The Senate memorialized the life of former Senator Shirley Love on Friday with the unanimous adoption of Senate Resolution 30.
Family and friends of the late Senator were on hand in the gallery to listen to multiple Senators share their memories of Love.
Love, who served one term in the House of Delegates and 14 years in the Senate representing Fayette County, thrived during a 43-year career in radio and television broadcasting.
He passed away in July, 2020, at the age of 87.
Also on Friday, the Senate passed House Bill 2094, which would expand the state’s restorative justice program for juveniles.
Nationally, such programs have shown that by placing young people who have committed a crime face-to-face with the person that they’ve harmed, they are less likely to commit the crime again in the future.
Currently in West Virginia, the state Department of Health and Human Resources provides funding to two restorative programs, the National Youth Advocate Program, which serves 12 counties, and the Juvenile Mediation Program, which works with juveniles in the northern panhandle.
Generally, in these programs, victims will volunteer to meet with their juvenile offenders. They discuss the crime with a mediator present, and together they come up with a way that the juvenile can provide restitution.
In West Virginia, success in the program can lead to the dismissal of criminal charges.
Provided both parties are willing, the bill would open the process up to all juveniles in West Virginia, facing charges of any kind, including violent crimes. Under this legislation, the juvenile offender would only be able to participate in the program once.
The bill now heads back to the House of Delegates for final approval.
The Senate is adjourned until Saturday, March 27, at 12:00 p.m.
Video streaming is available for all meetings on the Legislative Live page.
Government Organization will meet today at 2 p.m. and tomorrow at 10 a.m. in 208W.
Finance will meet at 3 p.m. in 451M.
Judiciary will meet at 3 p.m. in 208W.
Energy, Industry and Mining will meet tomorrow at 9 a.m. in 208W.
