The House of Delegates convened this morning and passed House Bill 2053. The bill adds the Space Force to the definition of Armed Forces throughout the West Virginia Code.

Three bills were on second reading, and one was amended.

House Bill 2066 creates a felony offense for damaging, destroying, or stealing equipment used by first responders in their duties. The amendment adds political subdivisions to the bill to cover city and county first responding equipment.

House Bill 2042 allows a guardian ad litem to request the appointment of a court-appointed special advocate in cases of child neglect and abuse.

House Bill 2363 clarifies the provisions of the code related to child pornography do not apply to law enforcement, attorneys, judges, jurors, and support personnel while performing their official duties.

Bills introduced today can be found here.
Resolutions introduced today can be found here.

The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. tomorrow, February 25, 2025.

Committee Meetings, Today February 24

• The Subcommittee on Homeland Security will meet immediately after the floor session in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Revenue will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 460.
• The Subcommittee on Agriculture, Commerce, and Tourism will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 215E.
• The Committee on Education will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 432M.
• The Subcommittee on Local Governments will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 215E.
• 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 p.m. in Room 215E.

Committee Meetings, tomorrow February 25

• The Finance Committee meets at 9 a.m. in Room 460 for a budget hearing.
• The Judiciary Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Homeland Security will meet at 10 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 215E.
• The Bridge and Road Naming Subcommittee of the Environment, Infrastructure & Technology Subcommittee will meet at 1 p.m. in 252M.
• The Committee on Education will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 432M.
• The Subcommittee on Government Administration will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 215E
• The Subcommittee on Human Services will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 215E.
• The Subcommittee on Public Health will meet at 4 p.m. in Room 215E.
• The Subcommittee on Environment, Infrastructure, and Technology will meet at 6 p.m. in Room 460.

The House Judiciary Committee met this morning to consider the following bills.

Markup & Passage

House Bill 2400 prohibits the delivery of unsolicited absentee ballot applications to anyone who has not specifically requested one from the county clerk. The committee substitute adds language allowing qualified first responders to provide applications. The substitute also clarifies that the application can be made available at the county clerk’s office in physical or digital form.

Committee Hearing

House Bill 2006 defines male and female in state law and single-sex spaces. It does not include criminal penalties.   

House Bill 2129, the Parents Bill of Rights, codifies parents’ rights to upbringing, education, and medical care. The bill clarifies parents wouldn’t be allowed to do something that is illegal in the current code.

The Subcommittee on Courts met immediately after the Judiciary meeting. The subcommittee heard a presentation from the Division of Corrections and Rehab.

Markup & Passage

House Bill 2217 defines the penalties for conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, conspiracy to commit murder in the second degree, and conspiracy to commit voluntary manslaughter. The committee substitute

Committee Hearing

House Bill 2441 disqualifies individuals who fail random testing for alcohol and drug use in safety-sensitive positions from unemployment compensation benefits.

House Bill 2653 updates the provisions of the West Virginia Law Institute. The institute promotes and encourages the clarification and simplification of the laws of the state, improves the administration of justice, and conducts scholarly legal research and scientific legal work. The bill does some code clean-up and adds to membership, in hopes the institute to be able to do more.

Immediately following the Courts Subcommittee, the Subcommittee on Legal Services met.

Markup & Passage

House Bill 2117 changes when mail-in ballots are due to Election Day at 7 p.m.

Committee Hearing

House Bill 2683 prohibits ranked choice voting in West Virginia.

House Bill 2702 gives the Governor’s Office authority to appoint an acting official until the state party can choose three recommendations to provide to the Governor.

House Bill 2709 permits a voter with a change of address within the same county to vote in his or her new precinct without having to cast a provisional ballot.

After over an hour of floor debate Friday, the Senate passed SB460, which which would allow religious and philosophical exemptions to the state’s school vaccination requirements.

The legislation would allow parents and guardians to object to the requirements of the state’s program for compulsory immunization of public and private school children by citing a religious or philosophical belief. The bill allows children to continue to participate in extracurricular activities, and allows for civil suits against schools that discriminate against these students.

Under the bill, the protocol for exemption requires the parent or legal guardian to provide an annual written statement to the administrator of the child’s school or child care center explaining that the mandatory vaccination requirements cannot be met because it conflicts with the religious or philosophical beliefs of the parent, legal guardian, or emancipated child.

Current West Virginia law requires children attending school in the state to show proof of immunization for pertussis, tetanus, polio, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and hepatitis B unless proof of a medical exemption can be shown. Current law only allows  for very narrow medical exemptions to immunizations.

A key piece of the debate on this bill has been about whether private and parochial schools would have to accept the exemptions.

Senator Ryan Weld (R-Brooke) argued against the bill after having an amendment defeated earlier this week that would have allowed private and parochial schools to come up with their own vaccination policy. He said those schools should be allowed to comply with existing West Virginia requirements if they choose.

Senate Health Chairwoman Laura Wakim Chapman (R-Ohio) disagreed, saying current law already applies to private schools, grouping them with all of the other schools that have to abide by vaccine requirements. Therefore, she argued, it is consistent to include them if the current law is changed to require exemptions to be accepted.

Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel (D-Cabell) was against the bill, contending that making religious schools comply with the exemptions will violate the Constitution and prompt a successful lawsuit against the bill.

Senator Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson) spoke in favor of the bill, citing current West Virginia law that prohibits unvaccinated children from participating in school and activities. She argued that current law is overly burdensome.

Chapman had the final word, making the the case for medical exemptions over religious and philosophical ones.

To that end, the legislation is more lenient on medical exemptions than current law, permitting a child to be exempt when a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner provides a written statement to the school administrator or child care center stating that the specific immunizations could be detrimental to the child’s health or inappropriate.

The legislation passed on a 20-12 vote with two senators absent.

The bill now heads to the House of Delegates for consideration.

The Senate is adjourned until Monday, Feb. 24, at 11 a.m.

The Senate Gov. Org. Committee will meet Monday at 9:30 a.m. in 208W

The House convened for Day 10 of the Legislative Session.

House Bill 2053 was on the second reading and advanced to the third reading without amendment. The bill adds the US Space Force to the list of armed forces.

Three bills were on first reading today.

House Bill 2042 allows for the guardian ad litem to request a court-appointed special advocate for a child in neglect and abuse cases.

House Bill 2066 creates a new felony crime against property for the damage, destruction, or theft of equipment used by first responders.

House Bill 2363 clarifies that when the provisions of the filming of sexually explicit conduct of minors section of the code do not apply to official law enforcement, attorneys, judges, jurors, and other court personnel performing their official duties.

Bills introduced today can be found here.
Resolutions introduced today can be found here.

The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. Monday, February 24, 2025.

Committee Meetings, Today February 21

• The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 215E.
• The Subcommittee on Education Choice will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 432M.
• The Subcommittee on Higher Education will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 432M.

Committee Meetings, Monday, February 24

• The Finance Committee meets at 9 a.m. in Room 460 for a budget hearing.
• The Judiciary Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Courts will meet at 9:30 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Legal Services will meet at 10 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Homeland Security will meet at 10:30 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Agriculture, Commerce, and Tourism will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 215E.
• The Committee on Education will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 432M.
• The Subcommittee on Local Governments will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 215E.
• 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.

The Committee on the Judiciary met this morning.

On the markup stage:

House Bill 2047 prohibits cameras in the bedrooms and bathrooms of foster homes except for baby monitors for age-appropriate children or if the child has a physical, mental, or medical disability. The committee’s substitute stresses that hidden cameras are not allowed regardless of exemptions.

House Bill 2123 modifies criminal penalties for child abuse:

• Resulting injury
  • 5-10 years imprisonment
• Serious bodily injury
  • 5-15 years imprisonment
• Substantial risk of bodily injury and risk of death
  • 2-10 years imprisonment
• The second or subsequent felony offense may result in double the time in prison.

The bill also modifies penalties for neglect:

• Gross neglect, substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury
  • 1-10 years imprisonment
• The second or subsequent felony offense may result in double the time in prison.

All criminal penalties have fines associated with them one can be fined, imprisoned, or both.  

House Bill 2170 would allow volunteer fire departments to use fire protection funding to purchase necessary technology.

On Committee Hearing stage:

House Bill 2400 prohibits the delivery of unsolicited absentee ballot applications to any person who has not specifically requested one from the county clerk.

House Bill 2628 defines police service canines and includes them in law-enforcement officers. The bill clarifies that attacking a K-9 officer is a felony.

Both bills advance to markup.

The House Health and Human Resources Committee met this afternoon for a lengthy committee hearing on certificate of need repeal. Several people showed up to speak about CON and questions about patient choice, patient access, and affordability came up.

House Bill 2007 repeals the certificate of need (CON) process on January 1, 2026. The bill also terminates the WV Health Care Authority, transferring its assets and powers to the Secretary of the Department of Health. The bill was advanced to markup.

Favoring of Repealing CON

The Department of Health Secretary stated that research has suggested in states where CON was repealed more providers become available. Sixteen states have fully repealed CON. CON process is an extremely long process. He stated the purpose of a CON repeal is to improve quality of care and access to care, in addition to spur competition so there will be more providers.

When Parkersburg Health Systems merged, Memorial Health System in Ohio saw an increase in Wood County, WV patients. People in smaller areas deserve access to care. It shouldn’t be dependent on population and payer mix. In 2020, Memorial Health Systems acquired Sistersville Hospital to help provide services in Tyler County. Memorial Health System spoke in favor of CON repeal.

Representatives of the Cicero Institute spoke in favor of CON. He stated that the payer mix argument is a false narrative because of several factors in the healthcare market. He said repealing could be looked at as economic development because there may be people qualified to work in the field and living in smaller communities with limited options. Without CON, other options could open giving them options to work. They stated that repealing CON improves transparency, lowers cost, improves access to health care, and improves quality of care. He said there isn’t going to be a stream of providers coming into the State, but CON is preventing providers who may want to enter the market here. They noted that nowhere has CON reduced rural access.

A representative for the Institute for Justice spoke in favor of reform. Every presidential administration has advocated for CON laws since 1973.

The Chief of Staff of the Cardinal Institute spoke about a woman who had to go out of state for her pregnancy, as her local hospital did not have the access she needed for prenatal care. She spoke of another person who has been working to bring non-opioid pain relief care to the state. She said CON has prevented him from being able to provide this care. She stated that CONs are preventing healthcare entrepreneurs from entering the state.

A representative from Valley Health spoke in favor of repealing CON. She said that CON has served as a barrier to healthcare in the state. She mentioned the state is medically underserved. Valley Health has critical access to hospitals and smaller clinics. They are not concerned with competition putting them out of business. Critical access hospitals serve a purpose and fill a need.

Opposing to Repealing CON

The CEO of Jackson General Hospital spoke on critical access designations and CON. To qualify as a critical access hospital, you can have to be a specific distance from another hospital, have no more than 25 beds, and have 96 96-hour or less stay; this gets a bump in Medicaid reimbursement. She stated that CON has protected these critical access hospitals. She noted that if her hospital lost the designation, the hospital would begin losing money by the next month, which means not being able to reinvest and grow services.

She stated this issue is the lack of demand in the state. West Virginia healthcare is not a free market because 75 percent of the payer is government. In Ohio, hospitals can negotiate with commercial companies to get a better payer rate.

The CEO of Mon Health spoke against repeal. He said planned competition is welcomed. However, without CON, competition could overwhelm the market with too many options and a lack of demand. He believes in CON because it’s health planning based on location and focusing on the larger picture.

The President of the WV Hospice Council spoke against repealing CON. She stated concerns about fraud within the hospice field. She clarified states vary in their CON coverage. She believes the CON standards in WV are consistent throughout the state and the hospice CON is serving the state well. Every state around West Virginia except Pennsylvania and Ohio has CON meaning WV could only go into two other states but all the states around us could come into WV. There are seven hospice houses in West Virginia which are all nonprofit. There are 18 hospice providers throughout the state, which are divided based on the CON processes.

House Bill 2354 was on the markup and passage stage. The bill bans the sell of foods containing Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 food dyes in the state.

The House Committee on Energy and Public Works met this afternoon and discussed the following.

House Bill 2065 provides for one free Gold Star Family license plate to a Gold Star parent. The bill moves to the markup phase.

House Bill 2344 defines maintenance vehicles. The bill adds that if a maintenance vehicle or a stationary vehicle is on the side of the road, one should move a lane over and slow down. The bill moves to the markup phase.

House Bill 2157 allows the purchases of special one-trip or one-way permits to be made online instead of only at the State Policy detachment.

House Bill 2392 allows broadband companies to get state permits when working in multiple districts to install fiber. The bill states permit fees will be based on project size.

Today is Day 9 of the Legislative Session.

Bills introduced today can be found here.
Resolutions introduced today can be found here.

House Bill 2053 was on first reading today. The bill adds “Space Force” to the definition of armed forces.

The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. Tomorrow, February 21, 2025.

Reminder the House Committee Process is new this year. Watch this video for an explanation.
If you want to submit a prepared statement, here’s how.

Committee Meetings, Today February 20

• The Subcommittee on Public Education will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 434.
• The Subcommittee on Agriculture, Commerce, and Tourism will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 215E.
• The Subcommittee on Government Administration will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Educational Choice will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 434.
• The Subcommittee on Energy and Public Works will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Human Services will meet at 4 p.m. in Room 215E.
• The Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 4 p.m. in Room 215E.

Committee Meetings, Tomorrow February 21

• The Appropriations Subcommittee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 460 for a budget hearing.
• The Judiciary Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Courts will meet at 9:30 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Legal Services will meet at 10 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Homeland Security will meet at 10:30 a.m. in Room 410.
• The Subcommittee on Education Choice will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 432M.
• The Subcommittee on Higher Education will meet at 2 p.m. in Room 432M.

For the second day in a row, the Senate laid over Senate Bill 460 on Thursday, the measure that would allow parents and guardians to object to the requirements of the state’s program for compulsory immunization of public and private school children by citing a religious or philosophical belief.

The bill is scheduled for a vote by the full Senate on Friday.

Also on Thursday, the Senate made its way through the calendar, reading three bills a second time and seven bills a first time.

Senate Bills 545-562 were introduced.

The Senate is adjourned until tomorrow, Feb. 21, at 10 a.m.

Afternoon Meetings:

Health at 1 p.m. in 451M

Judiciary at 3 p.m. in 208W

Finance at 3 p.m. in 451M

Morning Meetings for Feb. 21:

Military at 9:30 a.m. in 208W

The House Subcommittee on Environment, Infrastructure, and Technology met this afternoon.

House Bill 2154 requires the West Virginia Division of Highways to develop performance standards and criteria to measure agency performance in all essential operations. The bill requires the DOH to employ a management information system to track progress toward performance standards. The bill moves to the markup stage.

House Bill 2156 states once entrance paperwork is submitted the DOH has 60 days to approve or deny. Without approval or denied in 60 days, it is considered approved.

House Bill 2079 prohibits mandatory hook-ups and installation fees for new or expanding sewer systems.

House Bill 2181 prohibits a county or municipality from charging, a private landowner with private sanitary sewer system, fees based on the county or municipality’s sanitary sewer system. The Public Service Commission is opposed to this bill due to public health.