House of Delegates Story Archives - Page 3 of 35 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Younger Teens Would No Longer Need Work Permits Under Bill

A bill under review in the West Virginia House of Delegates would eliminate work permits for 14 and 15-year-olds, instead requiring the teenagers to receive a state-issued age certificate and parental consent.

The West Virginia House of Delegates is considering a bill that would eliminate work permits for 14 and 15-year-olds.

Currently, 14 and 15-year-olds must obtain a permit to work in West Virginia. These permits are ultimately under the purview of the state superintendent of schools.

But House Bill 5159 would eliminate these work permits, and instead require that 14- and 15-year-olds just receive proof of their age in the form of an age certificate.

Additionally, it would be up to the state Commissioner of Labor to distribute those certificates.

At a meeting of the House Committee on Government Organization Monday, Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, expressed concern that the bill would remove parental authority over youth employment.

During the meeting, members of the committee proposed an amendment that would require parental consent for an age certificate to be issued to a teenager.

The amendment passed, and Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, said it “tightens up a loophole” in the pending legislation.

For the most part, members of the committee spoke favorably of the bill, citing drawn-out experiences of helping their own children secure employment.

Young, however, voiced concern that removing work permits would still place employers and teenagers at risk.

Young pointed to an incident in Alabama in which a 15-year-old fell off a ladder on his first day at a roofing company and died. Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor found that the company had violated child labor laws.

“The parental consent absolutely helps. However, I still just think this is too onerous, and repealing laws that I think are good laws to have,” she said.

The bill ultimately received majority support from members of the committee, with delegates voting to send it to the House floor with the recommendation that it pass.

House Bill Would Cut Ties To ‘Antithetical’ Nations

A bill under consideration in the West Virginia House of Delegates would ban the state and its political subdivisions from engaging in certain forms of business with nations that hold values deemed “antithetical” to the state.

A bill in the West Virginia House of Delegates would restrict the state’s financial ties with foreign nations that hold values “antithetical” to its own.

House Bill 4364 would bar the state from contracting goods or services from foreign companies that could benefit the governments of China, Cuba, Iran, Laos, North Korea, Saudi Arabia or Vietnam.

The bill states that restrictions would be imposed upon these nations because they either “align with communist ideology” or have caused “nonmilitary deaths” of U.S. citizens without proper governmental response.

In the bill, lawmakers cited a growing globalized economy as the cause of its creation, stating that “a company may obfuscate the beneficiaries of the proposed commercial activity that are in fact foreign entities.”

At a meeting of the House Committee on Government Organization Monday, some lawmakers expressed concern that the bill could limit the competitiveness of the state economy, or that it could violate preexisting contracts with foreign organizations.

Counsel for the committee said retroactively rescinding agreed upon contracts is often disapproved of by state and federal judiciaries.

Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, who sponsored the bill, confirmed that the bill would work retroactively, affecting contracts implemented before its passage.

In response, Del. Chris Pritt, R-Kanawha, said that state lawmakers should have authority to interpret whether or not the bill adhered to the state constitution.

“It is up for us to make determinations and give our input in terms of what’s constitutional and what’s not,” he said.

Pritt added that he viewed the pending legislation as a “very, very good bill” that is “perfectly in conformity with the constitution.”

He also said that the bill marked an important step toward protecting the values of the state and country. “There are certain countries that are hostile not only to the interests of West Virginia, but that are hostile to the interests of the United States,” he said.

Ultimately, the committee voted in favor of the bill, recommending that it pass but first be referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Question On ‘Systemic Racism’ Fuels House Debate

Among the bills on third reading in the House of Delegates Thursday, a proposal on allowing schools to hire trained security guards, led to a heated societal debate over the issue of training the guards in the concept of systemic racism.

House Bill 4851 is a bill to allow for public and private schools in West Virginia to employ security personnel. The proposed training for these security guards includes firearms training, knowing certain state laws, properly dealing with disabled students, and understanding the concepts of racism and systemic racism.

An amendment proposed to the bill would strike “systemic racism” from the training requirements. That sparked what was at first a one-sided debate – because some amendment sponsors would not yield to a question.

Del. Amitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, opposed the amendment. She said systemic racism is woven into education, health care and much of the fabric of society.

“People are not willing to agree that this is happening in West Virginia,” Hamilton said. “Because that will lend to the ideology that we have structures in place within this state that are intentionally prohibiting people, particularly people of color, people like me, from advancing, from having access to equal education, equal health care, we don’t want to agree to those things happening here.”

Del. Tom Fast, R-Fayette, supported the amendment. He said the current language in this bill presupposes and would codify that the whole society or the whole education system is racist or biased.

“That means all persons are inherently racist or biased,” Fast said. “So you can look to the person on your left, and you can look to the person on your right regardless of their color, and you can presuppose that they are racist or biased. This amendment seeks it and rejects that notion.”

House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, said acknowledging systemic racism doesn’t make anyone any less of a person, or less of a Republican.

“I’m just finding it hard to understand that now, all of a sudden, we’re doing things to chip away at people working together,” Hornbuckle said. “To acknowledge things. Why would we do that? I mean, we see it, just recently in the financial sector, with financial firms, and banks being caught red handed. On not allowing mortgages for certain people, we’ve seen insurance companies denying coverage for certain people.”

Other Republicans joined Democrats in speaking against excluding systemic racism from school security guard training.

Finally, the amendment sponsor, Del. Elias Coop-Gonzalez, R-Randolph, a Latino, said he was elected, thus proving his point.

“I’m from Guatemala, and my mom is Indigenous. And I inherited her last name,” Coop-Gonzalez said. “Today, none of the people sitting over there have had the courage to condemn. Not the gentleman from the 5th or the 25th. I guess they didn’t show up to work. But in my district, Latinos make up less than one percent of the population. But in 2022, for only the second time in the history of our state, they elected me, a Latino man, to represent them. Is that a racist system? No. I’m living proof of it.”

The amendment passed 75-20, removing systemic racism from the training list. House Bill 4851 passed 89-0 with 11 members either absent, or most of the 11, not voting.

House Passes Bill That Would Grant Courts More Flexibility On Shoplifting Penalties

A bill granting judges more flexibility in shoplifting sentencing passed in the West Virginia House of Delegates on Friday. It will now be sent to the West Virginia Senate for further discussion.

The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill Friday that would remove a mandated year of incarceration for repeat shoplifting offenders.

Under current law, West Virginians convicted of shoplifting three or more times are required to spend one year in prison without the possibility of parole.

But House Bill 4998 removes the clause denying parole, granting more flexibility to the courts sentencing offenders.

Del. Todd Kirby, R-Raleigh, who sponsored the bill, said on the House floor Friday that such steep penalties for what can be a minor crime makes some prosecutors reluctant to pursue shoplifting charges.

“It seems harsh to send someone to the penitentiary for a minimum of one year if, in fact, they happen to steal a Snickers bar or a loaf of bread,” Kirby said.

“Judges under this bill will have the opportunity to impose sentences, if it is appropriate, from one to 10 years,” he added. “But they’re no longer bound to do so.”

The bill passed with an additional amendment that would require individuals convicted three times or more of shoplifting be tested for substance use disorders.

Individuals diagnosed with a disorder would then be required to receive treatment in addition to the penalties assigned by a court.

Under current state law, existing penalties include a fine between $500 and $5,000, as well as one to 10 years of imprisonment.

Kirby said that this amendment helps address an issue linked to many shoplifting convictions.

“Most shoplifting charges are related to substance or alcohol abuse,” Kirby said.

“This isn’t soft on crime, but it is realistic,” he added.

Now, the bill will go to the West Virginia Senate, where lawmakers will decide whether to advance the bill further.

House Bills Aim To Bolster Hunting, Fishing Access For West Virginians

Two bills under consideration in the West Virginia House of Delegates aim to reinforce hunting and fishing access within the state. They passed a House committee with majority support, and will each be referred to a second committee for further deliberation.

On Wednesday, the West Virginia House of Delegates Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources voiced support for two pieces of proposed legislation that would reinforce hunting and fishing rights in the state.

House Bill 4280 would grant disabled West Virginia veterans free lifetime hunting, trapping and fishing licenses through a tax credit.

Brett McMillion, director of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, testified during Wednesday’s committee meeting, and said passage of the bill would not necessarily increase the cost of hunting and fishing licenses for other West Virginians.

Still, MacMillian said it would be important for lawmakers to help the DNR access new sources of funding to offset costs incurred by the bill.

“We support our veterans one hundred percent,” he said. But “any time we have a reduction in our special revenue… it certainly does have an impact.”

Additionally, House Joint Resolution 8 would pose a new item on West Virginia ballots in the coming general election.

Under the resolution, citizens could vote to codify “the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife” in state law. The resolution stipulates that citizens must still adhere to laws on wildlife conservation and private property.

The resolution also describes hunting and fishing as a “preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife.”

Lawmakers on the committee emphasized it would be important that the resolution does not interfere with the operations of agencies like the DNR. They unanimously voted that it be referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary for discussion on the judicial implications of such a bill.

Community Air Monitoring Data Would Be Inadmissible In Proceedings Under House Bill

A bill under consideration in the West Virginia House of Delegates would disallow community air monitoring data from being used in legal or regulatory proceedings.

A bill that received committee support in the West Virginia House of Delegates Tuesday would prevent publicly sourced air pollution data from being used in lawsuits and regulatory proceedings.

House Bill 5018 was drafted in response to the rise of community air monitoring in West Virginia. This refers to pollution data collected by members of the public, as opposed to governmental agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Proponents of the bill said it would ensure that air pollution data used in legal or regulatory proceedings meet standards set by accredited state and federal agencies.

But, at a meeting of the House Committee on Energy and Manufacturing, some lawmakers voiced concerns that the legislation would limit residents’ abilities to identify and substantiate air pollution concerns.

“I’m not a massive fan of this bill,” said Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha.

“I think more community air monitoring is a good thing, not a bad thing,” she continued. “We shouldn’t be hurting our citizens and getting rid of transparency. So, I’m a no on this one.”

Young said that lawmakers have not done enough to invest in air monitoring, despite recent EPA funding allocated to the state for these projects.

Still, the bill received support from a majority of committee members, who referred it back to the House with the recommendation that it be passed.

“Community monitoring is not forbidden by this bill at all,” said Del. Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock, who sponsored the bill. Zatezalo added that the pending legislation would simply set a standard for what quality of data is admissible to official proceedings.

“Good data and better, supportable data is important for ongoing analysis,” he said. “I have a hard time trying to figure out why that is a big, big problem.”