Day 36: A public hearing on proposed changes to an oil and gas tax
Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days, your daily guide to the West Virginia Legislature.
Today is Wednesday, February 14, 2024 — Day 36 of the regular session. Aside from being Valentine’s Day, it’s also Child Advocacy Day and Flood Resiliency Day at the Capitol. It’s also Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Expect to see a lot of people around the building with the ash on their forehead.
Sometimes, there’s a thread between multiple lobby days that fall on the same date, which makes for a good joke. Today is, well, simply not that day. Maybe some coffee might help me get my brain working again:
Today’s Agenda:
There’s yet another public hearing on deck for this morning — this one kicking off at 8:45 a.m. HB 4850, which would amend state code to remove a sunset clause from the Oil and Gas Personal Property Tax, was single-referenced to House Finance and a committee substitute was advanced out of the committee yesterday. Those wanting to speak about the bill can sign up in the House Chamber at 8:30 a.m.
Both the House and Senate will gavel in for the day at 11 a.m.
The House is taking up a proposed amendment to the West Virginia Constitution. HJR 28 is on second reading today. The text of the resolution states that: “No physician or health care provider in the State of West Virginia shall participate in the practice of medically-assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing.”
A quick reminder (considering we are nerds, but we also know this stuff can get confusing): A joint resolution requires a two-thirds majority of approval in both the House and Senate. If adopted by both chambers, a majority of everyday citizens — registered voters, I should say — get to decide whether to ratify the proposed amendment.
Speaking of registered voters, be sure to check and/or update your status on the West Virginia Secretary of State’s website.
You can check out the rest of the House Special Calendar here.
Over in the Senate, lawmakers have a pair of bills up for passage dealing with pregnancy and reproductive / abortion rights:
S.B 352 - Modifying Unborn Child Protection Act
SB 620 - Establishing WV Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program
To see the Senate Calendar, just head over that chamber’s corner of the West Virginia Legislature’s website.
Maybe I only noticed because we’ve been watching a lot of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” in my home (it’s really satisfying to watch a creepy bad guy go down hour after hour), but committees in both the House and Senate are dealing with the AI-assisted creation or manipulation of sexually explicit images.
At 9:00 a.m. House Artificial Intelligence Committee will consider HB 5516, which would criminalize the use of “deep fake” photos and video. And the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet at 3:00 p.m. to discuss:
SB 740 - Prohibiting digital manipulation of sexually explicit content to include minors
Com. Sub. for SB 741 -Prohibiting creation, production, distribution or possession of artificially generated child pornography
Here’s a look at the rest of committee business that’s expected for the day:
9:15 a.m. - House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
10:00 a.m. - House Workforce Development Committee
10:00 a.m. - Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
10:45 a.m. - House Rules Committee
1:00 p.m. - House Finance Committee
1:00 p.m. - House Judiciary Committee
1:00 p.m. - Senate School Choice Committee
2:00 p.m. - House Education Committee
2:00 p.m. Senate Outdoor Recreation Committee
2:00 p.m. - Senate Pensions Committee
3:00 p.m. - House Government Organization
3:00 p.m. - Senate Finance Committee
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The Senate Workforce Committee advanced a bill yesterday that would expand work requirements or employment training for able-bodied adults receiving SNAP benefits. As Brad McElhinny of WVMetroNews reports, the measure would also expand the age range for those who are subject to such requirements.
Some time ago, Huntington guitar extraordinaire Bud Carroll released a record called “At Least I Can Still Smoke In My Car.” (It’s great and available online, in case you’re willing to trust my musical tastes.) But the West Virginia Senate isn’t down with smoking in cars — at least if there’s a child 16-years-old or younger in the vehicle. The upper chamber passed SB 378 Monday, which moves the bill across the rotunda to the House. Roger Adkins has more for The Charleston Gazette Mail.
Allen Siegler of Mountain State Spotlight reports that lawmakers are again considering lifting some of West Virginia’s childhood vaccine requirements
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.