The Subcommittee on Agriculture, Commerce, and Tourism met this afternoon.
Committee Hearing
House Bill 4141 exempts an honorably veteran of any branch of the armed services of the United States from the payment of vehicle registration fees, with the exception of a special initial application fee of $10. The bill allows the spouse to continue using the veteran’s plate until the surviving spouse dies, remarries, or fails to renew the plate.
House Bill 4176 allows youth and those who carry a Class Q special hunting permit to take one antlered deer during the special youth deer season.
The DNR cannot do this itself, as the law ties youth and Class Q licenses to Class XS licenses.
Kent Leonhardt provided a presentation on the Department of Agriculture.
In 2017, 148 tractor and supplies businesses were registered with Agriculture; now there are 238. Farmers’ markets have tripled. Agricultural output in West Virginia increased by 27 percent from 2017 to 2022. West Virginia has seen growth in Agriculture.
Leonhardt said we’ve changed the way we do agriculture in WV. Poultry is the state’s number one agricultural industry. An egg-cracking facility is being built in Pendleton County to sell liquid eggs to schools.
The apple industry is doing well, and maple syrup production is up in the state.
