Randy Yohe, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Broadband Connectivity In W.Va. Will Require Full Cooperation

The FCC ranks West Virginia 47th among the 50 states in broadband connectivity. Now, long-stalled efforts are underway to change that ranking.

This week the Senate passed Senate Bill 494, a Democrat-sponsored bill creating the Broadband Carrier Neutral and Open Access Infrastructure Development Fund, for various uses by the WV Office of Broadband. The lead sponsor and longtime broadband advocate is Robert Plymale, D-Wayne.

“A full fifth of our state remains unconnected,” Plymale said. “And with only 39 percent of West Virginians having access to affordable broadband, defined as a plan under $60, the on-ramp to those opportunities is often simply out of reach for many household budgets.”

Secretary of Economic Development Mitch Carmichael will administer the fund, and the more than $1 billion in federal monies procured for broadband expansion. Carmichael said work is already underway in stringing fiber optic cable and bringing affordable broadband to the 300,000 remote West Virginia households in need. Carmichael said the plan creates a public-private partnership with the state working with commercial broadband carriers.

“The programs that we put in place are essentially a reverse bid, so that the internet service providers can bid on providing services to these customers, and whoever comes in at the lowest rate gets the award,” Carmichael said. “And we also make sure that they have validated financials, validated customer service metrics, all those good components.”

Del. Daniel Linville, R-Cabell is the lead sponsor on House Bill 4001. The bill ensures service reliability and provides long term oversight of overall connectivity.

“We need to make sure that as we partner with the private sector, that they understand that we mean business,” Linville said. “Because if they don’t, and if the failed promises of the past continue like we’ve seen previously with Frontier and Suddenlink, then ultimately, the people won’t be served.”

The federal government has a five year funding deadline to get broadband connectivity to all West Virginians. All involved say with cooperation, the job can be done quicker.

Camera Bill For Work Zones Will Stop Speeders, Save Lives

In West Virginia, the numbers show that too many drivers speed through active work zones, negligently causing deaths and injuries. One proposed bill uses technology to save highway workers’ lives.

Del. Josh Booth, R-Wayne, has a day job as a highway construction worker. So, Booth has both a public and personal interest in sponsoring House Bill 4595.

“I’ve been struck by a car twice, once in Huntington, once in Institute,” Booth said. “There have been 15 fatalities in West Virginia work zones over the past five years and 500 accidents with injuries.”

Booth said excessive speed is the leading cause of worker injuries and death. HB 4595 would set up a camera-assisted enforcement system on multi-lane, high-speed highways.

The system would operate only where workers are present. The camera would only capture rear license plates. Drivers will become informed of the camera systems and work zone safety through a public education awareness campaign, increased signage in construction areas, and notice of work zone camera placement on the WV 511 website.

Booth explained that the West Virginia border states of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia have an identical camera work zone speed system up and running. He says it works, but things change when drivers cross that border into the mountain state.

“You bet it does,” Booth said. “They start speeding because they know there’s no monitoring, they know there’s no oversight.”

Mike Clowser, the executive director for the Contractors Association of West Virginia explains that violators caught by camera will first be warned if traveling more than 10 MPH over the speed limit. Clowser said the second violation is a $75 fine and the third violation, a $150 fine.

“This isn’t a ‘gotcha’ plan. Drivers will see signs that say, cameras, cameras, cameras, warning them to slow down.” Clowser said.

Both men said they have seen vehicles go through active construction sites at up to 120 MPH. This isn’t the Daytona 500, it’s highway improvement work that needs to be safe.

Bill For Law Enforcement Training About Alzheimer’s Advances

On Alzheimer’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol Wednesday, many celebrated a bill with full bipartisan support that highlights first responder training.

In the house chamber, a citation was read recognizing the work of the West Virginia Alzheimer’s Association. Its public policy director, David Zielonka recognizes the need for HB 4521.

The bill requires all state law enforcement and correction officers undergo training to deal with those living with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Zielonka said more than half of the 40,000 West Virginians suffering the brain disorder affecting memory and behavior will wander off at some point.

“They can be showing erratic signs, they can be lost, we want to make sure the officers understand how to identify someone with Alzheimer’s, how to communicate with them and return them to their caregiver,” Zielonka said.

The specialized instruction also includes understanding the risks associated with Alzheimer’s, including elder abuse and exploitation.

Del. Ruth Rowan, R-Hampshire sponsors the house bill. She said she appreciates the term ‘respectfully treated’ included in the legislation.

“A lot of these people suffering from Alzheimer’s were productive citizens, very active in their communities, and all of a sudden their families are faced with the fact that they are not making the decisions they were making a few years ago,” Rowan said, “So it’s very important that the office understand and realize the backgrounds they are coming from.”

Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone is a physician specializing in geriatrics. Stollings sponsors similar Alzheimer’s legislation, SB 570.

“We don’t want any of our seniors being wrestled out of their car, or put to the ground because they don’t know how to obey what a police officer asks them to do,” Stollings said.

SB 570 passed unanimously, providing education and understanding for treating a unique and challenging disease.

Coalition Convenes Black-Led Policy Advocacy Event

Black West Virginians say their contributions and needs are not widely known or appreciated by the media or in legislative policy making. In 2022 they are doing more than just speaking out.

In the capitol rotunda, the recent Black-led advocacy event was part policy push and part old time revival.

Rev. Matthew Watts is pastor at Charleston’s Grace Bible Church. He said he wants to see a West Virginia legislative package that would earmark some of the millions of federal COVID-19 relief dollars to go to social and economic recovery for minorities and the poor.

“The pandemic has imposed unprecedented challenges on every institution in American society,” Watts said. “Particularly in the areas of health, housing education, employment and economics.”

To that end, the event featured Rev. Kobi Little, the president of Community Partnerships for Public Health International. He has organized the Mountain State Safe and Healthy Communities Coalition to encourage vaccination in hesitant communities.

“We’re encouraging people to get vaccinated because we know that the vaccines prevent people from being severely ill from COVID, from being hospitalized, and from passing away,” Little said.

The Black-led policy coalition presented the legislature with a series of bills that are already part of state law that they said needed funding, execution, or both. For example, Watts said 2017’s House Bill 2724 that focused on Improving public health and addressing poverty through community development was never funded or executed according to law.

Other examples included Senate Bill 573 from 2004, a minority economic development bill that was never funded or executed and Senate Bill 611, from 2012, a pilot project to improve outcomes for at-risk youth that has ended and needs re-activation.

Sen Owens Brown, D-Ohio, is the first African-American male to serve in the West Virginia Senate. Brown said the issue is not the obvious one.

“But the real struggle, it’s not about black versus white. It’s about rich versus poor,” Brown said. “Frederick Douglass said it’s about the class struggle. What you’re doing today here with the bills and things is about class struggle.”

Drug And Alcohol Abuse Counselors Bring Issues to Lawmakers

Recovery Advocacy Day at the capitol brought a sharper focus this year on the successes and challenges in helping those struggling with addiction get not just sober, but productive. Drug and alcohol counseling specialists from around the state came to petition delegates and senators, voicing support, opposition or clarification on at least 19 key legislative bills.

Joe Deegan is the Public Policy Director for the West Virginia Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors. The organization opposes House Bill 2257. If it becomes law, the bill will create extended supervision for some drug offenders, in some cases up to ten years. Deegan said if a violator does their time and follows through on probation, extended supervision can be counterproductive.

“That creates a financial burden, it creates an undue burden for these folks to get back into normal society,” Deegan said.

After lengthy debate, HB 2257 passed in the House, and now heads to the Senate .

Deegan said the group supports House Bill 4457, providing tax credits for hiring those in recovery for substance abuse. He agreed employers do take a risk, but countered that they can reap rewards.

“I’m personally recovering myself, I got hired and feel like I’m a good employee. These days there are a lot of people out there that need a chance,” Deegan said.

Recovery Point West Virginia has 365 beds in facilities statewide. Their development director, Andrew Daniels, said a 25 percent increase in covid related expenses means following through on protocols, making continued legislative funding vital.

“The ongoing process is testing, getting cleaning supplies, changing our cleaning schedules to make sure everything is clean throughout the day,” Daniels said. “There was no budget, no expenses put aside for anything like that.”

Addiction specialists said they can’t help people get clean and sober without legislative understanding of the help they need.

Second West Virginia Law School Proposed For Marshall University

Del. Mathew Rohrbach, R-Cabell, is sponsoring House Bill 4425 to create a law school at Marshall University. Rohrbach said he has no data, but insists this would fulfill an unmet need in southern West Virginia.

“This is to allow people who probably are not going to show up in statistics, But see a real value in getting a legal education to further their professional careers,” Rohrbach said.

Rohrbach proposed the Marshall Law School be housed at the university’s South Charleston campus, and that it offer a non-traditional schedule.

“Probably more night and weekend classes than you would have in a traditional law school.” Rohrbach said. “It’s geared more at people in banking, insurance and mineral law.”

Del. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, is a lawyer who graduated from the state’s only law school at West Virginia University. Garcia said with no data, he’s skeptical at best about a second law school at Marshall.

“The question is do we really need any more lawyers? I think if you went down the street and asked any person, they would say we’d probably need less.” Garcia said. “And, how is that going to affect the West Virginia University College of Law and what it does?”

Marshall’s Communications Director Leah Payne said while a law school is something they’ve considered, the bill proposal came as a surprise.

“There will be a lot of due diligence, studies about need, how a law school could be implemented,” Payne said. ”It’s very premature at this point.”

Currently, the Marshall Law School bill is stalled in the House Education Committee.