Tensions Rise at Statehouse Over Procedures, Nursing Compact

On The Legislature Today, tensions were high in the Senate as a motion to move a bill to the chamber’s Finance Committee turned into a debate over the procedures Senators with years of experience say are being ignored by some members of the majority party.

Members of the House’s Judiciary Committee are considering a bill that its sponsors hope will curb West Virginia’s nursing shortage.

House Bill 2522 would enter West Virginia into an agreement with other states to allow nurses to practice across state lines without having to get multiple licenses. The compact would include both registered nurses, or RNs, and licensed practical nurses, or LPNs, who packed the committee room today as members debated the bill.

In 2014 the West Virginia Legislature created the Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture Program, which helps support veterans who want to learn to farm. Now, the Department of Agriculture is exploring the possibility of creating a formalized 12-week agricultural training course to teach veterans how to start their own small farm businesses.

There are a great number of people who work behind the scenes at the statehouse every day to make sure the legislative process runs smoothly. At least some of those staffers work under Legislative Manager Aaron Allred who shows us one of the most important functions under his watch– bill drafting.