Author: Ashton Marra

New Law Reducing Felonies Among Several Taking Effect

Dozens of new laws took effect in West Virginia Friday, three months after the end of the state’s regular Legislative session. The bills with a July 7…

Dozens of new laws took effect in West Virginia Friday, three months after the end of the state’s regular Legislative session. 

The bills with a July 7 effective date include the West Virginia Second Chance for Employment Act, a bill that allows some nonviolent felonies to petition to have their convictions be reduced to misdemeanors.

The change in law is meant to make it easier for certain felons to get back into the workforce.

Tanning indoors is no longer legal for minors in the state. A new law prohibits the use of tanning beds for anyone under the age of 18—a bill that was presented to lawmakers as a public health issue.

Also among the bills taking effect Friday is one that creates a misdemeanor offense to share sexual images without the consent of the person in the photo.

The bill was brought to lawmakers by a group of students at West Liberty University near Wheeling. 

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story stated that felonies could be expunged from a person’s record under the Second Chance for Employment Act and has been changed to reflect the reduction of felonies to a misdemeanor. 

Capito Wants More Medicaid, Opioid Treatment Funding in Republican Healthcare Bill

A day after announcing she could not support the Senate Republican-backed healthcare overhaul plan, West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said Wednesday…

"I waited for changes; they never came." –Sen. Shelley Moore Capito

A day after announcing she could not support the Senate Republican-backed healthcare overhaul plan, West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said Wednesday she will offer her own changes to the bill which she thinks could make it more palatable in West Virginia.

In a press call with reporters, Capito said she knew more than a week ago she could not support the bill that is designed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, but she did not formally release a statement about her stance until after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday he’s delaying a vote because of opposition in his caucus.

Capito said she wants the bill to include subsidies that help make health care more affordable for low-income Americans.

She wants an additional $45 billion included for opioid and substance abuse treatment programs, and she said the bill does not include enough funding for Medicaid, the national health care program that provides insurance for hundreds of thousands of low-income and disabled West Virginians.

“I don’t think it’s good for West Virginia. I’ve heard from West Virginians, I can see for myself what it does,” she said, “and I am absolutely opposed to the direction that that bill was going.”

State and national groups have targeted Capito during the past several weeks, attempting to influence her vote on the bill. Many of those efforts are continuing with a final vote now expected after Congress’s 4th of July break.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has expressed opposition to the Republican healthcare plan since the House of Representatives approved its proposal in early May. 

Marshall, W.Va. State Hike Tuition after State Budget Cut

Two West Virginia universities will be increasing tuition for students after significant cuts from the state Legislature.

Lawmakers approved a budget earlier this month that cut most colleges and universities by about 4.5 percent, although the state’s two largest institutions, West Virginia and Marshall Universities, will see cuts of nearly 7 percent in the new fiscal year that begins July 1.

As a result, Marshall University’s governing board voted Wendesday to increase tuition by 9 percent for both in-state and out-of-state students. The cost for on campus housing and dining will remain the same, according to a university press release.

West Virginia State University will also increase tuition for the 2017-2018 school year. Students at the school in Institute will see a 5 percent hike on their bill after the school’s 4.88 percent cut in state funding.

West Virginia University’s Board of Governors will be meeting tomorrow to consider tuition increases at the state’s largest university.

Justice Signs Bill to Increase Tolls for Turnpike Bond in Southern W.Va.

Gov. Jim Justice has signed legislation allowing the West Virginia Parkways Authority to increase the tolls on the state turnpike and create a new single fee program in the name of a bond to fund new road projects in southern West Virginia.

The bill is part of his roads package, a set of bills and bond initiatives that will boost revenue for road maintenance and construction and in turn, according to the governor, create jobs.

Senate Bill 1003 keeps the tolls on the state turnpike in place and allows the Parkways Authority to increase those tolls, creating one new source of funding. 

The increased toll revenue will be combined with the dollars brought in from a program that, as described in the bill, would allow anyone to pay a single, annual fee to travel through the toll plazas. Together, the revenue will fund a new road bond that will pay for road projects in ten counties in southern West Virginia.

In his discussions of the single fee program, Justice has commonly said the fee will be $8, but the bill allows for a fee of up to $25 with the ability to increase it incrementally over time. 

Parkways Authority General Manager Greg Barr explained a traffic and revenue study will determine just how much the tolls will increase, the cost of that annual fee, and the size of the bond that the two will fund. Barr said it will take several months to complete such a study. 

The bill requires, however, that the revenue from the bond must be used in ten southern West Virginia counties surrounding the turnpike itself.

The governor also signed a proclamation Tuesday setting the special election date for his bond initiative for October 7.

The bond that will need to be approved by the voters is not the same as the bond that will be created by the Parkways Authority to fund projects in southern West Virginia.

Instead, the bond put to a vote in October will fund road maintenance and construction projects across West Virginia.

It will be funded by the increases to the gasoline tax and Division of Motor Vehicles fees approved in a separate bill during the special legislative session.

Capito Says She'll Vote No on Current Republican Healthcare Bill

Both of West Virginia’s U.S. Senators have now announced their opposition to a federal healthcare bill that could result in the loss of healthcare…

Both of West Virginia’s U.S. Senators have now announced their opposition to a federal healthcare bill that could result in the loss of healthcare coverage for millions of Americans. 

Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito announced Tuesday afternoon in a press release she is a no vote on the bill. The statement came after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced earlier in the day he would delay a vote of the full Senate until after the 4th of July holiday.

The bill itself is meant to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act—former President Obama’s signature healthcare law.

The Congressional Budget Office released an analysis of the Senate’s version of the legislation earlier this week that said more than 22 million Americans would lose their health insurance should the bill pass in its current form.

In the statement, Capito said she has vowed to support a bill that lowers the cost of healthcare for West Virginians and increases access to substance abuse treatment, and this bill does not do that.

“As drafted, this bill will not ensure access to affordable health care in West Virginia, does not do enough to combat the opioid epidemic that is devastating my state, cuts traditional Medicaid too deeply, and harms rural health care providers,” Capito said.

“As drafted, the Senate health care bill is not the right fix for West Virginia,” she said, “and I cannot support it.”

Capito’s statement came in a joint release with Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman who also said he would vote no on the current plan.

By Tuesday, seven Republicans had indicated they would vote against the bill, and it would take only two Republican no votes to kill it in the chamber.

Democratic Sen. Jon Manchin came out against the Republican legislation before the Senate’s version was released and has continued to lobby against it. 

2018 Budget will Become Law without Justice's Signature

Gov. Jim Justice said the legislatively approved budget for the 2018 fiscal year will become law without his signature. “I can’t sign this. I can’t…

Gov. Jim Justice said the legislatively approved budget for the 2018 fiscal year will become law without his signature. 

“I can’t sign this. I can’t possibly sign this,” Justice said.

He was joined by several cabinet secretaries, elected officials, and members of his staff Wednesday morning to announce he would not sign the budget bill approved by lawmakers late Friday night.

But unlike a previous version of the budget passed in April, Justice said he will not veto the bill either. Instead, he’ll let it become law without taking any action.

The $4.2 billion budget does not include any new revenue, but relies on cuts to public and higher education, a boost to the economy from bills that will fund new road construction, and back filling Medicaid funding by some $30 million with expected surpluses.

Justice called the budget a “travesty” and criticized lawmakers for not approving tax increases he proposed to avoid cuts to programs.

“They voted against the people of this state. They didn’t hurt me, they hurt the people,” Justice said.

In a written statement, Senate President Mitch Carmichael said he was thankful the governor was doing “the right,” allowing the bill to become law without placing an additional tax burden on the people of West Virginia. 

The budget bill will take effect Saturday, June 24. 

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