Day 23: Another public hearing is coming to a House chamber near you
Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days, your daily guide to the West Virginia Legislature.
Today is Thursday, February 1, 2024 — Day 23 of the regular session. The West Virginia Sheriff’s Association will be in the State Auditor’s Conference Room this morning and the West Virginia Press Association will hold a reception this evening at the Culture Center.
Journalists love free food. My guess is many members of the statehouse press corps will be grubbing down in the home of the state museum. Just a word of advice: if you happen to stumble in there to catch the ear of a reporter, go easy on them as you pitch them a story — they’re probably there for a much-needed break from the chaos of daily deadlines.
And if you’re looking to turn yourself in for any outstanding warrants, well, you know where you can find a law enforcement officer today.
Today’s Agenda:
A bill being watched by environmentalists is advancing in the House. The House Energy and Manufacturing Committee has advanced a committee substitute for H.B 5018, which would limit how the state Department of Environmental Protection can use of data gathered by community air monitoring programs. The bill will be on first reading on the House floor today. The panel is set to hold a public hearing on the bill in the House chamber tomorrow (Friday, February 2) at 9 a.m. If you want to speak, turn up at 8:30 a.m. to register.
The House has a couple of bills on third reading, the passage stage:
Com. Sub. for H. B. 4801 - Relating generally to the banking authority of the State Treasurer’s Office
Com. Sub. for H. B. 4837 - Clarifying the duty of banks to retain and procure records
The Senate only has one bill up for a vote on passage:
The Engrossed Committee Substitute for S.B. 320. The measure would eliminate the requirement for wineries to serve food when serving wine. Salud!
The House Jail and Prisons Committee is meeting at 9 a.m with a pay raise for state correctional workers on its agenda. H.B.4734 is aimed at fixing staffing issues that led to a state of emergency at state lockups.
House Health and Human Resources is set to consider H.B. 4447 when it meets at 3 p.m. The bill would create the “Responsible Fatherhood Act.”
And Senate Finance will hold budget hearings for both Marshall University and West Virginia University at 3 p.m.
The floor sessions for the House and Senate begin at the customary 11 a.m. start time. And here’s the rest of today’s committee schedule:
9:15 a.m. - House Committee on Seniors, Children, and Families .
9:30 a.m. - House Committee on Fire Departments and EMS.
10 a.m. - Senate Government Organization Committee
10 a.m. - Senate Education Committee
10:45 a.m. - House Rules behind the House Chamber.
1 p.m. - House Energy and Manufacturing
1 p.m. Senate Energy, Industry and Mining
1 p.m. Senate Health and Human Resources
1:15 p.m. House Technology and Infrastructure
3 p.m. Senate Judiciary
And now for the obligatory ask for coffee donations:
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 335 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.
Brad McElhinny of WVMetroNews reports that the House’s new Artificial Intelligence Committee has advanced its first bill.
West Virginia Watch’s Amelia Ferrell Knisely reports on House passage of a bill that aims to boost elementary teachers’ ability to remove disruptive students from their classrooms.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail’s Mike Tony reports on opposition, particularly in Hardy County, to an attempt by lawmakers in Charleston to bar county commissions from passing ordinances or rules stricter than state law regarding agricultural operations.
In a news release following his weekly briefing, Gov. Jim Justice took aim at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for planning to shut down a trout stocking program if modifications aren’t put in place. And that’s not all — West Virginia’s equivalent to Punxsutawney Phil, French Creek Freddie, may also be in trouble. Rick Steelhammer of The Charleston Gazette-Mail has more on the story.
Infighting within the Republican Party isn’t limited to Congress, the vitriol is spreading to state legislatures. David A. Lieb of The Associated Press reports some GOP statehouse leaders are pushing back.
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.