019 general revenue without severance tax, adjusted for inflation to determine if there will be another tax cut. If there is growth in revenue, then there can be a cut of up to 10 percent. The department is in the process of constructing the Governor’s FY2025 budget and plans to have it ready by mid-December.

The Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Resources Accountability met this morning to hear presentations on fatality and mortality review team reports, death records, and the DHHR reorganization.

The fatality and mortality review team is on track to meet the deadline for reports. The medical examiner’s office does have several vacancies for full-time forensic analysts, which causes delays with autopsies performance and death certificate paperwork. Currently, there are 308 autopsy cases pending that are greater than a year old. Of the 308, 46 are unidentified, so 262 cases have families waiting for autopsy completion. It was stated that the facility isn’t adequate for the current number of cases. Currently, the office is staffed with several part-time employees which is the equivalent of six full-time employees. The office is funded for eight positions but would need at least 13 to be adequate.

The Database for Vital Events (DAVE) went active on January 1, 2022. The new system was an overwhelming success with 76 percent of all records being registered electronically. As of 2023, 100 percent of records are registered electronically with 80 being completed within 10 days. West Virginia is tied for fifth in the country with the lowest turnaround for registration. Currently, the average turnaround is 11 days.

The brief updates on the reorganization of the new DHHR departments including an update on the child welfare transformation. The Department of Human Services is working to prevent children from being involved in the child welfare system. To do this, many Bureaus within the department are proactively working together to provide home and community services, family assistance, school mental health programs, wraparound services, medical services, drug control outreach and education, family preservation, and reunification.

The department is working to recruit, hire, train, support, and retain its workforce. To do this, the department is working to reduce caseload size and organizational red tape, in addition to providing resources employees need and better compensation. The department is working with other partners to help its workforce.

Currently, there are 6,186 children in state custody; 58 percent are placed in kinship care within WV, 24 percent are in out-of-state kinship care, and 27 percent are in foster care. In 2021, 1,856 children were adopted with 2,454 waiting for adoption. In Fiscal Year 2023, 1,443 children were adopted with 1,156 still eligible for adoption.

The department is working to enhance children’s lives, support those caring for children, help care workers do their jobs efficiently and safely, help communities support families and children, and prevent abuse and neglect.

The department hopes to have a childcare summit in a couple of months.

The Joint Health Committee met this afternoon to hear several presentations including a review of the mental hygiene process and the State Health Plans.

The main issue in the mental hygiene process is that the probable cause stage takes too long. Most of the issues with finding probable cause come from outside the court including the delays in locating of individual, the evaluation, finding counsel, and locating a bed for the individual. Something that could help the courts would be the availability of mental hygiene commissioners (MHC).

A model concept was presented. The model would have seven mental hygiene regions grouped by CMHCs and Sharpe and Batemen counties. Each region would have one full-time commissioner per approx. 375 fillings. MHCs would be employed by and have oversight from the Supreme Court. Commissioners would work regular office hours and would rotate “on-call” duties to provide 24/7 services.

All hearings for mental competency would be conducted by video with possible connections at law enforcement offices, hospitals, jails, and CMHC. Regional MHC would handle all involuntary commitments.

This model would replace the current part-time system. A benefit to this model would allow full-time MHCs to focus exclusively on providing mental hygiene services and the flexibility for unplanned hearings. The current system has MHCs who maintain full-time legal practices so their ability to provide services is subject to their other responsibilities. Full-time commissioners would be able to devote time to be trained on mental health issues. With the Supreme Court providing oversight, the process would be consistent throughout the state. If the commissioners were given statewide jurisdictions, cross-county coverage could take place.

The cost for this model would be $2,161,000, which would be funded through the court’s budget. Currently, the court spends about $ 1,000,000 in fees. The increase would be about $1.2 million, however, if travel and equipment are included the total net cost would be $1.6 million.

It is recommended that a pilot program take place in one region before moving to a statewide launch.

Currently, West Virginia is ranked 47th in the country for health outcomes. The southern counties have worse outcomes than the northern counties. Health outcomes are driven by access to health care, the quality of care, tobacco use, drug and alcohol use, education, employment, income, family and social support, community safety, air and water quality, and housing and transportation access.

The economy and health outcomes are interdependent. Healthy workers are more productive and innovative. Having productive and innovative workers brings in business interest. Investing in health can “turbocharge” economic development.

It’s important to understand that no single entity can improve health outcomes alone. Health is multidisciplinary, meaning several agencies and organizations will have to work together to improve it.

Structural changes are in the works to improve outcomes. The State Health Assessment will be completed by December. State Health Improvement Plans will be developed to define policies to improve priorities. Through these plans, stakeholders will define a shared understanding of health values and measures of success. The development of a data system will allow the accurate tracking of outcomes. Funding can be scaled based on the successfulness of measures.

The Joint Committee on the Judiciary met this morning for a discussion on child welfare in the state.

It was noted that there have been issues of understaffing and under-trained new hires. Many issues have arisen from this including delayed response times, delayed referrals and no court reports files with the court. These issues lead to a reactive involvement instead of a proactive one.

A major issue in juvenile delinquency cases is the lack of in-state treatment facilities for more severe cases. All in-state providers are considered before moving to out-of-state providers. However, in-state treatment facilities are not equipped or capable of accepting the more violent children. This leads to children being sent to out-of-state facilities for treatment. Currently, the children in these cases are placed in department custody and have to sit with CPS workers at DHHR offices or stay in hotels with workers while waiting for out-of-state facilities as no facility is available in West Virginia. According to the Bureau, providers have expressed interest in coming to WV to provide specialized services for more severe cases.

As noted, the state has a significant issue with workforce recruitment and retention. In 2022, the vacancy rate was 30 percent. Initiatives have been put in place to improve upon these issues. If a CPS worker was employed before June 2022, they received a 15 percent pay increase and will receive increases at two and five years of service. If hired after June 2022, then a pay increase will happen every couple of years of employment with 10 percent happening in the second and fourth years of employment and five percent in the sixth and eighth years.

The starting salary for a CPS worker is between $33,000 and $50,000, depending on location and experience. Youth Service workers are also at the same pay scale. The way caseload is allocated changed from allocating on just average caseload to average caseload and population. New workers are needed across the state. This has been applied to youth service workers as well.

The timeline for new CPS workers is as follows:

• Registered for new training and completed onboarding at offices: 1-3 weeks
• Attends new worker pre-service training: 11-13 weeks
• Assigned graduate caseload of 2 or 3 cases, which increase each week until equal to peers: approx. 8 weeks

Before hiring, a prospective employee submits an application to DOP (this will change on January 1 as the Bureau will move to a new pay system which will allow the agency to hire on its own), DOP places applicants into a registry and then the hiring district requests the registry. Interviews take place and qualified applicants are given a hiring packet and start date.

After being hired, a new CPS worker will begin training rounds and complete onboarding at offices. Then, the new hire will complete pre-service training (240 hours) which can be online or in person. This training is a combination of classroom and field training, which includes interviewing and the casework process. After this training, the new hire must pass a competency test. Then, the new CPS worker will receive a graduated caseload of two or three cases which will increase each week until they reach a full caseload.

The Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability met on Sunday, October 15, 2023 to hear about a few policies, a report on the Research Challenge Fund, and an update on public charter schools.

The Committee approved four rule changes: WVCCTCE 135-06, 135-20, 135-32, and 135-49.

The annual report for the Research Challenge Fund was presented. The Research Challenge Fund is a grant of $1.3 million distributed over five years with three winners each five years. The grant supports STEM research projects, which may lead to the creation of research centers and economic development. The grant provides funding to the Research Challenge – to assist faculty researchers in competing for external funding on a national basis, the STEM Fellowships- program to help WVU and Marshall recruit and support highly qualified graduate students, the SURE program- Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, Instrumentation Grants- provides advanced ungraduated labs, and Innovations Grants- provides improvements in equipment, facilities, and curriculum at undergraduate institutions. The fund also provides Opportunity Funds, which are smaller awards. The program also provides expert peer review services to allow assistant faculty to develop competitive proposals for funding.

Lastly, the committee heard an update on charter schools. In West Virginia, there are five charter schools. Two are virtual and three are in-person schools. Two more charter schools have been authorized for the Fall of 2024 and there are three more applications under review. The number of students enrolled next year is expected to be around 2,200 students.

The largest challenge facing charter schools is funding. Charter schools do not receive start-up funding. Therefore, boards and founders must rely on private fundraising, grants, philanthropic gifts, loans, or work with management companies. There are no excess levy revenues for charter schools, and they cannot issue bonds. Charter schools must pay for facilities from regular operating funds.

Progress was made in the 2023 session for charter school funding, but the problem is not solved. The Charter School Board did apply and receive a federal grant of $12.3 million over five years. The charter school stimulus fund was created but has not been funded.

Possible legislative solutions were offered during the meeting and include:
1. Appropriation to the charter school’s stimulus fund
2. Per pupil funding for facility costs
3. Lease reimbursement for facility costs
4. Greater access to unused public buildings
5. Increased enrollment funding

West Virginia has been plagued with one of the lowest workforce participation rates in the nation for years, but one lawmaker suggested during Tuesday’s interim meetings that the way the number is calculated makes the state’s standing artificially low.

Senator Rollan Roberts (R-Raleigh, 09) suggested striving to find the state’s true rate during a meeting of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Workforce Development and Labor Issues.

The workforce participation rate measures the number of people in a workforce capable of working or searching for work. This is different from the unemployment rate, which measures the number of people actively searching for work.

Roberts and WorkForce West Virginia recently asked the Bureau for Business and Economic Research at West Virginia University to look at the state’s labor force participation and attempt to find the true rate, excluding those unable to work due to age or disability.

“We found out that everyone in the state of West Virginia who can walk is counted no matter what their age, their mental capacity or their physical ability,” Roberts said. “When you start thinking about that in the mix of West Virginia, we have a lot of people who can walk, but there is no way they’re going to be able to work.”

Roberts and WorkForce West Virginia Director Scott Adkins, told committee members that by removing residents over 75 years of age and residents who are disabled and unable to work, West Virginia’s labor force participation rate is close to 75 percent.

Adkins called the state being saddled with the lowest workforce participation rate in the country “disingenuous”, noting that the state has an older population and the largest disability rate per capita in the country.

Adkins also noted that the labor force participation rate doesn’t include gig economy workers who are paid on a contract basis, making up about 5 percent of the state’s workforce. He added that another 13 percent of state workers go uncounted toward the rate because they work in other states.

The Committee on Energy and Manufacturing met this evening and heard about manufacturing growth in the state.

Manufacturing is growing in West Virginia. Chemical manufacturing is the largest sector, however, hardwoods, mechanical, and other manufacturing are growing as well. There have been 4,300 manufacturing jobs added in the state thus far and more are to come. The average compensation for manufacturing jobs is $78,000 a year.

The West Virginia Manufacturers Association surveyed its members for feedback about manufacturing in the state. Results included that barriers in the state include taxes on tangible property and equipment, workforce development, infrastructure, public education, energy stability and security, antiquated regulations, and balancing environmental protections with economic development. The legislature can create laws to help with these barriers.

WV could model policies from other states related to increasing second-chance hiring, public education on the need for manufacturing, decreasing taxation, and retaining jobs while building new ones.

The greatest concerns companies have about operations in West Virginia include federal regulations, workforce ability and talent pipeline, wage inflation, worker mentality for remote work, misconception about larger businesses, national bias against coal, and a growing disconnect between legislature and businesses.

Positive news provided during the presentation is that 74 percent of companies surveyed believe WV is headed in the right direction.

The committee heard about new investments and expansion of manufacturing in West Virginia. Nucor Steel is in Mason County. The company has over 100 employees, 30 of whom are local to the area and at least 10 who worked in various states but wanted to move home to WV. Nucor’s VP has spoken and will continue to speak to schools in the area to teach them about manufacturing so they can see it as something they can do and be proud to do. The company has a strong relationship with BridgeValley and other CTEs. Nucor is working to encourage more women to choose steelmaking as a career while removing barriers such as childcare needs.

The next company the committee heard from was Chemours Washington Works, which has two locations: one in Belle, WV, and one outside of Parkersburg, WV. Chemours is a global chemical manufacturer with 6,600 employees worldwide. Currently, there are 730 jobs in WV at the two plants. It is the largest chemical manufacturer in the state but wants to grow and create an additional 200 jobs. The company has partnered with local high schools and is looking to hire locally to train individuals to work for them. There are three markets Chemours wants to grow in: (1) CYMA conductors which use PFA and are used in chip manufacturing, (2) Electric Vehicles which use PTFE and are used to make EV batteries, and (3) Clean Hydrogen which uses the monomer to make Nafion membrane.

The committee then heard from Niterra, formerly NGK. Niterra is a Japanese company, but their North American manufacturing facility is located in Kanawha County, just off the Pocatalica exit. The company rebranded as it is producing more than NGK sparkplugs now. Niterra is a “made-up” word taking the Latin words nitor (shining) and terra (earth) to create a new word with the meaning of shining earth. Niterra has three pillars: mobility, energy, and medical, which are the sectors the company is creating products. The site expansion in Kanawha County will add 20 new high-quality jobs. The company is working with Workforce WV and BridgeValley for hiring.

The final company the committee heard from was Form Energy. Form Energy employs over 500 people: 200 in CA, 250 in MA, and more in Eighty Four, PA. The individuals working in Eighty Four (the test pilot facility) will be relocated to Weirton, WV as soon as the construction is complete. The company broke ground on the Weirton facility in May and is looking to begin production in 2024. Form Energy creates large-scale batteries that can be used to back up the grid. These batteries can be used by utility companies to provide more reliable and affordable utilities to consumers. The Weirton facility will employ over 750 people. New Form has already hired local individuals for construction in Weirton and has hired others from Weirton to work in Eighty Four to train to work in the Weirton factory. The company has already sold out its first two years of production and is working on selling its third year.

West Virginia has done a great job at enticing manufacturers to the state, but it needs to focus on retaining these companies. West Virginia is an energy state. It is the fourth-largest producer of energy and the fifth-largest exporter of energy.