Day 15: A public hearing on obscenity in schools, libraries and museums
Good morning from the 60 Days Morgantown bureau (which is actually a couch and sometimes my home office in the cozy neighborhood of Greenmont).
Welcome back to your daily guide to the West Virginia Legislature’s regular session.
Today is Wednesday, January 24, 2024 — Day 15 of the 60-day session. That means we are hitting the quarter of the way through mark and the annual mission at 60 Days is a quarter way complete. Don’t worry, though, if you keep us motivated and well caffeinated, we’ll keep going year-round with West Virginia news in your inboxes on a regular (but still to be determined) basis.
Professionals from the geospatial industry and athletic trainers associations will be at the Capitol today. So, if you need a high tech map and have a torn hamstring, wander around the rotunda for a bit and you’ll get fixed up.
In the meantime, make sure you’re subscribed to 60 Days — and consider a pledge of support while you’re at it.
Today’s Agenda:
The House Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing at 8:30 a.m. in the House chamber on HB 4654 — removing bona fide schools, public libraries, and museums from the list of exemptions from criminal liability relating to distribution and display to minor of obscene matter.
House Democrats object to the measure. They call it “The Book Ban” bill and in a news release they say it would “criminalize teachers, librarians and museum curators for making available certain books or artwork.”
If you want to speak at the hearing, show up early in the House chamber to register.
Otherwise, you can watch it online, live streamed here.
As usual, both chambers of the Legislature will gavel in their floor sessions at 11am. You can find the House’s active calendar here. The Senate’s is here.
It being mid-week, there’s quite a lot on the schedule today in terms of committee meetings. Just click on the name of a committee to find what’s on the agenda:
9 a.m. - House Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Committee
9:15 a.m. - House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
10 a.m. - Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
1 p.m. - House Judiciary Committee
1 p.m. - House Finance Committee
Also includes budget presentations from the West Virginia Department of Education, the West Virginia School Building Authority and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission / West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education
1 p.m. - Senate School Choice Committee
2 p.m. - House Education Committee
2 p.m. - Senate Outdoor Recreation Committee
2 p.m. - Senate Pensions Committee
2:30 p.m. - House Government Organization Committee
3 p.m. - Senate Judiciary Committee
3 p.m. - Senate Finance Committee
Budget Presentations from the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services, the West Virginia Department of Veteran's Assistance and the West Virginia Department of Revenue
From the ‘It takes a village’ department:
In response to a reader’s comment on yesterday’s post, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there will be an early voting period for West Virginia’s upcoming primary election. In-person early voting runs ahead of the May 14 election — from Wednesday, May 1 through Saturday, May 11. The voter registration deadline still stands at April 23.
So, whether you plan to vote early, on election day proper or are voting absentee, be sure to check your voter registration status, update your information and find out more about the upcoming election on the West Virginia Secretary of State’s website.
Again, given that’s some news you can use, we’d appreciate a coffee/beer donation for our efforts, if you’re feeling generous:
60 Days links: Reading that’s good for you and good for West Virginia. Click on the links to help support the reporters who work at the state Capitol day in, day out.
The Senate has been advancing some conservative priorities, including a bill that would require a video on human conception to be shown in classrooms, the “In God We Trust” bill and legislation that would allow for classroom instruction on intelligent design. Brad McElhinny of WVMetroNews has a story on those measures making their way through the upper house.
Steven Allen Adams, the state government reporter for Ogden Newspapers, has a similar story here.
The House today could send the Senate a bill that’s raising alarms for people who work to prevent domestic violence. Allen Siegler of Mountain State Spotlight reports on HB4874.
SB 269, which would decriminalize drug testing strips passed the Senate on Tuesday. Caity Coyne of West Virginia Watch has more on the measure, which got only one ‘no’ vote on the Senate floor.
Resources:
Know of any bills we should be keeping tabs on? Any events, press conferences, etc., we should know about? Tell us about them in the comments.