The House Health and Human Resources Committee discussed House Bills 4740, 4629, 4641, and 4770.

House Bill 4740 would make changes to create consistency between West Virginia’s Rural Health Transformation Program and the State of West Virginia’s commitments to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This bill would allow the WV Rural Health Transformation Program to not have to use the Division of Purchasing and use the Department of Health to process their spending.

House Bill 4629 would allow higher education institutions to give people who are 18 to 21 tobacco products if they are conducting a scientific study or research. This only applies to research that is medical and furthering efforts for prevention and tobacco regulation.

House Bill 4641 would organize the guidelines for nutritionally adequate school breakfasts and lunches to follow standards set by new federal guidelines, as well as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

House Bill 4770 would create limitations on the use of AI technology to deliver mental health care except for administrative functions.

The House Judiciary Committee and its subcommittees met this morning to discuss several bills; House Bill 4137 was advanced to the floor.

Judiciary

House Bill 4137 would update existing code about the West Virginia Law Institute. The institute was established to provide support services to the legislature, as well as the West Virginia University College of Law. These updates address issues with membership based on congressional districts, how vacancies are filled, and would exempt the Institute from open meeting laws.

House Bill 4456 would grant additional local and state law enforcement privileges to law enforcement officers of the National Park Service. This bill was advanced to markup and discussion.

Legal Services

House Bill 4478 would create immunity for lawfully established facilities or areas used for competitive vehicle or motorsport racing from certain liability. The bill was tabled.

House Bill 4546 would allow any LLC and limited partnership to file a biennial report with the Secretary of State rather than an annual report. This bill was advanced to the markup and discussion phase.

Homeland Security

House Bill 4552 would clarify what correctional officers of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation are able to do in their facilities. This bill was advanced to markup and discussion.

Courts

House Bill 4606 would allow judicial officers, when determining bail, to use residency status. In the bill, this is described as including, but not limited to, if they are a resident of the state, they have ties to the community, or if they are a flight risk. This bill was advanced to the Judiciary committee.

House Bill 4570 would allow whoever is serving the eviction notice to post it on the front door and secure and take a photograph of it to show that it was posted. This bill was advanced to markup and passage.

The Committee on Government Organization met this afternoon.

Several rule bills were on the agenda for committee hearings. These bills were advanced to markup and passage.

Department of Administration

• House Bill 4200 – relating toOne-Stop Shop Permitting Program

Office of Technology

• House Bill 4201 – relating to Cyber Reporting

Board of Risk and Insurance Management

• House Bill 4202 – relating to Mine Subsidence Insurance
• House Bill 4203 – relating to Public Entities Insurance Program
• House Bill 4204 – relating to Preferred Medical Liability and High-Risk Medical Liability Program

Department of Motor Vehicles

• House Bill 4262 – relating to motor vehicle equipment
• House Bill 4263 – relating to compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance
• House Bill 4264 – relating to special-purpose vehicles

Department of Agriculture

• House Bill 4265 – relating to registration forms and tags for registration, taxation, and control of dogs
• House Bill 4266 – relating to grades and standards for apples
• House Bill 4267 – relating to public markets
• House Bill 4268 – relating to licensing of livestock dealers
• House Bill 4269 – relating to Grade A pasteurized milk
• House Bill 4270 – relating to select plant-based derivatives and select plant-based derivative products of hemp and kratom
• House Bill 4271 – relating to agritourism
• House Bill 4272 – relating to exempted dairy farms and milk and milk products processing

Board of Architects

• House Bill 4273 – relating to registration of architects
• House Bill 4274 – relating to fees for registration of architects

State Auditor

• House Bill 4280 – relating to standards for requisitions for payment issued by the state officers on the Auditor

Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists

• House Bill 4281 – relating to qualifications, training, examination, and certification of instructors in barbering, hair styling, nail technology, aesthetics, waxing, and cosmetology
• House Bill 4282 – relating to operational standards for schools of barbering, cosmetology, hair styling, nail technology, and aesthetics
• House Bill 4283 – relating to barber apprenticeship
• House Bill 4284 – relating to waxing specialists

Contracting Licensing Board

• House Bill 4285 – relating to the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Act

Board of Examiners

• House Bill 4286 – relating to licensing
• House Bill 4287 – relating to licensed professional counselor license renewal and continuing professional education requirements
• House Bill 4288 – relating to marriage and family therapist licensing

Board of Funeral Services

• House Bill 4289 – relating to funeral directors, embalmers, apprentices, courtesy card holders, and funeral establishment requirements

Board of Landscape Architects

• House Bill 4890 – relating to fees
• House Bill 4291 – relating to application for waiver of initial licensing fees for certain individuals

Board of Medicine

• House Bill 4292 – relating to licensure, practice requirements, disciplinary and complaint procedures, and continuing education for physician assistants
• House Bill 4293 – relating to continuing education for physicians and podiatric physicians

Medical Imaging Technologists

• House Bill 4294 – relating to the Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Technology Board of Examiners
• House Bill 4295 – relating to continuing education
• House Bill 4296 – relating to standards of ethics

Board of Occupational Therapy

• House Bill 4298 – relating to continuing education and competence

Board of Osteopathic Medicine

• House Bill 4304 – relating to licensing procedures for osteopathic physicians
• House Bill 4305 – relating to osteopathic physician assistants
• House Bill 4306 – relating to emergency temporary permits to practice during States of Emergency or States of Preparedness

Board of Pharmacy

• House Bill 4307 – relating to licensure and practice of pharmacy
• House Bill 4308 – relating to mail-order and non-resident pharmacies
• House Bill 4309 – relating to registration of pharmacy technicians
• House Bill 4310 – relating to pharmacist recovery networks
• House Bill 4311 – relating to immunizations administered by pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and pharmacy technicians
• House Bill 4312 – relating to pharmacy permits
• House Bill 4313 – relating to pharmacists
• House Bill 4314 – relating to inspections

Board of Physical Therapy

• House Bill 4315 – relating to general provisions for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants
• House Bill 4316 – relating to general provisions for athletic trainers

Board of Psychologist

• House Bill 4317 – relating to requirements for licensure as a psychologist or a school psychologist

Public Service Commission

• House Bill 4318 – relating to the occupancy of customer-provided conduit

Real Estate Commission

• House Bill 4319 – relating to licensing real estate brokers, associate brokers, and salespersons, and the conduct of brokerage business

Secretary of State

• House Bill 4320 – relating to loan and grant programs under the Help America Vote Act for the purchase of voting equipment, election systems, software, services, and upgrades

Senior Services

• House Bill 4321 – relating to the shared table initiative for senior citizens

Board of Social Work

• House Bill 4322 – relating to the fee schedule

The Committee on Finance met this morning. House Bill 4004 was heard. The bill establishes the Recharge West Virginia Program, which reimburses West Virginia employers for the costs of upskilling their workforces. The bill request the employer increase the employees wage 25 percent upon upskilling.

Then, budget hearings were held by the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security.

The Governor’s recommended budget for the Attorney General’s Office is $6,023,360. The Office is requesting an additional $2,500,000 – $2 million to recruit specialized attorneys to reduce reliance on outside counsel, which is a high expense for the Office. The $500,000 is for infrastructure needs and increasing office expenses. The funds are not to come from the general revenue fund, but from the reappropriation of funds from successful settlements.

The Department of Homeland Security noted proposed supplemental appropriations for FY26. The Department is requesting $132,000 to move the Fusion Center, $230,000 to move the Emergency Management Offices, $1 million for the Mulholland Contract, $2,754,676 for a partial-year increase in the medical contract, $1 million for LIAM legal mal processing, and $500,000 for body cameras for correctional officers.

Jail per diem rates are insufficient to cover the actual daily cost of housing inmates. The actual daily cost is about $90, and the pay base for counties is only $67.27. Food and medical contracts have increased and are expected to continue to increase in future years.

The Department of Homeland Security’s FY27 Governor’s recommended budget is $610,779,990. The Department is requesting an additional $21,851,162 to address budget improvements, including rent increases, vehicle replacements, body camera maintenance, operating shortfalls, medical costs, transitional housing, and BRIM rates.

The House Energy and Public Works Committee discussed three bills and a resolution this evening.

House Bill 4012 would reduce the burden on utility companies when constructing and maintaining power generation and transmission lines. This bill was moved to markup and passage

In discussion of the bill, Charlotte R. Lane, chairman of the Public Service Commission, said she was in favor of this bill except for a concern regarding section I in the amended bill. In the amended section for 24-2-11a, Lane said she was concerned about it possibly eliminating the responsibility of the PSC to look at costs when transmission lines are replaced.

House Bill 4489 would provide the authority to the Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue vital records, such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage and divorce records, in the custody of the State Registrar. This bill would also require the DMV and the Department of Health to implement a program so the DMV can access the previously mentioned vital records. This bill was moved to markup and passage.

House Bill 4696 would update the language in the Abandoned Mines Lands and Reclamation Act to allow for the Department of Environmental Protection office to receive federal funding. This bill was moved to markup and passage.

Travis Parsons, deputy director for the Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation, said there are roughly 4000 or more mines that need to be reclaimed to create suitable land for West Virginians.

In addition to the discussion of bills, the committee discussed House Concurrent Resolution 4. This resolution would establish a Genesis Working Group to create statewide planning for “artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, digital infrastructure, and energy-based economic development.” This would include integrating data centers, bitcoin mining, and AI clusters. This resolution was moved to markup and passage.

The Committee on Health and Human Resources met this afternoon.

Markup & Passage

House Bill 4622 removes the Office of the Inspector General from the Department of Health, where is it for administrative purposes and clarifies that the Office of the Inspector General has the ability to conduct performance audits, financial audits, evaluations, and attestations engagements of the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health, and the Department of Health Facilities and their independent contractors.

House Bill 4640 adds crystalline polymorph psilocybin to the permitted list of distributed and prescribed drugs if approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and scheduled by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Two amendments were adopted. The first adds synthetic kratom alkaloid to the Drug Schedule I, having no medicinal value. The second amendment adds organic psilocybin to the permitted list, provided it is approved by the USFDA. Another amendment was made to remove THC from the Drug Schedule I, but was rejected.

Committee Hearing

House Bill 4740 makes changes to code relating to West Virginia’s Rural Health Transformation Program and the State of West Virginia’s commitments to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This includes exempting program implementation from purchasing restrictions, adopting the Presidential Fitness Test, and requiring the Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine to require continuing education in nutrition.

House Bill 4629 allows individuals performing cessation research conducted by an institute of higher education to provide tobacco products to 18 to 21-year-olds as part of a sanctioned medically supervised program.

House Bill 4715 allows qualified physician assistants and certified nurse practitioners to practice without physician supervision. The sponsor of the bill stated that the bill was brought to her by individuals in the profession wanting to provide better access to care in rural areas. A representative for the Board of Medicine and several other boards stated that collaboration between physicians and other healthcare practitioners lead to better care for patients.

The Subcommittee on Agriculture, Commerce, and Tourism met this afternoon.

Markup & Passage

House Bill 4121 requires county commissions to provide ambulance services to all residents and to submit a yearly report by September 1 to the Office of Emergency Medical Services on the funds expended the prior year for emergency ambulance services. The bill was reported to the Committee on Government Organization.

House Bill 4355 creates the “upland game bird” stamp to be administered by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Upland game birds include ruffed grouse, bobwhite quail, ring-necked pheasant, woodcock, and snipe. The stamp cost would be $10. The bill advanced to the Committee on Government Organization.

Committee Hearing

House Bill 4386 removes age limitations for people employed for firefighting services.

House Bill 4424 permits landowners or lessees of land whose land is damaged by deer or other wildlife to hire a third party to kill the deer or other wildlife by bow and arrow.

House Bill 4493 creates the West Virginia Abolishment of Wholesaling Act. Wholesaling is the purchasing of real property with the intent to transfer or sell the contractual rights to a third party for a fee, without the wholesaler taking legal title to the property.