This week, before emancipation, Appalachia provided pathways to freedom for enslaved people trying to escape bondage. A new project identifies more than two dozen previously unknown underground railroad sites. Also, the Fly Around Music & Arts Festival in North Carolina was inspired by the hard work that followed Hurricane Helene. And, a ballad about floods recorded a generation ago still provides solace for people today.
On this episode of The Legislature Today, lawmakers are mulling over countless tax proposals that would directly affect West Virginians and their wallets. Randy Yohe sat down with Kelly Allen, the executive director at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, to discuss budgets and taxes.
Also, in a Friday morning session, the Senate advanced legislation on the postal service, parental rights and pro-life education. Jack Walker has the story.
With controversy still bubbling over a proposed bill that could impose felony charges on a librarian or museum curator for exposing obscene material to a minor, it was Library Legislation Day at the Capitol.
This week, our high school correspondents look at the role of the lobbyist in the legislative process. Hollywood often portrays them as throwing large sums of money around, but even the smallest nonprofit organization can have a lobbyist.
Finally, former state senator John Pat Fanning died recently. Fanning was elected to the West Virginia Senate on three different occasions. His first term began in June 1968 and lasted until 1980. He came back to the Senate in 1984 for a single term that ended in 1988. His longest time in the Senate was from 1996 to 2012. He left his position in 2012. Bob Brunner brings us this profile.
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The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.
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The West Virginia Department of Human Services said the program was on hold due to uncertainty over the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding.
A class action lawsuit against the W.Va. foster care system will move forward without waiting for a possible petition and ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, a judge has ruled.
