Day 23: The House is set to hold the first of two public hearings this morning
Members of the public will get to weigh in on HB 2007, which would ban gender-affirming care for minors.
Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days.
Today is Thursday, February 2nd, 2023, the 23rd day of the West Virginia Legislature’s regular session.
It’s Dave here — and since it’s Thursday, Giles and I are sharing the workload this morning, which means we need DOUBLE the caffeine.
If you like buckwheat cakes with your coffee, be sure to head up to the Capitol’s Upper Rotunda. Today is Preston/Mon County Day at the Legislature.
Despite being a proud Marshall University alum and even mentioning WVU Day earlier this week — I somehow managed to miss that yesterday was MU Day at the Capitol. But that should come as no surprise. When I was a member of the statehouse press corps, I always forgot to wear my Marshall green and always felt like a dolt.
Speaking of feeling like a dolt, even though my sharing of the February video was an attempt at good-natured humor, I should have offered a better headline. February is, after all, Black History Month — and the “Ugh” in there drew some rightful criticism from one 60 Days reader.
The point is: There was a positive to highlight for this month and I overlooked it.
Part of journalism is owning your mistakes and oversights, no matter what your intentions might have been. Transparency and striving to do better is what helps to build and maintain trust.
So, moving forward, I will strive do better.
Now that you know to point your finger at Dave for any failing we may make here at 60 Days, let’s move on to today’s main event at the statehouse — the public hearing on the bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors.
It’s scheduled for 9 a.m. in the House chamber.
Those interested in speaking for or against the bill will be given an allotted amount of time to express their thoughts on the legislation. These hearings often draw a lot of people to Charleston and speakers can be given very limited time to weigh in. Given the sensitivity of the issues and the constraints involved, today’s hearing is bound to be tense.
Minority Democrats spoke out against the bill as it made its way through the Health and Judiciary committees — and as Del. Evan Hansen (D-Monongalia) pointed out, the panel did not hear testimony from medical professionals on the matter.
HB 2007 is on second reading in the House, so Delegates appear likely to vote on it this week.
A separate public hearing is scheduled for today. Lawmakers on the House Finance Committee will take public comment on HB 2883, which deals with moving $678 million from the state’s coronavirus relief fund to other coffers.
The hearing will be held in the House Chamber beginning a 2 p.m.
Today being Groundhog Day and in keeping with the “I Got You, Babe” spirit of the Bill Murray movie, the debate over tax cuts is as it ever was — meaning, there’s still no agreement.
The alarm clock has been going off promptly each morning ever since Gov. Jim Justice used his State of the State address to propose cutting personal income taxes by 50% over three years. (And — to take it back a bit more — some version of a tax reform proposal has been running through the Legislature each session for a few years now.)
Although the House overwhelmingly passed the governor’s bill already this session, the Senate keeps hitting the snooze button on that old Sonny and Cher song.
But there might be a path forward — the governor appears open to a compromise.
Justice told MetroNews that a compromise “at least gets us on a real pathway.” But he also said the Senate is risking ending the legislative session in March with no deal in hand.
Senate leaders may be unwilling to take Justice for his word on how his tax cut plan will affect the state’s finances, but they agree with him when comes to his TikTok bill.
The Senate on Wednesday passed its version of the measure and sent it to the House — where a similar proposal is in the House Judiciary Committee.
The bill bans the popular app from state-owned devices because of its links to the Chinese government.
The House convenes its floor session at 11 a.m. There are no bills at the passage stage.
You can see the House floor agenda here. And the committee schedule goes like this:
9 a.m. – the Judiciary Committee will host a public hearing on HB2007 in the Chamber.
9 a.m. – the Workforce Development Committee will meet in the East Wing Committee Room, 215E
10 a.m. – the Committee on Senior, Children and Family Issues will meet in the Finance Committee Room, 460M
1 p.m. – the Committee on Energy and Manufacturing will meet in the Judiciary Committee Room, 410M
2 p.m. the Committee on Economic Development and Tourism will meet in the Finance Committee Room, 460M
2 p.m. – the Finance Committee will host a public hearing on HB2883 in the Chamber.
3 p.m. – the House Health and Human Resources Committee will meet in the East Wing Committee Room, 215E
The Senate will also covene at 11 a.m with just one bill up for passage:
Eng. Com. Sub. for SB 356: Authorizing DOT to promulgate legislative rules
You can find the rest of the Senate’s floor agenda here. And here’s how the Senate’s committee schedule shakes out.
9 a.m.: Government Organization (208W)
9 a.m.: Education (208W) - notably the leaders of West Virginia’s two largest teachers unions will appear.
1 p.m.: Energy, Industry and Mining (208W)
1 p.m.: Health and Human Resources (451M)
2 p.m.: Judiciary Subcommittee A – Criminal Law (208W)
3 p.m.: Finance (451M)
3:15 p.m.: Judiciary (208W)
Thanks for reading 60 Days.
We’ll close out the legislative week tomorrow.
If there’s something you think we should know about — or maybe you just want to say hello, you can reach us at 60daysgilesdave@gmail.com.
Giles is on Twitter @gilessnyder and Dave can be found @davemistich.
Thank you! I am a member of the LWV of West Virginia Legislative Workgroup keeping an eye on election related bills. Thanks for hellping me do that
Please keep track of bills affecting voting. I understand legislatures trying to reduce acceptable forms of voter ID???