West Virginia House of Delegates Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

House Democrats Expect Bipartisan Support In Anticipated Special Session

House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, spoke of bipartisan opposition to a hastily passed budget in the last hours of the regular session. He sees that carrying over to address budget issues that are not election year red meat and culture war proposals.

House of Delegates Democratic legislators gathered Monday to outline their priorities in the anticipated upcoming special session.

“We don’t have the final say on the agenda,” Hornbuckle said. “But we are asking Governor Justice and the Republican majority party to truly work with us in a bipartisan manner. We know that we have things that can get across the finish line, to help with actual opportunities that the state has before us, and also to focus on solving real problems.”

One by one, Democratic legislators voiced the problems they plan to help get solved. Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, said over the past 10 years, there’s been a 50 percent cut to child care funding in West Virginia. She said the promises of increased child care access need to be fulfilled.

“We had a set of about seven bills that would help childcare,” Young said. “There’s a federal child care tax credit but not the state one. We’ve heard the governor ask for it, and we’ve stood with him to ask for that child care tax credit in addition to other bills that would have helped our childcare providers, our families and our businesses.”

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said a special session priority would be to fix the drastic cuts in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Waiver program.

“That’s money from Medicaid,” Pushkin said. “Remember, when you cut that you’re cutting it four times as much because it’s a three to one federal match. And that particular part of the fund is used to help families take care of their loved ones, who are in the most desperate need of help here in West Virginia.”

A major issue for Democrats was reinstating budget cuts of around $150 million in state Medicaid funding. Del. John Williams, D-Monongalia, said the negative effects will be felt by thousands of West Virginians.

“It cuts millions of dollars from CHIP, (the Children’s Health Insurance Program),” Williams said. “Kicking children off their health care insurance, it cuts money going to rural hospitals, it cuts money going to teaching hospitals. Don’t forget the factor that those get federally matched at a four to one rate.”

Del. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, said the looming crisis with Emergency Medical Services can’t wait until 2025.

“Here in 2024, in Mingo and Wayne County, people didn’t need to die,” Garcia said. “Because of some of these areas not having sufficient ambulance services, we had too long of a wait time, and somebody that could have otherwise lived, didn’t make it.”

Two issues needing special session attention were addressed by Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia. The first was returning funding that was vetoed for research at the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.

“It’s research into treating Alzheimer’s, research into treating substance use disorder, obesity, things are impacting West Virginians at high rates.” Hansen said. “We have a chance to push that research forward so that medical trials can be done to speed those products into market should they prove to work.”

Hansen said his second issue would be to help approve and fund steps to reduce West Virginia’s electric bills.

“One reason we have such high electric bills, and that they’re rising faster than other states in the country, is due to our reliance on a single source of energy, coal,” Hansen said. “We have opportunities to diversify our energy mix. One bill that was vetoed last session was a small tweak to our utility solar bill that would have allowed our electric utilities to build solar projects cheaper, that would have reduced bills and help attract new manufacturers into the state of West Virginia. Manufacturers that require renewable energy.”

Del. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha, said there would be a democratic push to reinstate the $50 million that was supposed to go to develop a West Virginia State University Agricultural Lab.

“This will not only be beneficial to our local area, and West Virginia State University,” Lewis said. “It’s also going to be beneficial to our whole state.”

Hornbuckle said special sessions are like overtime in basketball or extra innings in baseball, except here, the taxpayers pay.

It is yet to be determined when, and even if, a special session will be called.

The Legislature Today 2024 Final Hours Live Blog

Saturday, March 9 marks the 60th and final day of the 2024 West Virginia Legislative regular session. Once the gavel falls at midnight, lawmakers will no longer be able to consider bills introduced during the past 60 days. The only exception is the budget bill. Check back to our live blog throughout the night for the latest updates from the West Virginia Legislature.

Updated on Monday, March 11 at 10:15 a.m.

The only exception is the budget bill.

The state constitution mandates that if the budget isn’t passed within three days of the end of session, the governor will issue a proclamation saying the legislature can come back together on Sunday to work out the final details. Gov. Jim Justice issued that proclamation on Thursday.

One monkey wrench this year affecting the progression of the budget bill, however, is a $465 million claw back in COVID-19 relief money — a demand by the U.S. Department of Education.

Justice has said his administration is in negotiations to address the situation, but without knowing what will happen, it is difficult to pass a state budget. Many lawmakers have expressed interest in returning in May to finalize the budget — allowing time to deal with the potential claw back.

Under the state constitution, the budget must be passed by June 30.

This year, there were 2,575 bills introduced. Only 253 have so far completed legislation.

Aside from the budget, there are several key bills still up for discussion in both chambers. West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s award-winning news team is following the action throughout the evening.

Check back to our live blog for the latest updates from the West Virginia Legislature.

You can also watch our live coverage of the The Legislature Today Final Hours free from 8 p.m. to midnight on our WVPB TV live stream.

To read the latest updates from the West Virginia Legislature’s final moments Saturday, click here.

Update at 11:22 p.m. by Emily Rice

Both chambers have passed a bill to require age verification for the purchase of any tobacco or vape product. House Bill 5084 now heads to Gov. Jim Justice for his signature.

Update at 10:30 p.m. by Briana Heaney

Senate Bill 841 has passed the House, and changes made by the House were approved by the Senate. The bill would broadly reduce unemployment benefits. However it would increase benefits in the first eight weeks, but it tapers off 5 percent each week, down to 45 percent. It also reduces the duration of unemployment benefits by two weeks.

Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, said he doesn’t understand the need for this bill due to the health of the unemployment fund and the low unemployment rates in the state.

“We got people lobbying for this bill working for groups I never even heard of before,” Caputo said. “Who aren’t even from this state, pushing the buttons to get this done.”

The bill now heads to the governor for his consideration.

Update at 10:25 p.m. by Briana Heaney

The Senate has approved four of the more controversial House bills of this legislative session.

House Bill 4793 is known as the moonshine bill. The bill allows anyone over the age of 21 to manufacture their own alcohol without a license. The bill allows a person to manufacture up to 25 gallons, or 50 maximum per household. No alcohol made for personal use without a license may be sold. The bill passed with a thin margin, 18-14. The bill now heads back to the House.

House Bill 4880 will eliminate one third of the tax on social security recipients who make over $50,000 per year, or married persons whose joint income is over $100,000 per year. The bill phases in a 100 percent tax elimination over three years. The Senate version had triggers that would base the reduction in the social security tax based on the state’s yearly revenue; that bill has since died. The House bill was, however, passed unanimously. Changes were passed in the House and it now heads to the governor.

House Bill 4883 increases the annual salaries for certain state employees including public school teachers and state police officers. The bill passed unanimously, changes were approved by the House, and it now heads to the governor for his consideration.

House Bill 5262, known as the teachers bill of rights, ensures that counselors are provided the same protections as teachers and that teachers receive compensation for when a teacher student ratio is exceeded. The bill now heads back to the House.

Update at 10:15 p.m. by Emily Rice

The House has concurred with the Senate’s amended version of House Bill 5105 by a vote of 70 yeas, 29 nays, and one delegate absent. The bill now heads to Gov. Jim Justice for his consideration.

Update at 10:05 p.m. by Emily Rice

The House has made further changes to a bill to require age verification for the purchase of any tobacco or vape product in West Virginia. The bill is now awaiting further consideration in the Senate.

According to House Bill 5084, the verification must take place via “a valid driver’s license, state identification card, or any valid and unexpired federally issued identification card such as a passport or military identification car.”

The intent is to prevent sales of these products to people under age 18. Illicit sales are misdemeanors and the bill increases the fines for illicit sales.

**Editor’s Note: This update previously stated HB 5084 had been communicated to the governor. As of 10:40 p.m., the bill is awaiting consideration in the Senate.

Update at 10 p.m. by Randy Yohe

A bill that would have prohibited driving slow in the left lane of a highway, except under certain circumstances, has died.

House Bill 5237 traveled back and forth between the House and Senate, finally ending up with a joint conference committee to hammer out a possible compromise.

That committee amended the penalty from a secondary to a primary traffic offense. First time violation would have been a $25 fine. The report was rejected by a 46-52 vote, effectively killing the bill.

Update at 8:40 p.m. by Emily Rice

House Bill 5105 changes vaccine requirements for virtual public, private and parochial students in West Virginia. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 20 to 12 with two senators absent and now requests the House to concur.

Previous versions of the bill included religious exemptions for all students in West Virginia, but the version that made it to the Senate floor only included religious exemptions for private and parochial schools.

Sen. Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, and chair of the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee, presented the bill on the floor saying he “does not recommend it pass, but my committee does.”

He called the bill an embarrassment on the Senate floor before a vote.

“I took an oath to do no harm, there is no way I can vote for this bill,” he said.

Update at 8:15 p.m. by Randy Yohe

Senate Bill 280 has passed the House, 89-9. The bill would allow teachers in public schools to discuss scientific theories. During committee and floor debate over the bill, the issue came down to science versus theology. Are intelligent design and creationism scientific theories or religious beliefs? Should they be taught in science classes along with the big bang theory?

Pertinent language in the bill reads, “No public school board, school superintendent, or school principal shall prohibit a public school classroom teacher from discussing or answering questions from students about scientific theories of how the universe and/or life came to exist.”

Some delegates have expressed concerns about legal ramifications in how a teacher may answer a student question, “How did life begin?”

The bill now heads to the governor.

Update at 7:43 p.m. by Randy Yohe

Senate Bill 841, setting unemployment taxes and benefits, passed the House. The vote was not along party lines but by a count of 66-31.

Update at 7:25 p.m. by Randy Yohe

Late this afternoon, the controversial unemployment bill, Senate Bill 841, was moved off the inactive calendar in the House of Delegates and quickly went to third reading, with several amendments.

Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, asked that the lengthy bill be read in its entirety. Debate over the bill is now ongoing, with delegates working to understand a complicated formula on delivering benefits while keeping a $400 million unemployment fund solvent. The bill still has requirements that an individual shall remain eligible for unemployment benefits only if he or she actively seeks work by conducting at least four work search activities weekly.

One amendment keeps unemployment benefits at 26 weeks with payouts being a percentage of earnings that decrease as the weeks diminish. A person getting a part-time job while seeking full-time work will continue to get full unemployment benefits.

Update at 6:30 p.m. by Randy Yohe

House Bill 4975 has completed legislation. The bill creates a foster care information system. There were few, if any, other foster care issues proposed this session after declaring the issue a crisis the past few years.

After several sessions of attempts, House Bill 4911 finally passed, allowing the sale of raw milk in West Virginia. The bill that passed included Senate amendments requiring warning labels on the product, removing the focal point of contention — liability immunity for raw milk sellers.

Lawmakers Look To Budget In Final Week Of Session, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, as we enter the final week of the state legislative session, we decided to check in with party leaders to see how they feel about the session and whether they met their priorities. Randy Yohe spoke with Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha. WVPB invited Republican House leaders to join in the discussion, but none were available.

On this West Virginia Morning, as we enter the final week of the state legislative session, we decided to check in with party leaders to see how they feel about the session and whether they met their priorities. Randy Yohe spoke with Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha. WVPB invited Republican House leaders to join in the discussion, but none were available.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Eric Douglas is our news director and producer.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Taiwan Partnership, First Responder Mental Health Highlight House Happenings

Global partnerships and international politics took center stage in the House of Delegates Thursday, along with a continuing legislative effort to address the mental health crisis among the state’s first responders.

West Virginia And Taiwan

Stepping down from his podium, Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, read House Resolution 9, reaffirming the longstanding sisterhood partnership between West Virginia and Taiwan. The state and the embattled Asian nation have worked together as trade and cultural partners since 1980.

Taiwan delegation member Robin Chang spoke of the strong West Virginia/Taiwan relationship through trade, economic ties and cooperation in education and related fields, including a united stand supporting global democracy.

“Even as our democracy thrives, the people of Taiwan continue to face harassment and aggression from our neighbor across the Taiwan Strait,” Chang said. “That is why it has been so encouraging and important for the 23 million Taiwanese people to have received the strong support of our friends here in West Virginia, and the United States.”

Delegates back from a recent mission to Taiwan talked about Taiwan’s hill and hollow topography being similar to West Virginia. However, they said they were getting 5G broadband everywhere. Delegates said Taiwan’s tunnel, bridge and rail infrastructure was exemplary. Now, legislators are studying Taiwan’s related laws and regulations to see how West Virginia can match up.

Hanshaw said it’s a win-win situation to maintain strong relations with a country fighting to remain independent and free.

“Taiwan is a democratic country,” Hanshaw said. “When we talk about growing and cultivating export markets for West Virginia’s businesses and creating new opportunities to grow our state’s economy, we know that the export markets are how we’re going to do that. And if we want to do business in Asia, we want to do business with people whose values are aligned with ours outright.”

First Responder Mental Health

House Bill 5241 requires the Insurance Commissioner to audit PEIA claims for the treatment of PTSD of first responders. The commissioner is also charged with filing an annual report.

The state EMS Department is among many working to address a mental health crisis among first responders.

Del. Heather Tully, R-Nicholas, sponsored the audit bill. She said first responders from her county and elsewhere told her their PEIA insurance mental health claims were consistently rejected.

“A lot of times in PEIA, they were seen to be denied or they were delayed,” Tully said. “As a result of this, we wanted to make sure the insurance commissioner had no oversight over PEIA claims related to this whatsoever, unlike the insurance commissioner being able to audit private insurance. The end goal is to really see how we can work forward and see if we can’t get coverage for our first responders.”

The first responder PTSD audit bill passed the House 90-0 Wednesday evening and was sent to the Senate.

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.

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.”