Tag: West Virginia Senate

Senate Bill Could Prohibit Driving Too Slow In Left Lane

The West Virginia Senate advanced legislation that would crack down on slow driving in the left lane of an interstate highway.

Updated on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024 at 5:26 p.m.

A new bill advancing through the West Virginia Senate aims to ensure slow drivers steer clear of the left lane. 

On Monday, the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced Senate Bill 441, which would penalize drivers for traveling at an unsafely slow speed in the leftmost lane of a four-lane interstate highway.

The bill would affect 25 different roadways in West Virginia, each of which would receive signage to notify drivers of the law. Committee Attorney Marey Casey said the bill was based on legislation in other states, including Arkansas.

Under the bill, driving too slowly in the left lane would be classified as a misdemeanor, and punishable by fines of $100 for first offense, or $200 for each subsequent offense within a year.

Unsafe driving is not defined in a numerical, miles-per-hour manner in the bill. Instead, it describes the offense as driving slowly enough “to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.” Ultimately, law enforcement officials would determine whether an individual drives at a slow enough speed to commit the offense.

Still, the bill makes exceptions for some circumstances, like when drivers pass one another, navigate around highway construction, or seek to avoid dangerous road conditions.

The bill passed through the committee with no pushback, and will be referred back to the Senate for a first reading.

**Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story said the bill had been referred to the full Senate on third reading. This was incorrect. The bill has been sent to the Senate and is expected to be on first reading.

Senate Voices Support For South Charleston Mail Center Facing Downsizing

Amid controversy surrounding the potential closure of West Virginia’s only mail processing center in South Charleston, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution expressing their support of the center’s preservation.

A controversial plan to move West Virginia’s only mail processing center to neighboring Pennsylvania brought a storm of backlash for the United States Postal Service (USPS).

The fallout in late 2023 led USPS officials to suggest instead downsizing the South Charleston center, and moving select operations out of state. But lawmakers are critical of the idea because of the economic opportunities the center currently provides.

On Friday, the West Virginia Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution 16, which expressed support for the center’s preservation in Kanawha County.

Sen. Eric Nelson Jr., R-Kanawha, said that the center’s location in West Virginia reduces shipping times for West Virginia, and provides important employment opportunities for West Virginia families.

“We’ve talked about so many economic benefits of new jobs here in the last three or four years,” Nelson said during the Senate’s legislative session on Friday. “Well let’s talk about job retention: 800 jobs and their families and those that they touch.”

The USPS will host a meeting at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center on Jan. 30, where it will accept public comments on current plans.

Nelson encouraged fellow lawmakers to attend the meeting and show their support for local postal workers.

Senate Moves To Close Adoption Loophole, Upholding Parental Rights

A bill passed by the West Virginia Senate on Friday would close a loophole in the state’s adoption process and uphold parental rights.

A loophole in West Virginia law allows prospective parents to adopt children whose biological parents still have custody claims. But a bill passed by the West Virginia Senate Friday aims to remove this discrepancy before wrongful adoptions occur.

West Virginia parents who lose custody of their children in a circuit court can appeal the decision in the Supreme Court.

However, as the law currently stands, prospective parents can adopt a child while their biological parents are still waiting on a response to their custody appeal.

So far, the state has discovered no instances of wrongful adoption in this manner. Senate Bill 318, which was passed unanimously on Friday, would ensure the custody appeal process has closed before the adoption process begins.

Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, who sponsored the bill, said it would reduce risk for the state and West Virginia families.

Under this bill, adoptive parents must confirm “that the parental rights of one or more of the child’s birth parents have been terminated by final order,” he said. That means the loss of custody was “affirmed on appeal and the time for reconsideration of the decision on appeal has expired,” or that “the decision was not appealed and the time for filing an appeal of the order or orders terminating parental rights of the child’s birth parents has expired.”

“If the Supreme Court, upon review of one of these cases, said it was an error — that the circuit court made an error in terminating parental rights — and the children have already been adopted by another family, that would be a disaster,” he said on the Senate floor Friday.

The bill will now be sent to the House of Delegates for further deliberation.

Dental Hygienists Could Aid Tobacco Cessation Under Senate Bill

On Thursday, the West Virginia Senate voted unanimously to grant dental hygienists legal permission to provide clients tobacco cessation services.

Dental hygienists might soon be able to provide their clients tobacco cessation services. But their legal ability to do so first depends on a vote from the West Virginia House of Delegates, after unanimous approval from the West Virginia Senate on Thursday.

Senate Bill 357 places tobacco cessation services within the practice of dental hygienists, given the negative effects tobacco consumption can have on dental health.

Earlier this week, a report released by the American Lung Association found that West Virginia has the lowest ranking possible in tobacco prevention funding and access to tobacco cessation services.

Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier, sponsored the bill alongside Sen. Michael Maroney, R-Marshall. Deeds described it as an effort to expand tobacco cessation resources available for West Virginians.

Deeds said that dental providers are particularly equipped to offer insight into the dangers of tobacco consumption and vaping because they see its after-effects frequently.

Dental hygienists “have an opportunity to educate everyone about their dental health,” Deeds said. “They see the side effects from any kind of tobacco, whether it’s the smokeless tobacco or the vapes.”

In particular, Deeds said that the rise in vape consumption among youth and teenagers warrants new educational resources regarding the dangers of smoking.

“Young people are exposed to a lot of tobacco products through vapes,” Deeds said. “We hope that this is an initial step of educating our young people.”

Senate Approves New I-73 Corridor Economic Commission

The West Virginia Senate unanimously approved an economic commission to identify funding and development opportunities tied to an interstate highway corridor that would span southern West Virginia.

The I-73 highway corridor is currently under construction in southern West Virginia and legislators are looking to parlay the project into an economic opportunity.

West Virginia’s portion of I-73 would connect the state to highways stretching from Michigan to Myrtle Beach. With the region opened to more out-of-state travelers, lawmakers hope economic opportunities will roll in with them.

On Thursday, the West Virginia Senate unanimously approved SB 354. The bill would create an economic commission to advise local industry leaders on development and federal funding opportunities available to them following the project’s completion.

Sen. Mark Maynard, R-Wayne, said the commission hopes to turn the highway’s construction into an economic opportunity for McDowell, Mercer, Mingo and Wayne counties, which the new corridor will intersect.

He added that the highway construction project would qualify the region for new funding opportunities.

“There’s some federal funding out there available for this that currently the state of West Virginia doesn’t get for highway programs,” he said. “Hopefully we can go after some of that.”

Receiving approval from the Senate, the bill now awaits review from the West Virginia House of Delegates.

“Just by making this [corridor] a real thing, it will solve the economic issues because it will allow interstate commerce,” Maynard said. “At the exit ramps, it will allow development, fast food restaurants and truck stops.”

“The bounds are limitless,” Maynard said.

Hydrogen Hubs In W.Va. And A Conversation With Senate President Blair, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, in our latest episode of The Legislature Today, News Director Eric Douglas spoke with Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, on issues important to him for this general legislative session. We listen to an excerpt.

On this West Virginia Morning, in our latest episode of The Legislature Today, News Director Eric Douglas spoke with Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, on issues important to him for this general legislative session. We listen to an excerpt.

Also, in this show, we have the most recent story from The Allegheny Front, a public radio program based in Pittsburgh that reports on environmental issues in the region. In this feature, we learn about rules for hydrogen hubs in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

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 produced this episode.

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

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