Tag: West Virignia Legislature

W.Va. Senator Sues to Prevent Sunday Senate Session

A senator who is a pastor has filed a lawsuit to prevent the West Virginia Senate from working this Sunday.

Sen. John Unger filed the lawsuit Wednesday against Senate President Bill Cole in Kanawha County Circuit Court.

The suit by Unger, a Berkeley County Democrat, says he’s the pastor at three different churches this Sunday.

It says scheduling a Sunday session conflicts with his state constitutional right of religious freedom.

The lawsuit says Unger has to perform pastoral duties of visiting the sick, shut-ins, the elderly and the dying, and giving communion to people who can’t make services.

In a statement, Cole called the lawsuit a “sad attempt at political gamesmanship and obstructionism.” Cole, a Republican, said Unger didn’t have a problem working on Sundays when Democrats were in power.

The Legislature Today: Tomblin Says 'Probably Could' Sign $1 Tobacco Tax

Senators want to raise the state’s tobacco tax by $1, but Governor Tomblin says that could cause a loss of business in the border counties. Still, Tomblin says if the measure is approved by the House of Delegates he “probably could” sign it.

More than a week after lawmakers voted to override Governor Tomblin’s veto of the Right-to-Work measure, members of the business community are still debating its worth. We meet two West Virginia business owners, one of which pulled his membership from the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce over the bill.

In the House, Delegates vote on a bill that would allow certain people to consume raw milk. A similar bill was vetoed by Governor Tomblin last year.

Senate Approves Constitutional Carry Bill

Members of the West Virginia Senate voted  24 to 9 Monday to approve a bill allowing West Virginians over the age of 21 to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. 

The bill has already been approved by the House of Delegates, but Senators included changes that will now need to be reconsidered by the lower chamber before it heads to Governor Tomblin for a signature. 

As approved by the Senate, the bill gets rid of the current permitting and safety training requirements to carry a concealed weapon but keeps those programs in place for citizens who want to carry their weapons in states that have reciprocity with West Virginia.

The bill also establishes a provisional license for 18 to 21-year-olds to carry concealed. Those provisional licenses include safety training requirements. 

House Bill 4145 was amended in the Senate to remove a $100 tax credit for those who go through the permitting process even though it would not be required by code. Senate Judiciary Chair Charles Trump explained during a Saturday floor session such a credit would leave a millions of dollars hole in the state budget. 

The Senate’s version also creates three new felonies related to carrying concealed when they are prohibited by law or use a weapon while committing a crime. 

In a speech on the chamber floor, Democratic Sen. Corey Palumbo explained his no vote shows he stands with law enforcement officers and a majority of his constituents who opposed the relaxed concealed carry rules. Republican Sen. Kent Leonhardt argued that the bill will increase the safety of the state’s citizens.

House Bill 4145 could be taken up by the House of Delegates as soon as Tuesday. 

Senate-Approved Bill Allows for W.Va.-Owned Broadband Network

Members of the West Virginia Senate approved a bill to create a government-owned middle mile network, expanding access to broadband Internet in the state. 

The measure passed 29-5 during Thursday’s Senate floor session.

The bill, sponsored by the chamber’s youngest member, Republican Sen. Chris Walters, allows private Internet providers to present a business plan to connect to the state-owned middle mile network to the West Virginia Water Development Authority. Once a business plan is deemed viable, the authority would be able to bond the construction project.

Walters described that middle mile as a highway system from which providers could build off-ramps into rural communities, but he said the state would not build those miles until providers assure them they want to connect to the network through the business plan.

The bill also directs several state agencies, including the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Resources, to apply for federal grants. 

Some members of the Republican majority spoke against the bill, saying they did not believe the state should get into a business that can be handled by the private sector.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael shared that sentiment. Carmichael is employed by Frontier, one of the largest Internet providers in West Virginia, and has spoken loudly against the bill. 

After the vote, Walters said he was hopeful members of the House of Delegates would take a favorable look at the bill. He said he will be meeting with committee chairs and offering himself to testify at any House committee meetings. 

W.Va. Senate Approves Bill to Legalize Fantasy Sports Gaming

On an 18-16 vote, which was not along party lines, senators approved a bill that allows online fantasy sports leagues to operate in West Virignia.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Trump explained that while the online games are not currently illegal in West Virginia, the bill clarifies that West Virginians can participate in the programs without fear of legal repercussions. 

The bill does not assess any special taxes or fees for companies that set up such operations. 

Democratic Sen. John Unger argued on the floor there is no difference between these fantasy sports games and horse racing, a form of legalized gambling, but one that is regulated by the state of West Virginia.

Unger argued the bill targets children and young people, drawing them to participate in an addictive form of “entertainment.”

“We’re making a very significant and important policy decision without any oversight or regulation by the state or the ability to assess some type of fee or tax,” Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler said on the floor.

Kessler maintained the bill would allow a new form of gambling, but all forms of legal gambling in West Virginia bring dedicated dollars into the state’s coffers to fund senior programs, school facilities projects, and the Promise Scholarship, among others. 

“This is something the federal government says is not gambling,” Republican Sen. Craig Blair said on the floor.

“This bill makes it clear West Virginians of legal age can participate in a form of entertainment if they choose to. It’s not gambling, it’s a skill.”

House Bill 529 now heads to the House of Delegates for its consideration. 

Senate Will Vote to Drug Test Welfare Recipients

Updated 2/9/2016: The West Virginia Senate approved a three-year pilot drug testing program, 32-2. For more, click here.

Original story:

 Members of the West Virginia Senate are set to vote on a bill to drug test the recipients of public assistance. 

Senate Bill 6 creates a three-year pilot program to drug test recipients of TANF benefits. TANF stands for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Sen. Ryan Ferns said the bill requires employees of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources prove reasonable suspicion before drug testing a TANF recipient, which comes in two forms.

The first, recipients convicted of a drug-related offense in the last five years will be required to take a drug test. The second Ferns described as anyone who gives the impression they may be using an illegal drug or abusing a controlled substance. 

The bill sets out a three-strike system:

  • Strike One: no loss of benefits, requires recipient to enter rehabilitative and workforce training programs
  • Strike Two: loss of benefits for 12 months or until a rehabilitation or workforce training program has been completed, whichever is shorter
  • Strike Three: loss of benefits for life.

Benefits, however, will not be taken from dependent children in the home. Ferns says the bill requires the DHHR to find another qualified adult in their lives to take over distribution of child benefits, something he says the state already does in other cases.
“The drug epidemic has been increasingly harmful to our state,” Ferns said Monday. “It’s getting worse and worse all the time and we are looking at any possible way that we can assist individuals who need help and get them help.”

Those opposed to the bill maintain the screening process will allow for discrimination against minority and low-income West Virginians.

THe DHHR reports 3,536 individuals received TANF benefits in West Virginia in December 2015. 

The agency estimates the program will cost the state about $50,000 for its initial implementation and about $22,000 each year after.

Senators will vote on Senate Bill 6 Tuesday.

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