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.

The Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Resources Accountability met this morning to hear an update on the reorganization of DHHR into three departments.

First, the Department of Commerce Secretary presented his experience with shared services between departments. The Department of Tourism and the Department of Economic Development use shared services such as legal, accounting, marketing, and communications.

The new secretaries of the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Health Facilities presented on the reorganization of DHHR. They provided drafts of the organizational charts.

They are working to identify areas of large vacancies in each department and deciding how to recruit or cut positions. Communication has been and will continue to be key in the reorganization process. Each secretary has met with the new departments to understand the critical needs for moving forward. A memorandum of understanding is in the works. The departments are working with higher education institutions to fill vacancies. Some bureaus have seen decreases in vacancies since January, however, health facilities have seen an increase.

The three departments will share services under the Office of Shared Administration. There will be a chief of staff who will work for all three secretaries. Chief of Staff is a new position, which will be filled by a current employee. The executive assistant, office manager, and receptionist will report to the chief of staff. Shared Administration will also include Constituent Services, Core Communications/marketing, Core Finance, Core HR, Core Procurement/Purchasing, and Core Operations. The secretaries also have considered the following positions or departments within Shared Administration, if needed, Deputy Chief of Staff, Continuous Quality Improvement, Strategic Initiatives, and Grants.

***This is a draft organizational chart.

The Department of Human Services will have a secretary and two deputy secretaries, who will report to the secretary. The Deputy Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder will oversee the Bureau for Behavioral Health and the Office of Drug Control Policy. The Deputy Secretary for Child and Adult Services will oversee the Bureau of Social Services, the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement, and the Office of Continuous Quality Improvement. Also reporting to the Human Services Secretary will be the Bureau for Family Assistance, Bureau for Medical Services, MIS, Media Relations, and Counsel.

***This is a draft organizational chart.

The Department of Health Facilities will have a secretary who oversees the Director of Strategy, COO Facilities, Hospital CEOs, and Long-Term Care CEOs. COO Facilities will work with the Director of Strategy. The Secretary will also oversee counsel, media relations, and MIS.

***This is a draft organizational chart.

The Department of Health will have a secretary who will oversee a deputy secretary, counsel, media relations, and MIS. The Office Directors for Emergency Medical Services, Chief Medical Examiners, Threat Preparedness, and Health Care Authority will report to the Secretary along with the Commissioner of the Bureau of Public Health and Inspector General. Under the Inspector General will be OFLAC, the Board of Review, the Office of Foster Care Ombudsman, the Office of Investigations & Fraud Management, the Olmstead Office, the Office of Quality Control, the Office of Mental Health Ombudsman, WV CARES, and the Human Rights Commission.

***This is a draft organizational chart.

The Committee also received an update on the unwinding of the Medicaid Continues Enrollment Provision. For three years, no one was rolled off Medicaid. The Medicaid Unwind began in March of 2023. West Virginia is working with multiple partners for a 12-month unwind. Information is being tracked well and is on the Medicaid website.

Lawmakers and members of the judicial branch continued to discuss solutions for bail and reporting requirements during Monday’s meeting of the Oversight Commission on Regional Jail and Correctional Facilities.

During last month’s special session, lawmakers couldn’t reach consensus on a bill that that would have changed bail procedures in the state and added reporting requirements meant to limit the number of people being held in jails without a conviction. Lawmakers continued deliberations Monday with those that work on both sentencing and bail procedures.

The bill proposed in the special session would have added reporting requirements for prosecutors and the Supreme Court. The legislation would have altered how arrested individuals could post bail, adding in stipulations for using bail bondsmen and property transfers and liens instead of judges only allowing cash payments.

Under the legislation, county prosecutors would have been required to file bimonthly reports to their county commissions listing each person currently held in custody without a conviction for longer than 10 days, as well as compelling reasons for why they were being held.

Some counties already follow these reporting requirements voluntarily while others don’t, creating a hodgepodge of inconclusive data that makes it difficult to understand why so many people are being held without convictions.

Kanawha County Public Defender Ronni Sheets told lawmakers that codifying reporting requirements would alleviate the lack of consistent data and in turn, decrease the jail population, ultimately saving counties millions of dollars.

Sheets told lawmakers that as of Sept. 11, 2023, there were 500 people being held in jails across the state who are accused of committing misdemeanors but who have not been convicted by a court. For perspective, Sheets said only about 250 people incarcerated in the state are serving a sentence due to a misdemeanor charge.

Sheets urged lawmakers to remember that while the cost to taxpayers to keep those charged with misdemeanors in jail is high (roughly $54 a night), the human cost can be higher, as these people can lose jobs, homes and custody of their children.

The Committee on Government Organization met this evening.

The first presentation was about Senate Bill 626, increasing penalties for operating a house of prostitution.

Human trafficking is happening in West Virginia. In WV, the massage therapy businesses are facilities where human trafficking is taking place. Investigations have found that through organized crime individuals were applying to be licensed as massage therapists; however, it was found one person was filling out the applications for several people. The Massage Board has worked with law enforcement to shut down these locations, but they just reopened a few months later in a new location.

The women working in these facilities often refer to the leaders of the crime organization as the boss or a handler. The only time the business owner or boss comes around is when investigations happen. The leaders of this organization recruit women from other countries with the promise to have them work as licensed and legitimate massage therapists. Then, the women are forced into sexual work and not allowed to leave the premises.

Testing centers and licensing boards are being educated to be aware of the human trafficking situations. If a woman is accompanied by a handler during testing or during the application process, it should be flagged.

The goal of Senate Bill 626 is to arrest the individuals organizing this crime, not the women forced into living and working in these facilities.

A detective from Parkersburg presented a case involving unwanted sexual advances at two massage businesses in the Parkersburg area. At both businesses, the owner was hands-off, and a Chinese woman lived and worked at the business. Undercover officers were sent to each location and sexual advances were made. The owner stated that the women were “self-employed contractors” at his business, and he never instructed them to make these advances. It’s been found that it’s becoming very common for these situations to take place in West Virginia. Human trafficking can be physical, but it can also be psychological with threats to individuals and families being made. The case is moving forward with hopes of prosecution.

The committee also heard reports from PERD.

The first report reviewed was the termination of the Board of Hearing Aid Dealers. The report was required by law to be sent by the board to PERD to present to the committee. Effective June 30, 2023, the Board of Hearing Aid Dealers was officially terminating. Any remaining funds were sent to General Revenue. The furniture and equipment went to the Board of Landscape and Architects as it was being shared. Records were handled appropriately. Licensure for hearing aid dealers will continue under the Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.

Next, a report on public transit was presented. The recommendations made in this report are that public transit needs to develop a long-range plan to increase services. Public Transit should work with regional development councils to increase ridership and expand services. State code should be updated relating to public transit plates to ensure all transit providers are treated the same when registering plates.

The final PERD presentation was provided on the Board of Physical Therapy. The board complies with the code. Its website does need modest improvements and ADA requirements are not met throughout the building. The board is self-sufficient. Currently, the board’s balance is four times the budgeted expenses. The State Treasure should make transfers to general revenue when the board’s revenue is twice as much as the board’s expenses. Due to fee changes and increased expenses, the board is not processing an excess in revenue. However, the current balance is in excess and an additional transfer from the Treasurer is expected.

The last presentation for the committee was on the hiring and compensation process with the Division of Personnel. Screenings for the registries used to be four to six weeks. Now, it is between 24 hours for auto screening and up to four days if rated by a person. The position is posted for 10 days internally and 15 days to the public. It is recommended that this is done simultaneously. After an applicant is rated and ranked, the registry goes to the agency and the Division of Personnel no longer has control over hiring time.

The compensation process is only for DOP classified under the DOP merit system principles. Pay grades are assigned by education and experience. There is a minimum and a maximum within the pay grade. The classification is set up with certain percentages, which is not how it usually would be done. However, it would cost millions to change the classification system.

With exemptions, some agencies are able to offer higher pay scales. This leads to losing personnel to other agencies in state government. There is a structure in DOP pay scales and classifications.

West Virginia University Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Rob Alsop, addressed the Joint Committee on Finance regarding the university’s planned restructuring during September interim meetings Monday morning.

Alsop made it clear to the committee that President Gordon Gee’s job is secure, despite an overwhelming no confidence vote from faculty last week. Gee, previously scheduled to address the committee, was not in attendance today, citing a personal matter.

Due to enrollment decline, WVU faces an estimated budget shortfall of $45 million, which it is planning to address via a combination of tuition increases, the use of financial reserves and faculty and program cuts.

The university completed an appeals process last week for announced program changes, altering the programs and number of faculty to be cut. Alsop characterized the cuts as a fraction of the university’s overall academic offerings, in line with a higher education funding formula established by the Legislature.

Some lawmakers expressed concern about students’ ability to receive a well-rounded education at WVU post cuts, as well as the university’s ability to keep its status as an R1 research university.

Alsop assured committee members that the majority of the planned cuts are to programs with relatively low enrollment and that the R1 designation will not be impacted in any meaningful way.

The WVU Board of Governors, whose members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the state Senate, will meet this week to vote on the proposed cuts and changes. They released a statement last week supporting Gee and the university’s planned restructuring.

Alsop noted that WVU would obviously accept financial help from the Legislature but reiterated the administration’s position that an influx of one-time money for this year would only delay the adverse effects of clear structural issues at the university.

“If I thought there was a realistic opportunity to get another $50 million or $60 million in base funding every year for WVU, we would have been down here,” Alsop said. “But one-time funding is not going to fix the enrollment challenges long-term.”

The Joint Committee on Health met Monday afternoon.

The committee received an update on residential treatment facilities for children. The DHHR is working to build and strengthen community services. Individuals can call 844-help4wv to get information on services available in their area and if needed be connected to a mobile crisis response team. WV Wraparound is a family-centered coordination of services. Other community services include Regional Youth Services Centers and Expanded School Mental Health Services.

The goal of these programs is to reduce the reliance on residential homes. Children and Adult Services is working with a third party, Acentra Health, to evaluate children at risk of being placed in residential homes with a qualified independent assessment. The assessments determine if intervention can be provided at home instead of a residential home. Currently, there are 23 statewide group residential providers with 46 facilities. There are 502 children in in-state group facilities and 275 children in out-of-state facilities.

Currently, there is no logical rate for services provided. Rates are all over the place regardless of the services needed. The department would like to move away from a single rate and move to a rate for room and board, a rate for supervision, and a rate for treatment. Essentially, there would be a base rate, then as more supervision or treatment is needed the rate may increase. The proposed rate structure would not be site-specific, but services program-specific.

The four proposed settings are (1) non-treatment-based treatment homes: focused on achieving permanent family placement and would have community-based treatment services with children who could attend public schools; (2) specialized residential intensive treatment facilities: focused on particular groups depending on specific treatment needs who have historically been sent out-of-state for care (e.g. sex offenders, autism spectrum disorder with major behavior challenges) and would have specific treatment requirement; (3) residential intensive treatment facilities: would offer the highest level of treatment services; and (4) emergency shelters: short term settings to provide residence for children who cannot return to their home due to court order or change in foster care placement.

The department plans for the new rates based on services to be live by January 2024.

The Committee also received a presentation about prevention services from the Bureau of Family Assistance and Family Resource Centers.

There are three types of prevention (1) primary prevention: general population has access to benefits; (2) secondary prevention: high-risk populations: targeted services for family factors, and (3) tertiary prevention: maltreatment has occurred. Concrete support systems such as food, housing, clothing, childcare, and, health care can help prevent children from experiencing child abuse and neglect.

Child Care is a preventative for abuse and neglect. It offers dual-generation support as it supports parents to provide opportunities to work, get an education, or receive training. It also provides a stabilized respite and continuity for the family and developmentally appropriate support for children. It provides access to development assessments, screenings, and therapeutic supports such as birth to three. It also provides behavior consultation.

TANF has four purposes: (1) to provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their homes or in a relative’s home; (2) to end the dependence on needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; (3) prevent and reduce the number of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and (4) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. TANF-supported programs include WV Works, Family Support Centers, Fatherhood Initiatives, Transportation assistance, and WV 211.

Family Support Centers are designed to serve any parent, of any class or income level. Centers are community-based and family-led. The centers are built on increasing protective factors for families and use the national standards for family strengthening and support. Services provided include parenting skills training and support, outreach and referral services, food, baby and hygiene pantries, and yearly childhood playgroups. West Virginia has Family Support Centers in 53 of the 55 counties. Jackson and Roane are the only counties without. The bureau is working to get centers in the remaining, as well as to define parameters for multiple centers within a county.

The bureau is also working to develop a funding database for metrics and monitoring of grants, an interactive map of services, and foundational funding. Ongoing Initiatives include Families are Stronger Together, Preschool Development Grant, county-based assessment of services, and WV 211.

Finally, the committee heard a presentation about WV 211.

WV 211 is an information and referral number for nonemergent needs which was created in the early 2000s. Every state has its own 211. The number was created to take the burden off of emergency operation centers. In 2001-2019, WV 211 was governed by a group of people who were from different areas and they couldn’t find a sustainable revenue source. In 2010, the United Way was approached to save WV 2110 In 2019, a grant was received to stabilize WV 211. WV 211 became operational in 2020, just in time for COVID-19. The Governor promoted WV 211 during every COVID briefing. During its first year, WV 211 received over 21 thousand calls and over 27 thousand website visitors for 155 thousand minutes of help. Most of the calls were for utility assistance, food insecurity, and rent or mortgage help.

In 2021, WV 211 received over 31 thousand calls and over 45 thousand website visitors for over 218 thousand minutes of help. Callers needed assistance with utilities, rent/mortgage, COVID-19, homeless shelters, and food insecurities. In 2022, WV 211 received over 26 thousand calls and more than 111 thousand connections through text, calls, online searches, and chats, for over 239 thousand minutes of help. The needs addressed were utility assistance, rent/mortgage assistance, and homeless shelters. Thus far in 2023, there have been over 23 thousand calls.

Everything about WV 211 is zip code-driven. The top needs expressed during these calls are electrical assistance, rental assistance, food pantries, gas assistance, mortgage assistance, VITA program, water assistance, homeless shelters, home repairs, and homeless assistance programs.

The Judiciary Committee met Monday morning to hear presentations from the AARP.

The presenters discussed ways older West Virginians are losing money. The initial discussion was on auto renewal and continual service contracts. These deceptive practices cause families, especially the elderly, to lose money every year. The FTC is working to create new rules relating to auto renewal and continual service contracts and the AARP recommends the WV Legislature wait for the FTC’s rule-making to be complete before creating laws regulating within the state.

Scam and Fraud is another issue facing senior citizens in the state. In the US, $228 million a year is lost to scammers. Older individuals are frequently the target of scams. Several types of scams are used to defraud people including romance scams, text scams (smsfishing), phone call scams, sweepstakes, prize, and email scams.

These scams do happen here in West Virginia. In Huntington, there was a romance scam involving a “Nigerian Prince.” Another example is a woman from New York with no family who had moved to a rural northern state and was befriended by a younger couple who eventually moved in with her, stole her money and sold her items. The couple then drugged the woman and brought her to Charleston. Police found them and they are now serving time for their actions. With gift card scams, individuals are contacted with an urgent financial matter, like a utility cut off or a grandchild in trouble, and told the quickest way to address the issue is to buy gift cards and provide the card number over the phone which allows the scammer to get the funds.

Another scam is realtors getting the elderly to sign long-term listing agreements of 10 or more years and creating a lien on the homes allowing them to collect money from the elderly individual.

West Virginia already has more stringent laws than other states, however, more needs to be done to help stop this underreported crime. It’s important for individuals to know most providers will not text you through text, the Social Security office will never call you, and never click a link you don’t know.

The Joint Committee on Economic Development and Tourism met Sunday afternoon to hear several presentations including the following.

The Committee heard about dilapidated properties in the state and brownfield properties. Nitro is the #1 recipient of REAP funding for dilapidated properties. Nitro is a little different than most municipalities, as it owned the buildings in phase 1 of their plan. The city saw that owners’ were not doing anything with the properties just paying the abandoned building fees and waiting until they had to pay the fee again. So the city stepped in and invested in itself to buy the properties to be able to tear down or rehabilitate into useful property.

The city’s representatives did say that in the areas of downtown where buildings have been removed, there has also been a 39 percent decrease in calls to law enforcement.  The city has invested in drone technology to provide clear before and after images of the sites. While many of these properties are now vacant lots, they are not quite ready for selling as underground infrastructure is needed.

Nitro started out with a project of 15 properties and added a few. Currently, all city owned properties are down. The city is moving into Phase 2, which is asking citizens if they have properties that need taken down.

Brownfield development goes hand in hand with dilapidation programs. Brownfields are an site that is contaminated or perceived as being contaminated by hazard waste or fuel. Due to this, the site is abandoned or underutilized. Examples of brownfields are industrial buildings, abandoned gas stations, and abandoned schools. In 1995, the Brownfields’ Program was created with pilot grants offered and in 1996, the WV Legislature created the volunteer remediation program. In 2002, the EPA created the three liability protections to get movement with brownstone properties and protect buyers of the properties.

The Committee also heard an update from the Department of Economic Development. The state has seen 6 billion in investments for economic growth. In the last 30 months, 125 thousands jobs were created and the GDP grew 15 percent. Several factors have played a role in economic growth in West Virginia including its central location, low cost of business operations and low cost of living, energy resources, lower health care costs, lower turnover for manufacturing jobs and people willing to travel farther for these jobs, right to work, WV invest, no unemployment debt, streamlined regulatory system, highest home ownership, low crime, and pension funding.  Another draw is the last mile services for those who do not have broadband and the utilization of speed testing to measure broadband enhancements.