Day 21: Ban on gender-affirming care for minors heads to House floor
Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days.
It’s Tuesday, January 31st, 2023 — Day 21 of the West Virginia Legislature’s regular session.
This morning’s edition comes to you from Morgantown — the home of West Virginia University and the birthplace of actor Don Knotts.
Morgantown is also where you can find The Metropolitan Billiard Parlor (also known as “The Met,” and one of my favorite hangouts), 123 Pleasant St. (a live music venue, and another of my favorite hangouts) and Gene’s Beer Garden (one of the best townie bars anywhere and — you guessed it — yet another of my favorite hangouts). I’ll save the list of local food I love for another time.
Considering it’s WVU Day at the Capitol, you might see President Gordon Gee (undoubtedly sporting a bowtie) and other notable university figures wandering around under the dome today.
The House and Senate will gavel in at 11 a.m.
The floor calendars on each side of the rotunda are now consistently loaded up, so check them out on the Bulletin Board.
Also, given that the House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet just ahead of the floor session, there’s a chance some bills might get moved from the House Special Calendar (active) to the House Calendar (inactive, or as some have called it “the parking lot”).
Here’s a note from House of Delegates spokesperson Ann Ali:
“All bills coming out of committee will automatically be placed on the Special Calendar; they can only be moved off that calendar by the Rules Committee. You may have memories of this calendar arrangement coming into play only after the 31st day of the session, however House Rule 70 was amended in the House Rules in 2019 to allow the Special Calendar to commence at the start of session.”
With today being the first meeting of the Rules Committee — and Ann’s note explaining how it all works — I’d very much be on the lookout for some bills to be moved off the active calendar to the “parking lot.”
Here’s a look at the scheduled committee meetings in the House:
9 a.m. – House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Room 215-E
9 a.m. – House Committee on Substance Abuse, Room 434-M
9 a.m. – House Committee on Banking and Insurance, Room 410-M
10 a.m. – House Committee on Pensions and Retirement, Room 460-M
10:45 a.m. – House Rules Committee, behind the House Chamber.
1 p.m. – House Committee on Technology and Infrastructure, Room 434-M
2 p.m. – House Committee on Economic Development and Tourism, Room 460-M
3 p.m. – House Committee on Health and Human Resources, Room 215-E
And here’s the committee schedule for today over in the Senate:
9 a.m.: Government Organization, Room 208-W
Com. Sub. for SB 295: Extending time that prescription for spectacles or contact lenses remains valid
Com. Sub. for SB 198: Requiring counties to register automated external defibrillators with Office of Emergency Medical Services
Com. Sub. for SB 294: Clarifying amount of deputy sheriff annual salary increase
SB 457: Removing certain activities Alcohol Beverage Control Commission licensee is prohibited to permit on private club premises
9 a.m.: Education, Room 451-M
SB 275: Adding State Fire Marshals to statute included with law enforcement and first responders that receive information on school safety requirements
SB 445: Repealing outdated section of WV code relating to WV Graduate College and Marshall University
SB 469: Providing funding for CPR instruction to high school students
1 p.m.: Energy, Industry and Mining, Room 208-W
Com. Sub. for SB 448: Providing funding to Office of Oil and Gas for well inspections
1 p.m.: Health and Human Resources, Room 451-M
SB 242: Relating to residential substance use disorder service programs
SB 479: Expanding certain insurance coverages for pregnant women
3 p.m.: Judiciary, Room 208-W
Reports by Subcommittees
Referrals to Subcommittees
o SB 532: Creating new crime of soliciting minor (Subcommittee A – Criminal Law)
SB 470: Making adoption records accessible for medical purposes
Com. Sub. for SB 50: Requiring one-year residency within district or county to fill vacancy in Legislature
SB 296: Uniform Public Meetings During Emergencies Act
3 p.m.: Finance, Room 451-M
HB 2506: Creating a title clearinghouse for non-resident businesses
Budget Presentation: West Virginia Department of Homeland Security
Budget Presentation: West Virginia Department of Education
Looking back to legislative news from yesterday:
The Senate passed a dozen bills. West Virginia Public Broadcasting takes a look at a few of them.
The House Judiciary Committee advanced two bills — all of which saw pushback from Democrats on the panel. Those measures deal with banning sanctuary cities and outlawing gender-affirming care for minors. You can read more about those bills in the Charleston Gazette-Mail (Paywall) and the Associated Press.
The House Education Committee moved along bills that call for pay raises for teachers and school service personnel. The combined cost would come to $292 million each year. WVMetroNews has a story.
That does it for me today — and, well, for January.
Be sure to open tomorrow’s edition, as I’m excited to introduce you to one of my favorite things on the internet.
If you want to get in touch, you can email us at 60daysgilesdave@gmail.com.
I’m on Twitter at @davemistich and Giles is @GilesSnyder.