The House passed 22 bills during today’s floor session and rejected one.

House Bill 3154 was rejected in a 45 to 52 vote. The bill would have allowed Limited Video Lottery owners to advertise as other gambling businesses do. Opponents of the bill felt that LVL gambling is different than other forms of gambling and could target the most vulnerable of the population. Proponents felt the funds from LVL could increase meaning more funding for other schools and other important issues in the state.  

House Bill 2014 establishes the Certified Microgrid Program. The bill removes a restriction on the location of districts to state property, including its political subdivisions. The bill allows for more microgrids, but only if they consume internally 60% of the electricity generated when fully operational by one or more high-impact data centers. These microgrids are limited to selling 10% of the electricity generated to the wholesale market.

House Bill 2152 promotes payment to vendors of commodities and services to the state. The bill states that a state agency must pay any legitimate claim for payment within 45 days after the claim has been received. If the agency fails to pay the claim within the requisite 45 days, then the agency must report that failure to the State Auditor. Additionally, any vendor or grantee who does not receive payment within the requisite 45 days may report that violation to the State Auditor. The State Auditor is required to publish a list of non-compliant agencies on its website and update the list on at least a monthly basis.

House Bill 2777 transfers the requirement of keeping homeschool information from county school boards to the state department. The bill also removes the requirement that homeschool educators submit satisfactory evidence of a high school diploma or equivalent, a post-secondary degree or certificate, or from an institution of higher education that has been authorized to confer a post-secondary degree or certificate.

House Bill 3411 repeals code relating to expired legislative commissions including the Legislative Building Commission, the WV Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission and Fund, The Council of Finance and Administration, the Steering Committee for the WV Enterprise Resource Planning Board, the WV Sentencing Commission, the Toll Road Study Commission, the Select Committee on Outcomes-based Funding Models in Higher Education, Equal Pay Commission, Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources, Commission on Interstate Cooperation, and the Legislative Oversight Committee on WV Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority. Additionally, the bill removes legislative membership from the Employee Suggestion Award Board, the WV Forest Management Review Commission, the WV Economic Development Strategy, the WV Fusion Center, and the State Board of Risk and Insurance Management. Finally, the bill moves the duties of the Joint Commission of Government Operations duties to the Joint Committee on Government Organizations.

House Bill 3444 repeals the sections of code relating to the inflammation of the eyes of newborns. With the repeal, the mandate to apply antibiotic erythromycin is removed, the reporting requirements are removed, and penalties for not applying are removed.

The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. tomorrow, April 2, 2025.

Committee Meetings, Today April 1

• The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 215E.

Committee Meetings, Tomorrow, April 2

• The Judiciary Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Finance Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 460.
• The Rules Committee will meet at 10:45 a.m. in the Speaker’s Conference Room.
• The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 215E.
• The Committee on Education will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 432M.
• The Committee on Energy and Public Works will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 410.
• The Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 3:30 p.m. in Room 215E.

The House returned to session around 4:30 p.m. to finish taking up the calendar. Additional bills passed including:

House Bill 3373 extends the Division of Economic Development to January 1, 2030.

House Bill 3389 excludes the Department of Tourism as a “governmental agency” to allow the Department to be exempt from the requirement to offer the division of vocational rehabilitation the opportunity to operate the Department’s food service facilities.

House Bill 3424 removes language relating to short-term loans being provided to released inmates for the cost of reentry. It was stated that this loan was never funded nor used.

House Bill 3429 allows the Department of Environmental Protection to evaluate letters of interest from engineering firms to generate “Prequalified Lists of Consultants.”

House Bill 3505 requires all health plans in West Virginia to provide coverage for cancer treatments of scalp cooling systems.

The House had 26 bills on Second Reading today, with a few being amended.

Senate Bill 275 removes the requirement of a high school diploma for school cooks and custodians. The amendment adds that those without a high school diploma must be 21 or older to be a cook or custodian. This is to prevent students from dropping out to become cooks or custodians at the school.

Senate Bill 282 allows retired teachers to be long-term teachers in areas of critical need without a limit on the number of days. The amendment requires the county board to post the position until it is filled by a regularly employed teacher. The posting is to occur at the start of each semester. This requirement is not necessary when the substitute is teaching for a leave of absence or if the position is filled by a regularly employed teacher who cannot start immediately.

The amendment to Senate Bill 650 clarifies that interventionists cannot be used as aides in kindergarten or first-grade classrooms.

House Bill 2014 had several amendments offered, but only two were adopted. The first amendment adopted clarified that the bill related to thermal baseload generating. The second amendment clarified that the bill should not impact microgrid districts certified before January 1, 2024, or any special contract entered into or approved by the Public Service Commission before January 1, 2025.

House Bill 2777 relates to removing certain information for home-schooled children. Two amendments were offered and rejected. The first would have removed all exemptions and stated no parent had to enroll students in school or report on a child’s educational status. The second amendment would have removed the submission requirement on assessments for homeschooled students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11. Both amendments were rejected and the bill advanced.

The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. tomorrow, April 1, 2025.

Committee Meetings, Tomorrow, April 1

• The Judiciary Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Finance Committee will meet at 09:30 a.m. in Room 460.
• The Rules Committee will meet at 10:45 a.m. in the Speaker’s Conference Room.
• The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 215E.

On day 48 of the Legislative session, the House passed 27 bills in its morning floor meeting. Before the floor session, the Rules Committee moved House Bills 2409, 3432, 3446, and 3518 to the inactive calendar. House Bills 2054 and 3154 were transferred to the active Special Calendar.

Some bills passing today were:

Senate Bill 458 implements “universal licensure” which has been implemented in 26 other states. The bill applies to Chapter 30 boards, which would be required to issue occupational licenses for a person who has established residency in the state. The person must have completed all necessary requirements and examines in other states and be in good standing with the state they are licensed in.

House Bill 2002 creates a one-stop shop for permits relating to construction, economic development, infrastructure, and natural resources.

House Bill 2013 exempts new hires and those who switch positions from the civil service system and grievance process starting July 1, 2025.

House Bill 2156 gives DOH 30 days to respond to highway entrance permits. If the department does not respond, the request is auto-approved. If the permit is contested, the DOH has 15 days to respond. If the DOH follows the process and denies the request, the applicant can contest the denial in magistrate court within 15 days. If the applicant complies with the guidelines, there is an application fee. If the applicant requests emergency access or a shorter timeframe than outlined, the DOH may require a $500 application fee.

House Bill 2351 increases the compensation for panel attorneys to $90 for in-court work and $70 for out-of-court work.

House Bill 2571 provides tow companies with access to driver information provided by the DMV at any hour as long as the company is regulated by the Public Service Commission.

House Bill 2894 amends the human trafficking code and adds a new crime – human smuggling. The bill defines “human smuggling” as the knowing act of transporting, transferring, receiving, isolating, enticing, or harboring an illegal alien to avoid enforcement of state or federal immigration laws. The bill excludes immediate family members when transportation is done voluntarily. The bill sets penalties for smuggling an adult and a minor.

House Bill 3152 is the annual claims bill, which directs payment of moral obligations of state agencies for claims against the state.

House Bill 3167 requires hair follicle drug tests for parents in cases of substantiated abuse and neglect. The bill was amended to allow parents to opt into a follicle test if they believe they’ve had a false positive urine drug test. Hair follicle drug tests are considered the most accurate.

House Bill 3279 makes changes to the WVU and WVSU Boards of Governors. The bill requires a representative from the agriculture or forestry professions. The bill requires the WVU board to include representatives from WVU Tech and WVU Potomac. These added members are voting members. The bill also removes faculty, staff, and students from being voting members to nonvoting advisory members.

Resolutions introduced today can be found here.

During committee reports, six bills were read for the first time.

The House is in recess until 4 p.m.

Committee Meetings, Today March 31

• The Judiciary Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. in Room 410.
• The Finance Committee will meet at 1:50 p.m. in Room 460.
• The Subcommittee on Energy and Public Works will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 410.
• The Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 3:30 p.m. in Room 215E.

On day 45 of the Legislative Session, the House floor session began with several motions.

First, a point of privilege was requested to determine what happened to the amendment which was supposed to be on House Bill 3111. After some discussion at the podium, the delegate who raised the point decided to handle the request when the bill was up for passage.

Then, a motion to discharge House Bill 2007 from the Committee on Health and Human Services was made. Another member quickly moved to table the motion, which was ruled out of order by the Chair, per Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure. The Chair’s ruling was challenged and discussed but upheld. The previous question was called, which ended the discussion. The motion for the previous question was ruled in order, as Mason’s Manual does not refer to the previous question on a motion to discharge. After this, the motion to discharge was rejected in a 16 to 74 vote.

Another delegate motioned to discharge House Bill 3270 from the Judiciary Committee. The bill is double-referred, meaning it would still go to the Finance Committee. The motion to discharge was adopted with a 75 to 15 vote.

Another delegate motioned to discharge House Bill 3173 from the Committee on Energy and Public Works. The motion was rejected with a vote of 17 to 71.

The priority of parliamentary authority for the House of Delegates is House (1) House Rules, (2) the West Virginia Constitution, (3) the Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure, and (4) the Jefferson’s Manual and the Digest of the Rules and Practices of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress.

The House is in recess until 1 p.m. When the House returns to the floor, the calendar should be taken up.