Senate Bill 526 gives pharmacists the ability to prescribe certain medications, but the bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. Laura Chapman, R-Ohio, said the bill that the House of Delegates returned to the Senate was disappointing. Regardless she advised the Senate to pass the bill.
“While I agreed to concur in this bill, I just want the body to know. I’m very disappointed,” Chapman said.
Another change in the bill was what pharmacists were able to prescribe. The original bill would have allowed for treatments for a larger swath of illness, for example a urinary tract infection. However the bill that crossed the finish line only allows for treatments for testes that are waived under the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988. Those are tests for things like COVID-19 or the flu.
Another of the changes made in the House requires pharmacists to notify the patient’s primary care physician within 72 hours of the prescription.
Del. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, proposed the changes.
“We changed that to shall, because I think anytime something is being done, anytime treatment is done, we need to let the PCP know. We need to let the patients or their primary care physician, know what happened, because that physician has that established relationship,” Worrell said.
He said the changes would help ensure that patients receive care for possible underlying conditions, like pneumonia.
“Pharmacists don’t have a stethoscope, so, right? You go in and you have the flu, but they wouldn’t check you if you have any underlying respiratory issues,” Worrell said.
Worrell said the changes will strengthen the pharmacist-physician relationship for the patient.
These changes were inline with testimony heard in the house from Kevin Yingling who is both a medical doctor and a pharmacist.
“Pharmacist expertise could be brought to bear in either collaborative practice or in the statewide protocol that would provide for the opportunity to patients to access pharmacists, and the pharmacist would be able to prescribe a limited group of medications for a limited group of diseases,” Yingling said.
Chapman said while the bill is still a win for expanding access, she wished it would allow pharmacists to do more. She says for her, the issue isn’t over.
“At least we now have the pharmacist prescribing act on the books,” Chapman said. “I meant it when I said, I will come back next year, and I will try again, and I will make it so that it’s not so restrictive, and I will fight, very hard, to get it back.”
New Mexico, Idaho, Oregon, Florida, California, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Iowa have similar laws on the books. Each state has their own specific rules, for example requiring pharmacists to have extra credentials.
Both chambers of the West Virginia Legislature voted to pass a bill banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. But a technical error sent the state Senate into chaos Saturday night.
With minutes left in this year’s legislative session, the West Virginia Senate fell into chaos over a late-night technical error.
Senate Bill 474 — ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives statewide — has been one of the most hotly contested pieces of legislation set forth this year, shepherded by Gov. Patrick Morrisey. But procedural confusion threw the state’s upper legislative chamber into a scramble Saturday night, casting doubt over the bill’s fate.
The Senate ultimately passed the bill, but ranking members say they are unsure whether the steps taken to do so were entirely legal. Some even say the debate over Senate Bill 474 could spill into the courtroom.
A procedural back-and-forth
After receiving approval from its chamber of origin last month, Senate Bill 474 passed the West Virginia House of Delegates Saturday night 87 to 12, following hours of debate and numerous amendments from the body’s Democrats.
“We’re handcuffing our educators so they’re not wanting to teach these sorts of things. That’s what we’re doing,” said Del. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha. “But when we start attacking education, that’s where we’re failing.”
Once the bill returned to the Senate for final approval, things got messy.
Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, motioned for a vote in the bill’s favor, but withdrew it shortly thereafter. Senators said the House needed to iron out technical issues before giving it an okay.
Later, Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, called to suspend Joint Rule 3, which pertains to disagreements over amendments between the two chambers. He urged senators to concur with the House amendments that were sent back to the House “due to technical flaws.”
“I request unanimous consent to suspend Joint Rule 3 and concur and pass on Senate Bill 474,” Tarr said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, had proposed 15 amendments on the bill that were yet to be reviewed. Tarr said calling a suspension of Joint Rule 3 meant the Senate did not need to take up those amendments.
“It makes it so that, if it is amended, we don’t have to consider any of those amendments,” Tarr told West Virginia Public Broadcasting after the floor discussion. He said he had planned on debating the amendments, but thought summoning Joint Rule 3 would more effectively avoid a lengthy amendment review.
“If we hadn’t went ahead and done that all in one motion, we would have had to consider all the amendments,” Tarr said.
Efforts to intervene fall short
Bills that do not pass both chambers by midnight on the final day of session are considered dead. Tarr said cutting off debate over the bill was an important next step toward ensuring the bill’s passage.
The Senate currently includes just two Democrats: Garcia and Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell. During the process, both stood up to speak, but their microphones appeared to be disabled.
“They did not allow any debate,” Garcia told WVPB. “They didn’t even allow us to take the amendments that we had filed in the system and have a hearing on each of them — which I believe, under the rules, is something that had to happen.”
“I think there is, technically, a legal deficiency with how that bill was passed,” he continued. “The rules were not followed.”
Both Democrats repeatedly requested points of order from Senate President Randy Smith, R-Preston. That process seeks to ensure legislative procedure is being followed correctly. But Smith shot down some of their appeals, and did not recognize the rest.
The Senate then voted to suspend its rules and passed the bill 32 to 2. After a protracted legislative battle, it now heads to the governor’s desk, where it can be signed into law.
Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, attends a Senate Education Committee meeting March 18.
Photo Credit: Will Price/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, speaks on the Senate floor March 10.
Photo Credit: Will Price/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
‘What lies ahead’: Lawmakers react
Woelfel said an “agenda by certain senators” overpowered legislative procedure.
“I’m disappointed that the rules of the Senate were just roughshod run over tonight. I’m disappointed,” Woelfel said. “It wasn’t about any particular bill. But if we don’t go by the rules that are set, we’re letting people down.”
Smith said the passage of Senate Bill 474 was agreed upon by most lawmakers, regardless of technicalities.
“We’ll find out if it was legal or not if someone challenges it,” Smith said. “But, as far as I’m concerned, … everything was in order.”
House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, declined to comment after the legislature’s lower chamber gaveled out at midnight. “We’ll talk about all that next week,” he told WVPB.
Both Garcia and Smith said their party used procedural rules to advance their policy priorities.
“You’re damn right,” Garcia told reporters after the chamber gaveled out. “I’m gonna do every single thing I can to try to stop bad policies from happening.”
“It’s just part of the process. They tried to kill it that way, and we tried to save it this way,” Smith said. “It’s all part of the system.”
Garcia argued the state legislature’s Republican supermajority allows some lawmakers to circumvent the rules. The state’s Senate has the highest concentration of one party in a single legislative chamber in the United States.
“They have the ability to do a lot of these different things,” Garcia said. “It just goes to show we have a lack of balance.”
Smith said he was personally unsure about the procedure that occurred, and felt Tarr or a lawyer “above my pay grade” was better equipped to speak to the legality of the bill’s passage.
“Every bill can be challenged in court,” he said. “This one might be.”
In his first term as Senate president and thirteenth year as a state lawmaker, Smith described Saturday night as a first.
“Who knows what lies ahead?” he said.
Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, urges members of the West Virginia House of Delegates to reject Senate Bill 474 on the chamber’s floor Saturday.
Photo Credit: Perry Bennett/WV Legislative Photography
Extensive debate
Just before the Senate frenzy, members of the House spent hours debating Senate Bill 474.
Like the Senate, the House took steps to limit discussion. The chamber cut off comments after particularly impassioned opposition to the bill from each of the state legislature’s only Black members: Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell and Del. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha.
The three lawmakers urged their colleagues to reject the bill outright.
“We keep passing legislation that more than likely will affect people who look like me,” Hamilton said. “We’ve got to do something different, guys.”
“You’re gonna tell me, ‘I had to do it, man. I don’t believe in it, but I had to do it. I had to do it,’” Hornbuckle said to his fellow delegates. “You didn’t have to do nothing.”
The West Virginia House of Delegates reviewed Senate Bill 474 Saturday. The bill would eliminate DEI initiatives across the state government — plus entities it funds, like public universities.
The West Virginia House of Delegates is now reviewing Senate Bill 474, which would eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the state government — plus entities it funds, like public universities.
Abolishing DEI is a central administrative priority for Gov. Patrick Morrisey, and an objective he shares with President Donald Trump and the Republican Party at large. But the bill has been a wide source of contention among Democratic lawmakers, and has even garnered pushback from the governor’s own party.
That debate manifested on the House floor Saturday, where delegates set forth a total of 24 amendments to the controversial bill from members of both parties.
Updated on Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 10:35 p.m.
When the House began discussing Senate Bill 474, it set a one-hour cap on floor discussions over amendments to the bill. Lawmakers passed that threshold, which meant only those who sponsored each amendment were eligible to speak in the last stages of discussion.
The House rejected a handful of final tweaks to the bill.
That included amendments from Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, that would have added political ideology to the identity groups unable to be considered in the hiring, admissions and promotion processes; shielded private and parochial schools from certain restrictions in the bill; and added language protecting “free, robust and uninhibited debate” at institutions of higher education.
Another rejected amendment came from House Minority Leader Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, which aimed to ensure that employees and contractors at colleges and universities have free speech protections and means to appeal “imposed discipline” over alleged violations of the state’s DEI repeal.
The House has moved to debating the full text of Senate Bill 474.
Updated on Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 10:13 p.m.
While some early revisions to the anti-DEI bill found consensus from the House, a whole lot more have been rejected.
As the debate over DEI stretches into the final hours of this year’s legislative session, the House has already rejected 13 of the 24 amendments originally proposed for Senate Bill 474.
Several of the rejected proposals came from House Minority Leader Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell.
Among them: an amendment giving colleges an extra year to report back on how they are complying with new DEI restrictions; an amendment to let colleges highlight how they support “underserved” identity groups in grant applications; and an amendment adding explicit language that colleges will not be prevented from providing financial aid to specific identity groups.
Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, introduced numerous amendments to Senate Bill 474, a proposed ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the state. He is pictured here in January 2025.
Photo Credit: Perry Bennett/WV Legislative Photography
Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, introduced a total of 12 amendments to the full House chamber, the majority of which were also rejected.
These amendments included an assurance that “preferences granted to veterans” in state law are not affected by DEI cuts, protections for the content in university libraries and purported clarifications on access to college scholarships and visa eligibility for international students.
Throughout floor discussion, Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, routinely characterized Democrats’ amendments as efforts to circumvent restrictions on DEI at large and find ways to weaken its core intent.
Another unsuccessful amendment from Young would have ensured the bill would not impact “department, division, agency, or board of this state” in their ability to access “community programs” or partake in “private sector” partnerships.
“It’s not a back door. It’s an open front door,” Steele said of the amendment. “We might have put a fence outside, but it’s an open front door.”
Young also proposed an amendment to remove references to “color blind” processes from the bill, arguing it was an outdated term. Ultimately, it was rejected.
Meanwhile, Democrats argued that their amendments provided crucial modifications to a bill that could have unintended consequences.
Discussion on the bill was still active as of 10:13 p.m.
Original Story: House Votes Down First Spate Of DEI Amendments; Some Pass
Published Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 8:54 p.m.
Del. Bill Flanigan, R-Ohio — who has vocally opposed the bill — sponsored an amendment that would have clarified restrictions on DEI in public schools “shall not be based on isolated comments, classroom discussion or misunderstandings.” His amendment was shot down by a verbal majority vote.
Two amendments from Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, were rejected by the chamber. One would have made all provisions of the bill consistent among identity groups; currently, some parts of the bill apply to race, ethnicity and national origin as categories, but not gender.
Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, argued that amendment could have made it hard to protect “female sports.” Hamilton disagreed, but ultimately did not secure support from a majority of the House.
Another amendment from Hamilton would have included language to protect residents from discrimination on the basis of hair type.
Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, introduced amendments to Senate Bill 474 to make its text consistent across identity groups and add protections from discrimination on the basis of hair type.
Photo Credit: Perry Bennett/WV Legislative Photography
Steele likened the amendment to the CROWN Act, a bill passed by several states nationwide to protect against hair type discrimination, but which he said the House floor had not considered in full. He also argued forms of hair type discrimination would already fall under non-discrimination protections based around “national, origin or religion.”
“We do need to have a conversation,” Hamilton said. “There are specific barriers in place that are preventing certain classes of people, specifically African Americans, from being hired because of their hairstyle and their hair texture.”
That amendment was also voted down by the House.
Successful amendments
The House did adopt an amendment from House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, that explicitly states nothing in the bill’s text can be used to curtail West Virginia Human Rights Act, which extends residents “equal opportunity” to employment and public resources.
The House also passed an amendment from Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, which would affirm that the bill could not restrict universities in ways which would prevent them from meeting “accreditation standards.”
In 2023, the West Virginia Legislature banned gender-affirming care for minors with narrow exceptions for specific hormone therapies and puberty blockers.
If Gov. Patrick Morrisey signs Senate Bill 299, which the legislature passed today, then that gap will be closed, and gender-affirming care for all minors will be outlawed.
Currently, if a minor is diagnosed with severe gender dysphoria and it is the opinion of two doctors that gender-affirming care is medically necessary, then a minor could be a candidate to receive such care. The minors parents would also have to consent to the treatment.
In the state, currently, the only form of gender-affirming care available to minors is hormone therapy and puberty blocking medications.
Senate Bill 299 would close those exemptions. Health care providers who provide hormone blockers or hormone therapy for the purpose of gender transitioning could be disciplined by their governing medical board, and have their license to practice suspended or revoked.
On Saturday, the last day of the legislative session the House of Delegates considered the bill. Two amendments were proposed.
The first amendment, proposed by the House Committee on Health, would have removed disciplinary actions from the state board, but included a provision that a health care provider could not be required by their employer to provide gender affirming care.
The amendment failed.
An amendment proposed by Del. Bill Flanigan, R-Ohio, would have extended the amount of time minors who are currently receiving gender affirming care have to taper off the medications. The amendment would have given minors just over a year instead of the current six months.
“We just want to extend the six-month start to a one-year start, suicide rates will at least triple when you cut somebody off cold turkey from these medications, and I just give them one year to titrate down,” Flanigan said.
Many Democrats and some Republicans spoke in favor of the amendment.
Del. Michael Amos, R-Wayne, and one of few doctors in the room said the bill needed to have the amendment to reduce harm.
“I would argue under the current posture of our law that it would be harmful,” Amos said.
Republicans pushed back over concerns that if the amendment passed, minors would be on the medications longer, and therefore they said more exposed to possible side effects. There were other concerns that if the House amended the bill, it decreased the chance of the bill crossing the finish line.
Of the 166 floor hours in a regular session, “we are down to the last 12,” said Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh.
“You’re more worried about if the bill may die than if they do from suicide,” said Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio.
The amendment failed.
This bill was considered in four committees, and in both chambers. At each step along the way, many medical professionals, LGBTQ advocates, and transgender West Virginians came to speak against the bill.
Stakeholders Speak Out
Ash Lazarus grew up in the Mountain State, and is trans. He said it’s difficult to see this type of legislation.
“They are very damaging and very toxic for our communities,” Lazarus said.
Kate Waldeck is medical director of the pediatric critical care unit at Hoops Family Children’s Hospital. She also came to speak against the bill when it was in committee.
“I have taken care of children that have died from hanging, from being hanged by themselves, from toxin ingestion, from medication overdose, from gunshot wounds. I’ve also taken care of, fortunately, more children who have done those things and survived,” Waldeck said.
She said she noticed early on that a disproportionate number of children she was treating were trans or non-binary.
“I do not want to see them back in my unit with asphyxiation marks. I don’t want to see them overdosing. It is not about an agenda other than patient care,” Waldeck said.
The Senate Health Committee heard testimony from medical professionals, and from advocates of the bill who video-called in from out of state.
Simon Maya Price from Boston, Massachusetts, appeared before the Senate Health Committee virtually. He says for a brief time during his adolescence, he believed he was female. Now a freelance speaker, he advocates for bills like Senate Bill 299.
“The more desisters and de-transitioners I talk to, the more I realize just how close I was to being permanently disfigured, disabled and becoming a lifelong medical patient,” Price said.
Price said his doctors recommended he undergo gender affirming medical treatments. However, he said his father refused the treatment, something for which he said he is now grateful.
“The law in West Virginia says that if you get the sign-off from two doctors, you can receive puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones,” Price said. “In my case, I had four who would have done that.”
Chantel Weisenmuller, president of the West Virginia Psychological Association, told lawmakers that stopping gender affirming care for teenagers is risky and detrimental to their health.
“As a psychologist, that is a very frightening prospect for me,” Weisenmuller said. “Because from clinical lived experience, whenever folks suddenly lose access to this necessary, evidence-based, best practice medical treatment, we see a marked, significant, intense escalation in depression, anxiety and suicide, suicidality.”
State lawmakers have paved the way for a new center at West Virginia University for civics education, which would focus on “classical western history and culture.”
State lawmakers have paved the way for a new center at West Virginia University for civics education, which would focus on “classical western history and culture.”
On Saturday, members of the West Virginia House of Delegates convened for the final day of this year’s legislative session. They voted to approve changes set forth by the West Virginia Senate to House Bill 3297, which would require the state’s flagship university to open the Washington Center for Civics, Culture and Statesmanship.
Their proposal just needs the governor’s approval to take effect. The idea for the center is modeled after similar state-established civics centers at universities in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and more, according to Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, lead sponsor and House majority leader.
The bill passed the House on March 21. During floor arguments, proponents said the center would expand educational opportunities on campus, plus attract new faculty and students.
Opponents worried that requiring WVU to open a new center bypassed the university’s authority, and argued subject matter covered by the center already exists within other university departments.
At the time, Del. John Williams, D-Monongalia, said he was also worried the bill did not allocate funding to the center, especially in light of the $45 million budget shortfall the university faced in 2023.
The version of the bill that has now passed the West Virginia Legislature still does not specify where funding for the center will come from.
During its review in the Senate, the bill underwent modifications affirming that the university will have oversight over the Washington Center, removing text that described the center as “independent.”
The center would be run by a director who is an “expert on the western tradition, the American founding and American constitutional thought,” according to the bill’s text.
The Senate adopted an amendment from Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, that would clarify that members of the state legislature cannot work at the center or serve as its director for up to two years after the end of their term at the State Capitol.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey now has 15 days to veto or sign off on House Bill 3297. If he does not act on the bill, it will become law by default.
Check back to our live blog for the latest updates from the West Virginia Legislature throughout the day and night on April 12. And follow along with our live TV coverage from 8 p.m. to midnight on our WVPB live stream.
Watch our live TV broadcast from 8 p.m.-midnight April 12.
Scroll further down this page to see our live updates.
Another regular session of the West Virginia Legislature ends on April 12 at midnight. All evening, the West Virginia Public Broadcasting newsroom will follow along as the House of Delegates and the Senate work to even out differing approaches to legislation and the state budget for the 2026 fiscal year.
This year, legislators introduced 2,460 bills, a fairly typical number for a legislative session. But only about 10 to 12% of those bills become laws. The final number for this session remains unknown until the final call, but both chambers approached this session intending to move forward with greater deliberation.
The House of Delegates, under House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, implemented another step this year in the committee process to attempt to increase discussion and public comment on pending legislation. The Senate didn’t make structural changes, but under new Senate President Randy Smith, R-Preston, senators seemed to take more time to work on bills, rather than rushing them through to the finish line.
Vaccine Exemptions, DEI And The Budget
Major bills up for discussion included creating exemptions for childhood vaccine schedules for children entering schools in the state. That bill died in the House of Delegates but senators tried to bring it back by amending it into other legislation. Finally, the amendment was pulled from the unrelated legislation and the effort to change vaccine requirements for school aged children died for the 2025 session.
Another major bill was the effort to remove Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs from state government. Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed an executive order on his first full day in office to remove those programs. The legislation reinforced his moves. Over protest from minority groups, including women, the bill has continued to move forward.
Most importantly is the budget bill. As soon as Morrisey took office, he said the state was facing a $400 million budget shortfall. Finance leadership quickly disputed that claim. After the governor introduced his budget, both chambers set to break it apart and make changes to it.
The budget is the only piece of legislation lawmakers are constitutionally required to do. They don’t have to finalize it during the regular session, but can come back into a special session later if necessary.
The House introduced its version of the budget first. The Senate then took the House’s version and overwrote it with a budget of its own — called a strike and insert amendment. The budget bill completed the legislative process Friday night and now goes to the governor’s desk for his signature.
Live Updates
Check back to this live blog for the latest updates from the West Virginia Legislature throughout the day and night on April 12.
And follow along with our live TV coverage from 8 p.m. to midnight on our WVPB live stream.
In Eleventh Hour, Senate Republicans Suspend Rules To Pass DEI Ban
With minutes left in this year’s legislative session, the West Virginia Senate fell into chaos over a late-night technical error.
Senate Bill 474 — ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives statewide — has been one of the most hotly contested pieces of legislation set forth this year, shepherded by Gov. Patrick Morrisey. But procedural confusion threw the state’s upper legislative chamber into a scramble Saturday night, casting doubt over the bill’s fate.
The Senate ultimately passed the bill, but ranking members say they are unsure whether the steps taken were entirely legal. Some even say the debate over Senate Bill 474 could spill into the courtroom.
A bill that would restrict public schools from teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation passed the Senate. It would also obligate teachers to “out” transgender students to their parents or guardians.
The bill requires teachers and other school employees to report to parents when a student requests for an accommodation that is intended to affirm a student’s gender identity.
For example, if a male student asks to be called a name that is generally considered to be a female name, then teachers would be required to inform the student’s parents. If a teacher fails to do so, they could be written up and suspended without pay or fired.
The bill was passed the house on Friday, and the Senate concurred Saturday with changes made.
Some of those changes include protecting teachers from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity in specific circumstances.
Del. Elias Coop-Gonzalez, R-Randolph, said these protections would be for instances of instruction or to address specific interpersonal situations.
“This prohibition cannot be construed to prohibit a teacher responded to student questions during class regarding sexual orientation and gender identity as it relates to any topic of instruction referring to sexual orientation or gender identity of any historical person, group or public figure, when the information provides a necessary context in relation to any topic of instruction and referring to sexual orientation and gender identity if necessary to address a disciplinary matter, such as an incidence of bullying,” Coop-Gonzalez said.
House Reviewing Numerous Amendments To Proposed DEI Ban
The West Virginia House of Delegates is now reviewing Senate Bill 474, which would eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the state government — plus entities it funds, like public universities.
Abolishing DEI is a central administrative priority for Gov. Patrick Morrisey, and an objective he shares with President Donald Trump and the Republican Party at large. But the bill has been a wide source of contention among Democratic lawmakers, and has even garnered pushback from the governor’s own party.
That debate manifested on the House floor Saturday, where delegates set forth a total of 24 amendments to the controversial bill from members of both parties.
One of Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s signature pieces of legislation was completed with four hours remaining in the regular legislative session.
House Bill 2014 would expand the number of microgrids in the state to support data centers and artificial intelligence.
On Saturday evening, the Senate gave final approval to the bill by the same total as it voted on Friday. On Friday evening, the state Senate passed House Bill 2014 by a vote of 32 to 1.
Sen. Rupie Phillips, R-Logan, was the only no vote on both days. Phillips has been a critic of the bill throughout the session, saying it would do little to lower electricity costs for most West Virginia residents.
A microgrid is a self-contained facility that generates its own power and doesn’t receive any from the electricity grid that powers homes, schools and businesses around it.
The data centers within them take up a lot of land and consume vast amounts of water and electricity. House Bill 2014 largely exempts such facilities from local zoning ordinances.
On Saturday, the House of Delegates approved the amended Senate version by a vote of 82 to 16. All nine Democrats joined several Republicans in opposition.
Morrisey told WVPB at the Capitol Friday that he was pleased lawmakers in both chambers got the bill closer to the finish line.
“Look, I think this is an incredible opportunity for West Virginia,” he said. “I’m very hopeful that this could lead to very good things for West Virginia.”
Earlier in the week, multiple county officials testified to the Senate Economic Development Committee that the bill diverted nearly all the local property tax revenue from the facilities.
They said that structure could squeeze county budgets and services and discourage local communities from seeking microgrid projects.
The committee agreed to carve out 30% of the revenues for the counties with the microgrids.
The bulk of the property tax revenue – 55% – would go to the state for the purpose of further reducing its personal income tax.
Legislation To Allow Pharmacists More Prescribing Power Passes With Slim Authorizations
A bill that originally aimed at widely broadening pharmacists prescribing authority in West Virginia was approved by both chambers after being amended about five times since its introduction on Feb. 19.
Senate Bill 526’s lead sponsor, Sen. Laura Chapman, R-Ohio, said she is disappointed with the final version of the bill and said the House of Delegates “gutted the bill” during its Friday floor session.
“This Act would give access to our citizens for testable, minor illnesses like strep throat,” Chapman said on the Senate floor on Saturday, April 12. “The house has essentially made it so that our citizens are only able to obtain medication for the common flu. Pharmacists have doctoral degrees. They are probably the most versed medical professionals in pharmaceutical drugs and their interactions.”
The bill was amended on the floors of each chamber and in committees to curtail the pharmacists authorization to treat patients, a measure included in the bill proponents of the legislation argued would have eased access to health care throughout West Virginia’s rural terrain.
“How many times do we hear that our citizens cannot get an appointment with their doctor in a timely manner,” Chapman said. “How many stories do we hear of our constituents who have no local access to medical care? This common sense bill was destroyed yesterday because of protectionism at the expense of patients. It is a bad day for our citizens and their health care and mark my words, we will be back on this issue.”
The introduced version would have authorized pharmacists to prescribe low-risk medications within their scope of practice, specifically addressing conditions like minor injuries, pain, or patient emergencies.
Legislators Pass Bill To Fully Ban Gender-Affirming Care, Scrapping Exemption For Suicidal Teens
In 2023, the West Virginia Legislature banned gender-affirming care for minors with narrow exceptions for specific hormone therapies and puberty blockers.
If Gov. Patrick Morrisey signs Senate Bill 299, which the legislature passed today, then that gap will be closed, and gender-affirming care for all minors will be outlawed.
Currently, if a minor is diagnosed with severe gender dysphoria and it is the opinion of two doctors that gender affirming care is medically necessary, then a minor could be a candidate to receive such care. The minors parents would also have to consent to the treatment.
In the state, currently, the only form of gender-affirming care available to minors is hormone therapy and puberty blocking medications.
Senate Bill 299 would close those exemptions. Health care providers who provide hormone blockers or hormone therapy for the purpose of gender transitioning could be disciplined by their governing medical board, and have their license to practice suspended or revoked.
House Bill 2755 passed the West Virginia Legislature Saturday. The bill allows the legislature oversight on rules created by the West Virginia Board of Education. When the board creates rules, they will now have to first go before the Legislative Oversight Committee on Education (LOCEA) and then be voted on by the full legislature.
When the state board of education was created in 1958, it was given the power to control it’s own rules. Voters didn’t want the legislature involved in education. In 1988, the state Supreme Court of Appeals supported this position, saying the board of education enjoys “a special standing” in the state constitution.
Senate Bill 280: Displaying ‘In God We Trust’ At Schools
Senate Bill 280, which would require public schools across the state to display the national motto, “In God We Trust,” has completed legislation. The display will be “poster-sized” and will be inside school buildings.
Hope Scholarship Supplemental Appropriations
The Senate concurred on two Supplemental Appropriations bills, House bills 3356 and 3357, which add more than $62 million to the Hope Scholarship Fund. Earlier this year, budget reports indicated the scholarship would cost more than $100 million in the next fiscal year and more after that.
Changes To Higher Ed Boards Of Governors
House Bill 3279, relating to requirements for West Virginia University (WVU) and West Virginia State University (WVSU) board of governors, changes the makeup of the board of governors for all public institutions in the state. It removes voting membership of the board from the student government and the faculty senate. The House of Delegates concurred with Senate amendments 59-38 making it completed legislation.
Law To Increase Criminal Penalties For Drug Offenses In W.Va. Passes Both Chambers
In a unanimous vote on the final day of the regular legislative session, the Senate concurred with changes made to Lauren’s Law by the House of Delegates.
The bill increases penalties for drug offenses in West Virginia and now awaits Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s signature.
Senate Bill 196 would raise criminal penalties for drug trafficking offenses, and is named after Lauren Cole, a 26-year-old Morgantown resident who died after ingesting drugs laced with fentanyl.
The bill was amended earlier this week in the House’s Judiciary Committee to add clarifications around what constitutes drug delivery and to more explicitly target wide-scale drug traffickers.
Lauren’s Law targets six drugs: fentanyl, methamphetamine, PCP, LSD, cocaine and heroin.
For the six targeted drugs, the penalty would be increased for the manufacture, delivery, possession with intent to deliver, transportation of drugs into West Virginia, and conspiracy to do any of the above. Other drug penalties are also increased, as well as limitations to probation authorization for certain offenders.
Anyone guilty of transporting one of the six listed substances into the state would also face stricter penalties if this law is enacted, up to 30 years for more than five grams of fentanyl.
New ‘Western’ Civics Center At WVU Passes Legislature
State lawmakers have paved the way for a new center at West Virginia University for civics education, which would focus on “classical western history and culture.”
On Saturday, members of the West Virginia House of Delegates convened for the final day of this year’s legislative session. They voted to approve changes set forth by the West Virginia Senate to House Bill 3297, which would require the state’s flagship university to open the Washington Center for Civics, Culture and Statesmanship.
