Day 21: It's a great day to be a Mountaineer at the West Virginia Capitol
Day 21: It's a great day to be a Mountaineer at the West Virginia Capitol
Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days, your daily guide to the West Virginia Legislature’s regular session. This morning’s newsletter comes from our cozy little shop in Morgantown, which is wildly appropriate, considering it’s West Virginia University Day at the Capitol.
Today is Tuesday, January 30, 2024 — Day 21. We’re more than one-third of the way through the session, which means you should pour yourself a cup of your favorite coffee and maybe buy us one, too.
As a self-proclaimed stranger in a strange land (a Marshall University grad living in Morgantown), it’s been an interesting few months to observe the dynamics between the statehouse and the powers-that-be at West Virginia University.
WVU has had a rough time lately, with the “academic transition” bringing layoffs and a general feeling of unease around town. The legislature — seemingly with a shrug of the shoulders by WVU execs — didn’t come through with additional funding to soften the impact of the situation.
Nevertheless, WVU President E. Gordon Gee and his famous bowtie will be at the Capitol Complex today. After much to-do about his use of a plane to travel, Gee’s mode of transportation might get some attention.
According to a WVU spokesperson, Gee will be around Charleston for a couple days this week, to attend a budget hearing in House Finance tomorrow and another in Senate Finance on Thursday.
Marshall University President Brad Smith will join him for those budget hearings. MU Day at the Capitol is tomorrow.
Today’s Agenda:
The House of Delegates will gavel in at the standard start time for an 11 a.m. floor session. And a pair of election law bills will be at the passage stage:
The committee substitute for H. B. 4017 - To modify certain election laws, early voting laws, and absentee voting laws;
And the committee substitute for H. B. 4350 - Relating to appointment of candidates after the filing period.
The Senate will also come to order at 11 am. for its own floor session.
As for committees, a bill being considered today by the House Energy and Manufacturing Committee is drawing the attention of environmentalists. H.B. 5018 would limit the use of data gathered by community air monitoring programs by government regulators. Environmentalists want the panel to reject the bill saying citizen air monitoring programs encourage community engagement and awareness and the data they collect fills in gaps in government monitoring networks. The panel meets this afternoon at 1 p.m. in the House Finance Committee Room. (Agenda)
The rest of the committee schedule looks like this:
9 a.m. - House Pensions and Retirement Committee
9 a.m. - House Banking and Insurance Committee
9:15 a.m. - House Veterans’ Affairs and Homeland Security Committee
10 a.m. - House Political Subdivisions Committee
10 a.m. - Senate Education Committee
10 a.m. - Senate Government Organization Committee
1 p.m. - House Technology and Infrastructure Committee
1 p.m. - Senate Health and Human Resources Committee
3 p.m. - House Health and Human Resources Committee
3 p.m. - House Economic Development and Tourism Committee
3 p.m. - Senate Finance Committee
Budget presentations from the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and the state Department of Education.
60 Days links: We’re helping to get eyeballs on the work that the reporters at the state Capitol and elsewhere do every day. 60 Days has generated some 314 link clicks since the beginning of the legislative session. It’s a small but important thing to do to. Your decision to read what’s on the other side of a link we provide helps support journalism in West Virginia.
It wouldn’t be WVU Day at the Capitol without legislation related to the university being on the wider radar. Brad McElhinny of WVMetroNews has this story about a bill that would provide funding to some groundbreaking research on a new ultrasound treatment that could address eating disorders and PTSD. The House Finance Committee moved H.B. 5014 forward yesterday.
Governor Justice got the attention of Fox News on Monday. He was interviewed live with activist Riley Gaines by his side about new legislation being called the “Women’s Bill of Rights.” West Virginia Watch’s Amelia Ferrell Knisely reports on H.B. 5243, which would “define “women” and “female” in state law as well as define women-only spaces,” such as locker rooms. That measure is pending in the House Judiciary Committee.
West Virginia Watch also has this rundown of those running for statewide public offices. The candidate filing period for the May primary ended over the weekend. You’ll notice some big names and some not-so-big names on the list. The only candidate the Watch wrote at length about was Don Blankenship, the former Massey Energy CEO who — after the Upper Big Branch explosion killed 29 coal miners — went to federal prison for a year for conspiring to violate mine safety standards.
2024 may be nothing in comparison to the chaos of 2018 and 2019 in terms of education issues at the Capitol, but that doesn't mean policy changes aren’t coming down the pike. Mountain State Spotlight’s Henry Culvyhouse has this story on how teachers are feeling about the education bills lawmakers are considering this session.
Resources:
Finally something completely different — there’s a new trailer out for the forthcoming Ghostbusters movie. As a super fan of the franchise, I’m compelled to point you to this analysis of the trailer (both the North American and International versions) from someone much geekier than I am.
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.