Day 22: Marshall gets its day, too
Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days, your daily guide to the West Virginia Legislature.
It’s Wednesday, January 31, 2024 — Day 22 of the regular session. It’s also Marshall University Day at the Capitol — and it just so happens that the entire 60 Days editorial board is made up of Marshall grads. One of us is even in the Marshall University School of Journalism Hall of Fame (Hint: It’s not me.)
Anyway, back when I covered the Capitol, this was the day every year in which I would forget to wear a green tie or some other accessory to acknowledge my alma mater. A minor infraction, sure, but a few people noticed and low-key shamed me for it. My argument was always that I was too busy paying attention to floor schedules and committee agendas to be concerned with the activity calendar. Which is sorta true, but the bottom line is I was always scrambling to get dressed like a respectable person and make my way over to the Capitol in time.
Right or wrong — Marshall has always seemed to stand in the shadow of WVU. So despite my lack of a green tie, I still took a lot of pride in seeing Marshall being celebrated around the Capitol.
If you’re around the Capitol Complex this morning, be on the lookout for the Thundering Herd’s Fife and Drum Corps. They’ve been known to put on a mini-show at the start of the House and Senate floor sessions.
Today’s Agenda:
A bill that would require age verification for internet pornography has made it to the floor of the House. The Committee Substitute for H. B. 4867 will be on first reading after the House Judiciary Committee advanced it with little debate on Monday. The bill is aimed at protecting children. Virginia lawmakers passed a similar measure last year.
The Senate also has an internet bill on its calendar today. The Committee Substitute for S.B. 477 is at the passage stage. It seeks to protect the privacy of health care workers, allowing them to seek the removal of personal information from online records maintained by state and local governments. It would also make anyone who posts the personal information of a health care worker or members of their family with malicious intent guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable with a fine of not more than $500.00 and/or up to six months in jail.
The Engrossed Committee Substitute for S. B. 402 is also on the passage stage in the Senate today. That measure would authorize the U.S. Concealed Carry Association to conduct concealed carry classes in West Virginia. The group already offers classes in the state, but the bill would codify the USCCA’s authority to cover instances where a county sheriff might issue a concealed carry permit if the applicant took a class from the group.
Both the House and Senate will gavel in at their normal 11 a.m. start time. Here’s the committee schedule for today.
9 a.m. – House Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Committee
9:15 a.m. – House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
9:30 a.m. – House Artificial Intelligence Committee
10 a.m. – House Workforce Development Committee
10:45 a.m. – House Rules Committee
10:45 a.m. — Senate Rules Committee
1 p.m. – House Finance Committee
No agenda aside from budget hearings from West Virginia University and Marshall University, which are expected to feature both WVU president E. Gordon Gee and MU president Brad Smith
1 p.m. – House Judiciary Committee
H. B. 4851, To allow for public and private schools in West Virginia to employ security personnel. Another version of this bill passed the Senate earlier this session.
H. B. 5091, West Virginia Critical Infrastructure Protection Act. This effort has been floated for years — even drawing heated and divisive public hearings. The goal of the bill is to protect infrastructure like pipelines and energy projects under construction.
1 p.m. — Senate School Choice Committee
2 p.m. – House Education Committee
2 p.m. — Senate Outdoor Recreation Committee
S. B. 577 - Limiting landowner liability when land is used for recreational purposes.
3 p.m. — Senate Judiciary Committee
3 p.m. — Senate Finance Committee
Budget presentations from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the West Virginia Department of Health Facilities
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Lawmakers on the Senate Education Committee heard Monday the results of a survey from the West Virginia Education Association. As Brad McElhinny of WVMetroNews tells us, teachers reported concerns about parent involvement in their child’s education and heavy workloads.
The House Energy and Manufacturing Committee has advanced a bill that would limit the use of data collected by community air monitoring programs for regulatory or enforcement purposes. Sarah Elbeshbishi of Mountain State Spotlight has more on the measure.
Sen. Mike Caputo (D-Marion) has an idea to address financial issues with the insurance program for public employees. But, as the West Virginia Democratic Party noted in a tweet, his proposal is tied to the legalization of recreational marijuana. According to the Legislature’s website, S. B. 585 was introduced Monday and referred to the Banking and Insurance Committee.
Gayle Manchin, the co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission and the wife of Sen. Joe Manchin, was hospitalized after being involved in a car crash in Birmingham, Alabama. The Birmingham News reports, Gayle Manchin’s vehicle was struck by another vehicle driven by a suspect who was running from police.
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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.
Correction: A previous version of this newsletter misidentified the Mountain State Spotlight reporter who wrote the air monitoring story. It has been corrected to reflect Sarah Elbeshbishi’s byline.
We’re also told that the MU Fife and Drum Corps is inactive this year, but that an MU quartet will be performing in the lower rotunda.