Committee Chairs Talk Foster Care, State Budget

On this episode of The Legislature Today, Curtis Tate caught up with two committee chairs: Del. Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis, the chair of House Human Services, and Sen. Jason Barrett, R-Berkeley, the chair of Senate Finance. They spoke about the most pressing issues in their committees, including foster care and the state budget.

Also, advocates for survivors of sexual violence hope the state will continue supporting crisis programs. They’re also backing a bill to target “sextortion,” and finding traction in the state legislature.

In the Senate, lawmakers heard from more than 10 speakers from across the country while discussing Senate Bill 545. The bill would ban certain food additives from school nutritional programs, in what lawmakers are calling the West Virginia Feed to Achieve Act.

West Virginia code tends to favor local control of schools via county boards of education. Last year, lawmakers took an initial step to raise the training standards for board members. As Chris Schulz reports, they are revisiting the topic this year.

And West Virginia’s legislature has a Republican supermajority. The Senate has the highest percentage of Republicans of any state legislative chamber in the nation. Before the start of this year’s session, Briana Heaney sat down with political science professors and legislators to discuss the impacts of the state’s supermajority.

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The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting