House Republican Leaders Say Job Growth Is Major Priority For 2026 Legislative Session

Each year during the legislative session, more than 2,500 bills are introduced and roughly 10% of them pass. 

Tuesday, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, announced several proposals he expects the West Virginia House of Delegates to consider in January.

He said the House leadership surveyed all 91 Republican delegates about their priorities and received 81 replies. The number one response was creating job opportunities. He said the proposals also came from interim committee reports and studies, along with workgroups and conferences to learn from other states since the 2025 regular session had adjourned.

Hanshaw detailed three pillars of his agenda including a workforce readiness education program, a job creating business climate and responsible economic growth. 

“Whatever the issue, it’s most effectively solved in an environment that has a robust jobs economy, that has a robust jobs program that puts people to work in good, paying jobs and gives them the capacity to make decisions for themselves and their families,” he said. 

Hanshaw spoke about efforts to enhance workforce-ready education programs within the state, starting with a pay raise for teachers and service personnel. 

“This is by no means an exhaustive list of everything that will be debated during the session, and we certainly don’t have all the details ironed out on these things yet either,” he said. “We recognize the growing majority party includes many voices and each of our communities has different needs, but every community benefits from good jobs and opportunity.”

Other proposals included the ReCharge West Virginia Act, which would reimburse certain training costs for existing businesses that upskill their workers and boost their wages, as well as two work skills pathway programs: Skills at Work, and Tech Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul for future aviation careers. The West Virginia Collaboratory proposal would connect higher education research with the Legislature to provide data-driven solutions for major challenges.

Several proposals to ensure fair regulations and minimal red tape look to continue shaping the job-creating business climate.

“These may not be the most provocative bills, but they are issues our members hear about when they’re at the gas station and the grocery store,” Hanshaw said. “Things like expanding what we define as ‘recovered feedstock’ and ‘solid waste’ would recognize advanced technology for recycling and allow for more manufacturing, and that’s a proposal for more jobs, plain and simple.”

Other business climate proposals included allowing portable benefits for the modern workforce to more flexibly maintain retirement or insurance savings across multiple employers; Mountaineer Flex, a performance-based, flexible tax credit to encourage major investment and job creation without limiting it to a specific industry; a timing proposal for the Public Service Commission (PSC) to allow an Energy Infrastructure Approval fast track for more modern and reliable power which also would create jobs; and TEAM-WV, which would create a competitive, statewide nonprofit to drive a cohesive strategy for site development, partnerships and business growth.

Finally, proposals to address responsible economic growth included the Construction Cost Relief Act, which would exempt building construction materials from the state sales tax; the Welcome Home Act, which would help real estate developers by separating their parceled inventory to fairly tax what is developed; the West Virginia First Small Business Growth Act, which would allow capital and financing for job creators already in the state; an update with additional funding to the Industrial Access Roads program for local Economic Development Agencies; and expanding site readiness grants with more funding altogether while including smaller acreage.