Mike Honaker was sworn in today by House Clerk Stephen Harrison. Honaker was appointed by Governor Justice to the vacated seat of Barry Bruce.
Honaker accepted this position because it is an “opportunity to continue to serve.” His adult life has been committed to serving the public. He served as a Marine, then as a Virginia state police officer. He is now the Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in Greenbrier County.
Delegate Honaker represents the 42nd District, which includes Greenbrier County and parts of Summers and Monroe counties.
Delegate Honaker was accompanied by his wife Melissa and children, Matthias and Maddison. Others were in attendance, including House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, Delegate Riley Keaton, and Dan Greear.
On the lack of uniformity, one major complaint from stakeholders is that the process is different from county to county and circuit to circuit. For example, in Raleigh County, the mental health center meets with the petitioner prior to its filing, explains the process and walks the petitioner through it. If this example was implemented statewide, the stakeholders believe this will reduce the number of applications that are filed as petitioners become aware of other voluntary options.
The committee also heard from a foster parent on her thoughts of the Foster Care System. She stated that becoming a foster care parent has been an eye-opening experience. She’s experienced a breakdown of communication with all different entities. She stated there is not enough support for the foster care families. She noted delays in receiving information about placements and continuously receiving information for children who are no longer in her care. She also noted that there was an error that listed her as fostering a child she had never been given care of. She knows she has no legal right to know what happens to a child once he/she has left her care but would like an outlet or network to connect with others with similar situation. She stated the system must be updated to provide better communication.
However, without special permissions from CTCs in the region, the school cannot offer the program. The president is frustrated with this because WVU, Marshall, WVU Tech, and out of state online schools can offer programs in this region without these special permissions. The president stated that there have been several reasons brought forth to keep the school from offering these programs including competing with other schools in the region, however other schools are not offering these programs. Financial viability was another reason. Bluefield State has the second-best CFI in the state. The president believes a new higher education model with a focus on education and not power and protecting turf is needed. He said the structure should be based on competition and not command and control in bureaucracy. The new structure should allow schools to innovate, create, and respond to the needs of students and employers. He stated some concerns others have had with a model such as this including the institutions failing and coming to the legislature and asking for more money. His response to that was let them fail. Another concern he mentioned was closing institutions will leave students without opportunity. His response was that if there is a demand for these programs and these schools, then they will not fail and they will not need to be closed.
The committee heard a presentation on the WV Invest Grant Program. It was presented that CTCC have allowed super-scoring where students may use their best scores on the ACT to meet the requirements of the promise scholarship. The program also offers a stem field grant. There is a revolving medical school fund program which come from student fees. This helps provide funding for medical students. The Choose WV Practice Program is for out of state medical students to entice them to come to WV for schooling. The fund pays the difference of out of state and in state tuition.
Later in the meeting the committee also heard a report regarding the $106.5 million which was received in Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. West Virginia received approval to spend the money back in January 2021.
Tennessee raised the felony theft threshold and required the DOC to implement a validated risk of needs assessment tool. The state also implemented “graduated sanctions,” which allows the supervising parole or probation officer to handle sanctions instead of forcing the person to go back to court. It also allows for credit for time served on probation. The state is focusing on reentry and making parole more meaningful. Tennessee has legislative studies underway to examine pretrial reform. Many counties have implemented a pretrial risk assessment tool. The governor supports the use of this tool. There are drafted bills for reform.
The committee heard a presentation from DHHR on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). NAS is when a baby experience withdrawal from drugs after being born. In 2021, WV had 18,072 births and 6.55 percent, or 1,200 babies, were born with NAS. Of the 18,073 births, 14.2 percent of the babies were drug exposed, meaning not all showed withdrawal symptoms, but mothers did use during pregnancy. In West Virginia, drug use, child welfare cases, and NAS are all increasing. Most of these mothers are young (under 25), unmarried and uneducated. Fatal overdose rates are increasing because of the use of fentanyl in various drugs. It is sometimes difficult to determine what the baby is withdrawing from because the mother is unaware that the drugs she is using is laced with other substances.
The agency provided a report on the Feed to Achieve Program. During the pandemic, breakfast and lunch were provided to students at home. More families were served than during a normal school year. Meals and resources were also provided to nonpublic school students. There was a huge increase due to the free lunch program. Several counties are taking advantage of the federal community eligibility program which provides funding for students to receive breakfast and lunch. The backpack program is still in place, providing food for students to have during the weekend.
The Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resource Subcommittee heard a presentation on using air rifles for big game hunting. Twenty-five states have legalized air guns. Most recently Alaska. These guns do not shoot as far as high-power rifles. They are not as loud. Kids and the elderly can safely use them. They can also be used for city control hunting.
The Coalfields Expressway, or U.S. 121, is a multi-lane highway connecting the West Virginia Turnpike at Beckley with U.S. 23 at Slate, Va.
While most think of the census coming around once every decade, the process is broader than that. The cycle begins about mid-decade. Not all counties submitted precinct data throughout the census cycle. Thirteen counties did not submit dull data. West Virginia was one of five states that did not submit some or all data. While the House was creating districts, block anomalies were found in Morgan County with the mountains and ridges and blocks within blocks (blocks surrounded by another). Adjusting the blocks will begin now instead of in 2030.
The committee heard recommendations for improving and expanding access to Medicaid long-term supports and services. West Virginia’s AARP officials presented that AAEP is the largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping people decide how they live as they age. West Virginia Medicaid cost is higher than neighboring states. The state’s costs are in the top time in the country, near the costs in New York and Massachusetts. 
The committee received a presentation about consolidating county boards of educations. It was introduced as a topic to study. Currently, the state has 55 county boards of educations. From 2013 to 2020 the state had a decline of 10 percent of students. The funding formula is out of date and having so many boards risk having duplications of services. An idea for consolidation would be to use the old RESA system. Currently, each board has five members. It was suggested that during each election, each board would lose a member until a specific number is met. All counties under one board will be equally be represented. These jobs are elected top-level positions. Consolidation could improve services and provide cost savings, which could go to the classrooms.
The Special Committee met for the first time to discuss the viability of a Veterinary Medicine School in West Virginia. A study found that a Vet Med school is viable in the state. Currently, WV students must go out of state for a veterinary medicine program. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia-Maryland (joint program) all have programs. 
The committee received an update on the middle mile broad bang expansion into southern West Virginia and prospects. In early 2021, Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power applied to PSC to expand broadband in unserved areas of Lucan and Mingo Counties. The request was approved with an investment of $61.3 million. 
The Bureau for Children and Families provided a general update on the foster care system. They are working to train kinship parents to become certified foster parents. There are three types of foster care: certified foster, certified kinship, and uncertified kinship. They recommended developing a pilot program to expand funding to uncertified kinship parents. The agency noted that the issues found in the foster care system are not solely a West Virginia problem. These issues are seen across the US. COVID has made it more difficult to find placements because placements can be placed on hold due to exposure.
