Saturday, April 11, 2026
Saturday, April 11, 2026
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HB 2006 Read for the first time

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Today, the House convened at 11 a.m. HB 2006 was read for the first time to the House. The Committee Substitute of the bill passed through the Judiciary Committee on Friday. 

HB 2006 would increase the penalties for violating the Whistle-blower Law. The bill additionally authorizes the termination from employment for a violation, instead of the current allowance of a suspension not to exceed six months. 

Bills introduced today included HB 2367, HB 2401, and 2403.

HB 2367 would establish a new crime of organized retail crime, establishing penalties and providing for forfeiture of property or other asset derived from organized retail crime. 

HB 2401 would increase teacher’s salaries in order to be competitive with other states.

HB 2403 would permit county boards of education to accumulate instructional days and use them when needed in a later instructional term when inclement weather and emergencies prevent the otherwise full instructional term from being completed. The bill establishes an instructional day to be three hundred thirty minutes. 

Committee Meetings Today

Judiciary: 12:45 p.m. in 410M

Roads and Transportation: 1 p.m. in Gov. Org- 215E

Education: 2 p.m. in Education- 434M

Finance: 2 p.m. in House Finance- 410M

Sub-Committee on Anti-Competitive Behavior: 2 p.m. in 215E

Joint Finance and Joint Pension and Retirement: 3 p.m. in Chamber

Committe Meetings Tomorrow

Industry and Labor: 9 a.m. in 215E

Political Subdivisons: 1 p.m. in 434M

Health and Human Resources: 2 p.m. in 215E

There will be a budget presentation at 4 p.m. in the House Chamber.

The House is adourned until 11 a.m. tomorrow. 

 

Senate President Introduces Tax Reform “Vision”

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Senate President Mitch Carmichael (R-Jackson) discussed his goals with the Senate Committee on Tax Reform 1 p.m. Friday.

President Carmichael’s “vision” is a complete elimination of the income tax in the state of West Virginia. He said other growing states have made this change from a focus on income tax to a focus on consumer sales tax instead.

In his own experience, Carmichael said he has found that citizens are fond of the suggestion as well, since “the more people look at it, the more people like it.”

The president said the shift in revenue would also help to alleviate many future tax reform problems.

As for the committee’s role, Carmichael said he believes they are “the right team” for turning his ideas into a reality.

“I fundamentally believe that this is the most important committee of this session,” Carmichael said. “This committee is about transforming the state.”

Senator Robert Karnes (R-Upshur), Chair, said the committe will do their best to achieve this goal in a timely manner by maintaining a bipartisan environment in committee proceedings.

Karnes also announced that the committee will be working with West Virginia University and Marshall University to collect and evaluate data for their tax reform measures.

The next meeting date for the Senate Committee on Tax Reform has yet to be determined.

House Judiciary Met Today

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Today, the House Judiciary Committee met and discussed HB 2006-committee substitute and HB 2205.

The Committee Substitute of HB 2006 was approved in the committee to go to the House floor. HB 2006 would increase the penalties for violating the Whistle-blower Law. The bill additionally authorizes the termination from employment for a violation, instead of the current allowance of a suspension not to exceed six months. 

HB 2205 would exempt hearing oil used for residential purposes from the Motor Fuel Excise Tax. It was amended today to include propane used for the purposes of home heating. It was approved and will be sent to the Finance Committee. 

Day Three in the House

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Today, 22 new bills were introduced to the House of Delegates. Among these bills were HB2329 and HB2339. 

HB2329 would make the production, manufacture, or possession of fentanyl unlawful. 

HB2339 would create the Intrastate Coal and Use Act. It establishes that the environmental regulation of coal and certain coal products mined and used within the state are exclusively regulated by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. This bill also states the legislative authority and defines terms. 

Committee Meetings Monday, February 13th

Judiciary 9:30 a.m. in House Judiciary- 410M

Roads and Transportation: 1 p.m. in Gov. Org- 215E

Education: 2 p.m. in Education- 434M

Finance: 2 p.m. in House Finance- 410M

Rules: 2 p.m. in Gov. Org.- 215E

Joint Finance and Joint Pension and Retirement: 3 p.m. in Chamber

The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. Monday, February 13.

Senate Introduces 21 New Bills

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The Senate met today briefly to introduce 21 new bills. These bills included SB 241 and SB 246.

Senate Bill 241 would create the Volunteer Fire and Rescue Act of 2017.

Senate Bill 246 would implement water quality standards of drinking water.

Senate Resolution 11 was adopted today. This designated February 10, 2017 as Dental Hygienists Day.

The Select Committee on Tax Reform will beet today at 1 p.m. in 451M.

 

The Senate is adjourned until Monday the 13th at 11 a.m. 

Senate Confirmations Committee Hold First Meeting

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The Senate Confirmations Committee met briefly 10 a.m. Friday.

Members discussed regular meeting times, as well as adopted the agenda for the committee.

For now, meetings are expected to take place 10 a.m. each Friday.

Senate Education Forms New Subcommittee, Hears Request for SB 184

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The Senate Education Committee met Thursday and approved the creation of the Subcommittee on School Choice.

Senator Robert Karnes (R-Upshur) will serve as chair of the subcommittee, and Senators Mike Azinger (R-Wood) and Robert Plymale (D-Wayne) will serve as members.

Following this decision, Senator John Unger (D-Berkeley) asked that SB 184 relating to the privitization of higher education be sent to the Education Committee for discussion, once it is out of the Government Organization Committee.

Unger said the Education Committee need to have a say in the bill’s progress, as it pertains to an aspect of education.

“This is an urgent matter,” Unger said, since the decision on SB 184 could affect what direction the state goes in to fund education overall.

The next meeting for the Senate Education Committee has not yet been announced.

Senate Energy, Industry & Mining Committee Hold First Meeting

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The Senate Energy, Industry & Mining Committee met briefly 1 p.m. Thursday.

Members adopted the rules and agenda for the committee, which followed with a movement to adjorn by the committee chair, Senator Smith (R-Tucker).

The next committee meeting has yet to be determined.

Senate Finance Warned of Possible Recession

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The Senate Finance Committee reviewed several areas of potential shortcomings in the state’s fiscal status during a meeting Thursday at 9:30 a.m. with Deputy Revenue Secretary Mark Muchow presenting a report from the West Virginia Department of Revenue.

In his presentation, Muchow warned the committee of a possible recession next year, which would mostly come about as a result of West Virginia’s slow employment rate, which has a projected growth of 2.5 percent from 2015-2019, in comparison to the projected national average of 4.9 percent.

Muchow said many factors work to inhibit the state’s progress, including “sluggish” wage growth over the past four years, slow recovery from drops in coal and natural gas profits and exports, and a lack of significant income tax and sales tax revenue growth.

Muchow said the state should expect a $200 million budget gap this year, with a gap of $500 million in 2018.

West Virginia’s greatest challenge, Muchow said, is that job growth takes place in urban areas, but many of the state’s citizens live in rural communities that might not have as much access to potential job opportunities now that coal is a declining source of revenue.

The Senate Finance Committee will focus more on how these factors apply to Governor Justice’s proposed budget bill at their next meeting Thursday 3 p.m.

40 Bills Introduced in Senate

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The West Virginia Senate met briefly today to introduce 40 bills. Some of the bills included SB 200 and SB 228.

Senate Bill 200 would increase high-quality educational opportunities within the public school system.

Senate Bill 228 relates to workers compensation disability and death benefits.

Senate Resolution 9 and Senate Resolution 10 were adopted today. These resolutions recognized the St. Marys High School boys cross country team for winning the 2016 Class AA/A state championship and the St. Marys High School football team for winning the 2016 Class A state championship.

The following committees are meeting today:

Finance at 3 p.m. in 451M

Judiciary at 3 p.m. in 208W

Education at 2 p.m. in 451M

Government organization at 2 p.m. in 208W

Energy at 1 p.m. in 208W

Health and Human Resources at 1 p.m. in 451M

The following committees are meeting tomorrow:

Confirmations at 10 a.m. in 208W

 

The Senate adjourned until 11 a.m. tomorrow.

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