The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill today that would allow data centers to establish microgrids — self-contained sites that generate their own power.
The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill today that would allow data centers to establish microgrids — self-contained sites that generate their own power.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey asked lawmakers to consider the policy last month.
Morrisey and other proponents of House Bill 2014 hope giving developers more control over their energy resources could attract more data centers – and new jobs – to the state. That includes Del. Clay Riley, R-Harrison.
“We’re looking for an opportunity to compete in West Virginia through an ever-changing landscape of technological innovation,” Riley said on the House floor Tuesday.
Data centers use large amounts of energy, and advocates say microgrids ensure a site can meet its energy demands without straining the grid residents, schools and businesses depend on.
But Del. Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer, worries the bill would mean data centers wouldn’t have to help shoulder energy costs, which could leave electricity rates just as high for residents.
“Should we enact this legislation and attract these data centers, we are not going to attract ratepayers that are able to spread the fixed costs,” he said during floor discussion Tuesday. “Now I don’t know — if we were to have data centers come here without these microgrids — whether it would lower your power bills. But it doesn’t appear like, with the microgrid, that there’s any opportunity for that.”
Despite the delegate’s concerns, a majority of members of the House gave the bill its stamp of approval. House Bill 2014 passed by a vote of 88 to 12, and now heads to the West Virginia Senate for further review.
West Virginia voters are already required to show some form of identification at the polls to prove their voting eligibility. House Bill 3016 would require that to be a state-issued photo ID — namely, a driver’s license, passport or a resident identification card.
Updated on Friday, March. 21, 2025 at 2:30 p.m.
Some members of the West Virginia House of Delegates want to tighten laws for verifying voter eligibility. But opponents worry that could make the process unnecessarily burdensome.
State code generally already requires voters to show some form of identification at the polls to prove their voting eligibility. House Bill 3016 would require that to be a photo ID — namely, a driver’s license, passport or a resident identification card.
The bill would also require state IDs to denote if a resident is not a U.S. citizen with the word “non-citizen.” The bill is sponsored by Del. Erica Moore, R-Roane, and was discussed by members of the House Judiciary Committee Friday morning.
Proponents of the bill say it could reduce voter fraud, and that obtaining qualifying IDs in the state is already an accessible process. That included Del. Rick Hillenbrand, R-Hampshire.
“Looking at the bill and all the testimony … there’s still several other options for identification,” Hillenbrand said during the committee meeting.
But opponents of the bill like Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, worry verifying a resident’s citizen status between the secretary of state’s office and department of motor vehicles could be a technically faulty process.
Hansen also expressed concern that the bill would be overburdensome on residents who already have difficulty obtaining or renewing forms of identification.
“I have concerns about elderly people who no longer drive and don’t have a valid passport anymore,” he told West Virginia Public Broadcasting after the meeting. “They’re going to have to travel from a senior living facility to the county clerk’s office to get a new voter ID card with a photo, and that’s not really practical for a lot of our elderly voters.”
Hansen said he worries the bill is part of a broader effort to reduce voting access from some lawmakers.
“The Republican supermajority is pushing a number of bills that make it harder for people to register to vote, harder for people to actually vote, and harder for legally cast votes to be counted,” Hansen said. “I don’t know why they’re doing this. I think one of the most important things about America is preserving people’s access to vote.”
Julie Archer is deputy director of the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, which advocates and lobbies for progressive policies surrounding things like voting rights, environmental protection and health care. Archer attended Friday’s committee meeting and said she worries voters “could be disenfranchised” by the bill’s stipulations.
“We are very concerned about the number of eligible voters who would be disenfranchised, and the barriers it would create, especially for those who lack the necessary documentation for photo IDs,” Archer wrote in a message to West Virginia Public Broadcasting after the meeting.
Del. Josh Holstein, R-Boone, said he wants to further review the language of the bill to ensure that it only applies to those ineligible to vote, and is not overly restrictive to those who are simply not registered to vote.
“In my opinion, I think we need to add some clarifying language that doesn’t include non-registered voters, but only those that are prohibited from voting,” Holstein said during the committee meeting Friday. “I think that’s the intent of the legislation.”
Members of the committee agreed to table the bill until Monday for further review and possible amendment.
**Editor’s Note: This story was updated to correct Del. Josh Holstein’s first name.
West Virginia University could be required to create a new center for “disseminating knowledge about classical western history” if a piece of legislation finds traction in the West Virginia Senate.
West Virginia University could be required to create a new center for “disseminating knowledge about classical western history” if a piece of legislation finds traction in the West Virginia Senate.
House Bill 3297 would establish an “independent” Washington Center for Civics, Culture and Statesmanship at West Virginia’s flagship university, led by an “expert on the western tradition” appointed as director by the governor.
On Friday, the bill passed the West Virginia House of Delegates by a vote of 86 to 10, with four members absent.
“This piece of legislation is nothing abnormal,” McGeehan said, arguing that the establishment of these centers also helped “attract very talented professors” and expand educational opportunities for students.
Under the bill, the center would focus on curricular areas like “American constitutional studies” — including the “great debates of western civilization” — plus “political philosophy, constitutional governance, economic thought, western history and culture, per the bill’s text.
But some Democratic lawmakers expressed concern that the bill would impose on the university and bypass its internal procedures for developing new centers.
Del. John Williams, D-Monongalia, said he was particularly concerned about the bill because it does not allocate funding to the center or its administration. In 2023, WVU experienced a $45 million budget shortfall that resulted in the closure of dozens of academic majors and the elimination of hundreds of faculty positions.
“The school that had some budget shortfalls a couple years ago, we’re going to mandate to them that they start a new, essentially, college at their school without supplying funding,” Williams said.
Williams argued the subject matter of the proposed center is already covered by current WVU course offerings, and expressed concern about the creation of a “cushy” director position overseen by the governor.
“Is anyone asking for this school to be created?” Williams asked. “Or are prospective students saying, ‘Hey, I’d love for this to be created?’”
McGeehan disputed that the bill would function as a mandate to the university. He also said it would create a framework for the center, to which lawmakers could allocate funds in the future.
With support from a majority of the members of the House, the bill will now be sent to the state Senate for further consideration. If the Senate passes the bill, the House will have one more opportunity to review its contents before it gets sent to the governor’s desk to be considered for law.
House Bill 3164 would require West Virginians convicted of sex offenses to pay state police $250 per year to fund upkeep for the state’s sex offender registry.
Some West Virginia lawmakers say the cost of maintaining the state’s sex offender registry should fall more squarely on the shoulders of registrants.
The West Virginia Sex Offender Registry makes the names, addresses and photographs of residents “convicted of sexual offenses” publicly accessible “in order to allow members of the public to adequately protect themselves and their children,” as required by West Virginia’s Sex Offender Registration Act.
But Jeff Chumley, president of the West Virginia Troopers Association, says upkeep for the registry takes a financial and mental toll on law enforcement agencies. That is why he supports House Bill 3164, which would require West Virginians convicted of sex offenses to pay an annual $250 fee for registry maintenance.
On Thursday morning, the West Virginia House of Delegates Judiciary Committee hosted a public hearing for the bill.
Chumley told lawmakers that officers are already “short-staffed” from “answering 911 calls, accidents, domestic burglaries, everything else.” Making in-person visits to verify registrants’ addresses and the mental health toll associated with addressing sexual offenses are just “an added thing that we’ve got to fill,” he said.
There are 6,399 individuals listed on the West Virginia State Police’s digital registry. If each paid an annual fee of $250, the state would collect just under an additional $1.6 million each year for registry upkeep.
Del. Bill Flanigan, R-Ohio, is the bill’s sponsor. He said the bill would shift the cost of maintaining the registry away from taxpayers and better support state police.
“I would look at it the same as if you’re on parole; you’re gonna do this for the rest of your life,” he said. But currently, “you committed a crime, and the taxpayers are the ones bearing costs.”
Per current registry figures, House Bill 3164 could bring West Virginia State Police $1.6 million per year. Pictured is the interior of the agency’s South Charleston headquarters.
Photo Credit: Randy Yohe/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Some committee members expressed concerns over the text of the bill. Critics worry it could be overly punitive to people who have already faced consequences for past convictions, especially for those convicted of non-felony offenses.
“Are there constitutional issues and things like this?” asked Del. Rick Hillenbrand, R-Hampshire. “It sounds like a continuing spanking.”
Del. Bill Ridenour, a Republican from Jefferson County, questioned the feasibility of the bill. He said people with criminal convictions already have a hard time finding work, which could make it scraping together an extra $250 each year difficult.
“I’m just a little concerned, like I said, that we’re continuing to go after folks,” he said. “$250 is not a lot to most of us here. To somebody who’s on the street because of what they did in the past, this may be an overwhelming thing every year to have to pay.”
The proposed bill does not detail specific enforcement measures for the fee collection process, but would require a registrant’s county clerk to document their failure to pay the annual fee.
In response to lawmaker concerns, Flanigan said he would be open to amending the bill to make implementing the fee more practical, to adjust its total annual cost or to more clearly delineate acceptable uses of the funds.
The current bill notes that fees must be paid between January and June each year, which “will be collected and utilized by the state police to defray costs associated with maintaining the registry,” but does not elaborate on specific uses for the funds.
After discussion, the Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 3164 to the markup and discussion phase.
In 2023, members of the West Virginia Senate considered adopting a similar $75 annual fee for people convicted of sexual offenses, but the bill did not pass either chamber of the West Virginia Legislature.
It can be hard for rural West Virginians to access resources for health, education and professional development. For Deaf residents, those challenges hit even harder, because existing support may not be inclusive.
It can be hard for rural West Virginians to access resources for health, education and professional development. For Deaf residents, those challenges hit even harder, because existing support may not be inclusive.
That is why groups like the National Center for Deaf Services (NCDS) offer specialized resources for members of the Deaf community. Executive Director Christine Firkins says Deaf-inclusive mental health, professional development and educational resources can help amend gaps.
“A lot of families that have Deaf children don’t know what to do. They tend to just speak and gesture and see if that works,” she said. “But oftentimes the children don’t respond. And that’s the important window for language acquisition, between 0 to 5.”
Firkins was one of several representatives for Deaf community groups to visit the West Virginia State Capitol for Deaf Awareness Day Wednesday. Groups spoke with lawmakers and residents about the services they provide, and ongoing needs for the state’s Deaf community.
Visitors to the State Capitol rotunda peruse tables from community groups participating in Deaf Awareness Day on March 19.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Scott Hottle is a district manager for the Jackson County-based West Virginia Deaf Service Center. The organization helps Deaf residents and their families access American Sign Language classes, professional development services and Deaf-inclusive recreational opportunities like youth summer camps.
“We work together with the deaf community,” Hottle said.
Lisa Keathley, who works alongside Hottle, said the organization often gets contacted by public entities like the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources when hearing parents are unsure how to teach their kids American Sign Language.
“They contact us a lot of times to ask us what to do in these situations when hearing parents have Deaf and hard-of-hearing babies,” she said. “We really reach out to them to let them know [we are here].”
Students from the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind perform “Take Me Home Country Roads” on the House floor March 19.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Delayed language acquisition can make it harder for Deaf youth to keep up academically, Hottle said.
“A lot of children born to hearing parents don’t learn a language until later in life, whenever they enter school,” Hottle said. “So that really needs to improve.”
The newly established NCDS also partners with the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services to help Deaf residents access salaried job opportunities.
Firkins said services like these fill gaps in public services, which often are the responsibility of the state. But this work takes funding, and Firkins hopes state lawmakers consider expanding their financial support for Deaf organizations.
“That’s really the goal, is to be able to grow,” she said. “So direct state funding would be a tremendous help.”
Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates are taking steps to address “unethical telemarketing practices,” but have not found consensus over the best approach to the issue.
Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates are taking steps to address “unethical telemarketing practices,” but have not found consensus over the best approach to the issue.
House Bill 3169 would expand limitations on insurance-related marketing calls from “unlicensed persons” in an attempt to clamp down on insurance-related telemarketing scams.
Under current state law, individuals who are not licensed to sell insurance can refer customers to insurance products or providers only if they receive “no fee or only a nominal fee” of $100 or less. In other words, residents cannot contact others to promote insurance services without permission if they have a financial interest in doing so.
The proposed bill would expand that policy by requiring telemarketers contacting residents about insurance services do not, without permission, use “autodialed, prerecorded or artificial voice” messages. Telemarketers would also be barred from contacting residents on the Federal Communications Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry or misrepresent their identity or qualifications.
Del. Bob Fehrenbacher, R-Wood, is the bill’s lead sponsor. During a meeting of the House Subcommittee on Banking and Insurance Wednesday afternoon, he described the bill as a step toward addressing a far-reaching problem.
“I feel that there is the potential for this to reduce, but frankly not eliminate, these robocalls, and the abuses that these solicitors perform on our citizens,” Fehrenbacher said.
During the subcommittee meeting, Del. Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, pushed back on the efficacy of the bill. He said its specifications are already covered by federal and state law.
“The things this bill purports to ban are already illegal,” Linville said, pointing to bans for telemarketers using autodial or contacting participants in the National Do Not Call Registry. Both of these practices are prohibited federally under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.
“I don’t understand the need for this bill in the least,” Linville said. “I’m not sure it does anything.”
Linville also described telemarketing issues as “a matter of enforcement,” and said telemarketing scams persist regardless of the particular provisions of policies like House Bill 3169.
“I mean, we can assign the death penalty to this and it still wouldn’t matter. The technology is not there to prove it,” he said. “… This bill wants us to feel good about voting on it without changing anything that’s happening.”
Fehrenbacher said he understood Linville’s concerns, and agreed that “fraudulent performers of these solicitations” would be willing to evade state and federal laws to carry out their telemarketing practices.
But Fehrenbacher said the bill would tighten policies for legitimate referrals, and “organizations who have been asked to do this for legitimate insurance purveyors or providers.”
“What this should and hopefully would do is have those insurance providers require that those solicitors or referrals comply with these agreements, as opposed to a kind of carte blanche, unfettered, unlicensed approach,” he said.
Despite Linville’s pushback, the subcommittee voted to advance House Bill 3169 by a verbal majority vote. The bill now advances to the House Finance Committee for further deliberation.
