Adult Education Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Bills Sent To Governor Include Adult Education, Personal Information And Changes In Public Broadcasting

Bills were completed on adult education, safeguarding health care worker’s personal information – and leadership and structural changes in West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s parent organization, the state Educational Broadcasting Authority.

In the House of Delegates Wednesday, several Senate bills on third reading were sent to the governor’s desk for his signature. Bills were completed on adult education, safeguarding health care worker’s personal information – and leadership and structural changes in West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s parent organization, the state Educational Broadcasting Authority.

Offering better educational opportunities to adults is key to Senate Bill 146, creating an adult education taskforce, empowered to fund and enhance already established adult learning centers around the state. The bill passed with a 94-2 vote.

For West Virginia hunters and anglers, Senate Bill 148 established an auto-renewal program for wildlife licenses. The BIll passed 96-0.

Senate Bill 477 updates state code on prohibiting public disclosure of personal information on the internet, specifically for health care workers and first responding health care workers.

Del. Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis, supported a bill he said is protective and proactive.

“There has to be threats, there has to be crimes committed, there has to be an issue prior to being able to have your information removed,” Burkhammer said. “I think that’s what we’re looking at here is the opportunity and the ability for our healthcare workers on the front lines out here to proactively go and request their personal information, their mailing addresses where people could show up at their homes, which is a real threat that individuals in my community have called and asked for.

Senate Bill 477 passed 93-2.

Also on third reading, Senate Bill 844 redesignates the Educational Broadcasting Authority (EBA) as an Educational Broadcasting Commission . West Virginia Public Broadcasting is operated by the EBA.

The bill highlights duties of the newly created Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Arts, Culture and History.

It changes the now-governing body, the Educational Broadcasting Authority to the Educational Broadcasting Commission, and gives it only duties to act as an advisor and consultant.

Del. Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, opposed a bill he feared would eliminate a policy making board and possibly turn news reporting into propaganda.

“All it takes is a phone call from the governor’s office, to the secretary, to have everything changed to pull news, subjects that aren’t pleasant, in the governor’s office,” Rowe said. “We’re setting up a structure where literally one phone call can completely change an agency. And that’s not something that we want. And certainly, whenever it’s news, and I hate to use the term, but it creates an opportunity for propaganda, rather than news. For slanting of information about economic development or, or any sort of possibilities in the programming of public broadcasting.

No one in the supermajority spoke for the bill, which passed 79-12 and goes to the governor’s desk.

Retirement, Trails, Schools And Hunger: Senate Keeps Pace, Passes 10 More Bills

The Senate did not slow down Tuesday, passing another 10 bills ranging on topics from energy to education and public employee retirement.

Senate Bill 160 would establish the West Virginia Rail Trails Program to acquire and develop abandoned railroad rights-of-way for interim use as public, non-motorized recreational trails.

Senate Bill 166 increases the amount retired public employees can earn in a year without suspending their retirement annuity. Sen. Eric Nelson, R-Kanawha, said the amount will need to be reviewed every five years, and does not impact the state’s other retirement funds.

“This bill will raise the minimum amount up to $25,000, which in essence reflects half or the average salary that employees in PERS system are currently earning,” Nelson said. “The bill only affects retirements in the Public Employees Retirement System. It does not have any effect on employees working part-time there in the Teachers Retirement System.”

Lawmakers have discussed encouraging retirees to return to work to help shore up some of the state’s labor shortfalls. The bill passed unanimously without debate.

Three bills originating from the Senate Education Committee also passed, including:

Senate Bill 222 to create an adult education taskforce.

Senate Bill 428 which would create new requirements for local school improvement councils, including the publication of meeting minutes.

Senate Bill 306, establishes the Summer Feeding for All Program to study statewide efforts to feed students when they are out of school. Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, stood in support of the bill.

“Childhood hunger is very real in America and it’s certainly very real in West Virginia,” he said. “There will be an opportunity for each county to learn from different counties and ensure that there are no pockets of hunger for children during the summer. It’s just a comprehensive plan instead of our hodgepodge that we’ve had in the past and I appreciate it.”

Senate Bill 306 was the only bill that did not pass unanimously Tuesday. Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Randolph, was the sole dissenting vote.

Three other bills all originated on request of the state’s Tax Commissioner, including:

Senate Bill 443, which shifts estate administration fees from the Tax Commissioner to the State Auditor.

Senate Bill 446, to remove methanol and methanol fuel from definition of special fuel to reduce costs in industrial use.

Most notably among the three, Senate Bill 444 closes the West Virginia Future Fund. Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said legislation passed last year made it impossible to deposit money in the fund.

“Some years ago the legislature created the Future Fund, which had the purpose of saving the anticipated revenue stream for the marcellus shale,” Tarr said. “This bill eliminates the fund and transfers over existing funds to general revenue. And just as an aside, in committee we also found that we couldn’t find any funds within this fund. So, it’s defunct.”

The Senate also passed Senate Bill 249 to change requirements for the state Real Estate License and Senate Bill 335 to authorize 11 legislative rules from the Department of Homeland Security.

All 10 bills now go to the House of Delegates for their consideration.

On Second Reading

Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, presented an amendment to Senate Bill 426, colloquially known as the “TikTok Ban” bill.

The amendment mandates the state’s Chief Information Security Officer develop standards for, “high risk technology platforms, services, applications, programs or products” that would include exceptions for, “legitimate law enforcement or national security purposes.”

The bill is expected to be on third reading Wednesday, Feb. 1.

Free Adult Education Center Opens in Huntington

A charity has opened a new adult education center in Huntington that will offer free training in everything from college preparation to financial literacy and parenting.

The Herald-Dispatch reports that enrollment at the Center for Community Learning and Advancement is open every day for the next two weeks. After that, the center will have open enrollment each Friday.

Coordinator Ginny Sellerds says full-time instructors will function as mentors and case workers.

The center is owned and operated by Catholic Charities West Virginia, and all of the classes are free. Each class will have between eight and 10 people.

A Georgetown University report says that by 2020, 65 percent of all of the jobs in the U.S. will require post-secondary education or some other training beyond high school.