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SESSION BEGINS — House Speaker Roger Hanshaw gavels the House of Delegates into session on the first day of the 2024 session. — Photo Courtesy/WV Legislative Photography
CHARLESTON — As West Virginia lawmakers began the second half of the 86th legislative session Wednesday, focus from leaders in the Senate and House of Delegates will be on addressing long-standing issues facing the state and initiatives left unfinished in 2023.
The West Virginia Legislature gaveled in at noon Wednesday for its regular session. Over the next 60 days, Republican and Democratic lawmakers will draft bills, hold long committee meetings, caucus behind closed doors, host public hearings and debate amendments in floor sessions as the clock ticks down.
Legislators introduced 199 bills on the first day in the Senate, with several bills read a first time. Over in the House, more than 450 bills were introduced Wednesday and referred to committees, where members will comb through the bills and begin discussing and amending them as the session continues.
Republican legislative leaders see the 2024 session as an opportunity to work on important legislation that didn’t make it through last year’s legislative session.
“We’re looking at other things we’ve done that haven’t got across the finish line for one reason or another,” said Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld, R-Brooke.
House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, spoke Wednesday morning at the annual Issues and Eggs event by the Charleston Regional Chamber of Commerce prior to the start of the day’s floor session. Hanshaw praised the number of economic development announcements over the recent years and the state’s record-breaking tax collections, but cautioned that West Virginia still has significant challenges lawmakers need to address left over from the 2023 session.
“We have a lot more to do,” Hanshaw said. “When we adjourned the 2023 regular legislative session last March, we left some things undone. We’ll begin focusing on some of those things as early as noon today.”
Weld said the Senate Majority caucus plans to focus on long-term fiscal issues for the state. West Virginia ended the previous fiscal year with a $1.8 billion surplus and has already accumulated a $406 million surplus for the first half of the current fiscal year.
“We’re going to continue to look into the budget and ensure we’re living within our means,” Weld said. “Now is a tough time for people across our state and country with inflation, so people in West Virginia are watching their budgets and the state should do so as well. We’ve been very lucky with collections outpacing our estimates, so we’ve had money left to do things and invest in government and infrastructure across the state. I expect the Senate to continue to be the fiscal stewards of this state.”
Weld said the Senate could consider bills to help seniors and public employee retirees, such as an increase in the Homestead Exemption and increasing payments to retired state workers.
“One thing that we’ve talked about and I know others have talked about is trying to help retirees across the state and ensuring they can keep pace with inflation,” Weld said. “Maybe we can give them an extra bump in a year where things have been difficult. Their fixed income hasn’t raised.”
Hanshaw said the House would again work on a bill to provide a funding source for volunteer fire departments and emergency medical services. Bills dealing with these issues died at the end of the 2023 session. More than $12 million in one-time funding was provided for volunteer fire departments in an August special session, though that bill did not include EMS providers.
“We know it is important to take care of the West Virginians who take care of us,” Hanshaw said. “We know it is important that we properly resource our uniformed first responders who come running into the fire, who come in the ambulance when we dial 911. We left that undone in the last regular session.”
Hanshaw also said the House will work on providing pay increases for non-uniformed employees of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“We recognize that many of our friends and neighbors, the many men and women who staff our correctional facilities in West Virginia, do not wear a uniform but nevertheless provide vital services,” Hanshaw said. “We expect to be able to revisit those conversations with non-uniformed officers who also play an important role in making sure we are staffing our facilities correctly.”
During the August special session, lawmakers appropriated $21.1 million to increase the starting pay and change pay scales for correctional officers in the state’s system of 11 prisons, 10 regional jails, 10 juvenile centers and three work-release sites. Lawmakers also provided $6 million for one-time bonuses for support staff in the correctional system beginning in October.
The House will consider legislation to provide financial resources and infrastructure for West Virginia hospital and healthcare facilities similar to how the state provided funding in the current fiscal year general revenue budget for deferred maintenance.
“We’re asking the question this session of do we need to take the same step for our hospital facilities? Do we need to take the same step for our healthcare institutions? We believe the answer may be yes,” Hanshaw said.
House Minority Whip Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, said the 11-member House Democratic caucus is focused on keeping fellow lawmakers on task and not veering off into bills meant to be used as political fodder for primary and general election races this year.
“We will focus on improving the lives of all West Virginians and not just politicians’ lives,” Fluharty said. “The election year tends to be the focus when we get into session, and you see these bills come out that are all about mailers and campaigns. We’ve only got 60 days. We’ve got to put the politics away for the people.”
Legislators on both sides of the chamber will also look at issues affecting children and families, such as expanding tax credits to smaller businesses that provide access to childcare for employees. The Legislature passed a childcare tax credit for larger employers a few years ago. Other bills to incentivize childcare are in the works.
“It seems like that is a hot topic, childcare,” said Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell. “It does affect most of our families. I do like the energy that’s starting to coalesce around this issue.”
“We’re particularly focusing on childcare, the affordability of childcare, but also protecting our children,” Fluharty said. “We have a (Child Protective Services) crisis in this state currently, and we want to make sure we’re enforcing our laws against those who are abusing children.”
Fluharty said he will introduce Raylee’s Law, which would prevent parents, guardians and those working as home school teachers from being able to educate children while active CPS investigations are pending.
“That is a priority bill for our caucus and myself in particular,” Fluharty said. “This bill is designed to protect children from child abusers. I’m not sure why the majority party continues to allow child abusers to school our children.”
Hanshaw said lawmakers in both the House and Senate in either party are focused on picking up the ball dropped in 2023 and finishing long-time shared priorities.
“We still have needs. We still have challenges. We still have things that have to be done,” Hanshaw said. “There is work left undone. There are goals left unmet, and that remains our focus…making sure we are continuing down the path to improve the lives and quality of life for all West Virginians despite how much good we’ve done so far.”
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