West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Telling West Virginia's Story
Governor Jim Justice is set to sign into a law today groundbreaking legislation that will increase funding for state roads.
Justice will sign Senate Bil 1006 today that increase funding for the State Road Fund. It does so by raising the flood on the average wholesale price for gas, creating a registration fee for cards that do not use gasoline and increasing the sales tax on vehicle purchases. It will also increase DMV fees.
The Law will go into effect July 1st.
Newly signed laws are intended to extend broadband internet service to parts of West Virginia lacking it and help the state better prepare for major flooding.
The broadband measure says it’s a primary goal of the Legislature and governor to make every community and rural area accessible and establish equitable access to 21st-century technology.
It establishes a council to gather data on existing service, including internet speeds, and annually map them.
It also establishes an insurance fund to support expansion projects and authorizes pilot projects by municipalities and cooperatives to reach underserved areas.
For flood protection, a new state resiliency office will receive funds, coordinate efforts and update plans annually against floods like those last June that killed 23 people and damaged hundreds of homes, businesses and infrastructure.
West Virginia is establishing a new Office of Drug Control Policy to coordinate statewide funding, reporting and data about drug use, overdoses, addiction treatment, needs and statewide policy.
The law approved by the Legislature and Gov. Jim Justice requires health care providers, pharmacies, medical examiners, police, prosecutors and emergency responders to report suspected or actual overdoses, medical treatments, use of overdose antidotes and drug poisoning deaths.
State data show 844 people died from drug overdoses last year in West Virginia.
Another new law authorizes spending $24 million from recent court settlements with opioid distributors to increase inpatient treatment beds, authorizing health officials to ensure they are available in the highest priority areas.
A third new measure clarifies requirements for using the state’s database for monitoring painkiller prescriptions, including overdose reports.
West Virginia has outlawed indoor tanning by anyone under 18.
The law approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jim Justice says tanning facility owners face a misdemeanor charge and $100 fine for a first offense.
That rises to a fine ranging from $250 to $500 for a second conviction and $500 to $1,000 for a third.
Under the old law, children younger than 14 were banned from tanning beds in West Virginia businesses. Those 14 to 17 needed parental permission or consent.
Sponsors say medical evidence shows an increased risk of skin cancers from indoor tanning.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 43 states regulate minors’ use of tanning facilities, and 15 other states and the District of Columbia ban them for people under 18.
Gov. Jim Justice has signed new laws to criminalize "revenge porn" and to establish a mechanism for reducing criminal records for non-violent felonies…
Gov. Jim Justice has signed new laws to criminalize “revenge porn” and to establish a mechanism for reducing criminal records for non-violent felonies down to misdemeanors.
The new crime laws are among dozens of measures the governor has signed so far this week following the Legislature’s 60-day regular session.
Other new laws will eliminate wage bond requirements, increase fines for littering, raise prison penalties for trafficking in fentanyl and set a $150 limit on fees charged by health care providers for patient records.
In West Virginia, it will be a misdemeanor to intentionally display publicly, distribute or threaten to disclose sexually explicit or intimate images of someone else without their consent.
A first offense is subject to a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 and up to a year in jail.
Gov. Jim Justice has signed a law revamping state oversight of West Virginia's colleges and universities, giving some schools more autonomy from West…
Gov. Jim Justice has signed a law revamping state oversight of West Virginia’s colleges and universities, giving some schools more autonomy from West Virginia’s Higher Education Policy Commission.
Institutions exempted from certain regulatory requirements are West Virginia University, including West Virginia University Potomac State College and West Virginia University Institute of Technology, Marshall University and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.
The measure, proposed by his administration and approved by the Legislature, gives the experts at the institutions more power to make decisions instead of state officials, Justice said. It gives the academy a larger role in devising policy, he said.
“My belief is just this, we’ve got real expertise if we’ll just listen, if we’ll just stop and listen,” Justice said after the signing Tuesday. “Because these people on the front lines, they’re not doing it for fun. And they’ve got real knowledge. And a lot of times we just think we’re higher than their knowledge.
WVU President Gordon Gee told The Associated Press it will save his university $2.8 million it will no longer pay to the commission plus other costs from state administrative requirements.
“It returns autonomy to set policy and manage the university to the board of governors,” Gee said. “All three schools have the bandwidth to be able to manage their own affairs.”
The amendment to current law also specifies that three members of the 10-member commission will be designated as higher education representatives, appointed by the governor with Senate confirmation.
