Day 36: Campus carry gets a public hearing this morning.
Day 36: Campus carry gets a public hearing this morning.
SB 10 marks the third public hearing of the session.
Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days.
It’s Wednesday, February 15th — the 36th day of the West Virginia Legislature’s regular session.
It’s also Black Policy Day at the Capitol. It’s roughly halfway through Black History Month and Black West Virginians will spend the day highlighting issues and bills affecting their community. Last year was the first-ever day dedicated to Black Policy.
I’m fresh out of coffee jokes for this morning’s briefing. Believe it or not, we’ve had good fortune in being able to whip up some creative asks for donations toward the work we put into 60 Days. But this morning, I’m fresh out.
So for today, I’ll play it straight and to the point: If you’re feeling generous, you can buy us a coffee for our efforts.
The “Campus Self-Defense Act,” will get a public hearing this morning in the House of Delegates. Those interested in speaking for or against the bill can sign up at 8:30 a.m. in the House chamber.
SB 10, which passed the Senate a few weeks back, would allow guns on college and university campuses across the state with a permit.
Following the public hearing, Dels. Evan Hansen, Danielle Walker and John Williams (all Democrats from Monongalia County, the home of West Virginia University), will hold a press conference alongside WVU students and faculty to discuss the bill.
The news conferences, set to take place on the east side of the lower rotunda, will also be live streamed on the Facebook page of the West Virginia House Minority Office.
Following the public hearing, SB 10 will be taken up in the afternoon meeting of the House Judiciary Committee.
When the House of Delegates gavels in at 11 a.m., lawmakers will have a long list of bills up for passage and another set of proposals at the amendment stage. The House Special Calendar details what’ll be on the floor this morning.
Here’s a look at committees scheduled in the House today:
9: 15 a.m. – the Committee on Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services will meet in the Finance Committee room, 460M
9: 15 a.m. – the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and Homeland Security will meet in the East Wing Committee Room, 215E
10:45 a.m. – the Committee on Rules will meet behind the Chamber
1 p.m. – the Committee on Finance will meet in the committee meeting room, 460M
1:30 p.m. – the Judiciary Committee will meet in the committee meeting room, 410M
SB10 - Campus Self-Defense Act
2 p.m. – the Education Committee will meet in the committee meeting room, 432M
HJR 17, Providing for the election of members of the State Board of Education, is worthy of note. This proposed constitutional amendment would call for state BOE members to be elected rather than appointed by the governor. It would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate before going to voters to decide.
4 p.m. – the Government Organization Committee will meet in the East Wing Committee Room, 215E
HB 2782, Require all municipal elections be held on the same election day in November that other state elections are on.
The Senate will also gavel in for its floor session at 11 a.m. this morning. Lawmakers on that side of the rotunda have five bills up for passage and one measure on first reading. For more, you can take a look at the Senate Calendar here.
Among the proposals headed for a vote today is the engrossed committee substitute for HB 2412. That’s the bill that would make November 14th a state holiday in recognition of the Marshall University football team plane crash that happened on that day in 1970.
Here’s a look at Senate committee schedules for the day:
10 a.m.: Agriculture and Natural Resources (208W)
SB 629: Establishing auto-renewal program for wildlife licenses
1 p.m.: Committee on School Choice (208W)
SB 589: Relating to nonpublic kindergarten, elementary, and secondary school education
SB 601: Allowing students of certain schools to participate in extracurricular activities of public schools
1 p.m.: Economic Development (451M)
SB 591: Allowing counties and municipalities to jointly undertake development projects
SB 607: Authorizing counties to increase special district excise tax
2 p.m.: Outdoor Recreation (208W)
HB 2569: Establishing the Motorsport Responsibility Act
HCR 13: Make 2nd week of February of every year a week of recognition of the Boy Scouts of America
2 p.m.: Pensions (451M)
SB 530: Expanding candidates eligible for judicial retirement
SB 570: Relating to Natural Resources Police Officer Retirement
SB 582: Amending provisions of WV Public Employees Retirement Act
SB 590: Transferring 911 personnel from PERS to Emergency Medical Services Retirement System
SB 622: Including state correctional officers in DNR Police Officer Retirement System
3 p.m.: Judiciary (208W)
Com. Sub. for SB 576: Creating Securities Restitution Assistance Fund for victims of securities violations
Com. Sub. for SB 534: Relating to nonintoxicating beer, nonintoxicating craft beer, cider, wine, and liquor license requirements
3 p.m.: Finance (451M)
Com. Sub. for SB 543: Authorizing rule-making changes to terms, procedures and reporting duties in higher education
SB 596: Modifying payment for housing and maintenance of inmates
Report from Subcommittee A: Recommendation for Health Facilities Budget Structure
Report from Subcommittee C: SB 523, Clarifying purpose and use of Economic Development Project Fund
During the House floor session Tuesday, lawmakers in the House voted 95-3 to split the Department of Health and Human Resources into three separate agencies. With DHHR long troubled by staffing issues and other controversies, HB 2006 seeks to divide the department into more manageable entities.
Lawmakers in the House called it a “first step” to making services more available and efficient for those in need. House Health Chair Amy Summers (R-Taylor) also said the split would make spending across the agencies more transparent.
“With three separate budgets, we will be able to design the future budget bills so we, the legislative body, and the public can see where the money is being spent,” Summer said. “We can also set up a process to put in place to evaluate the spends, and the effectiveness of those spends.”
HB 2006 is now in the hands of the Senate.
In the Senate, lawmakers passed a bill hoping to improve early educational outcomes. SB 274, the Third Grade Success Act, cleared the Senate on a unanimous 34-0 vote.
With the state’s young learners scoring poorly in math and reading in the last National Assessment of Educational Progress, the measure would rework the state’s approach to early education. It would also help educators identify learning disorders like dyslexia.
Before passing the bill, lawmakers adopted an amendment from Sen. Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson) that calls for screening for dyslexia no less than twice a year for K through 3rd grade students.
SB 274 now heads to the House for consideration.
Another bill that advanced Tuesday, SB 609 made its way through the Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee.
That bill would call on utilities seeking to close a power plant to gain approval from the state’s Public Energy Authority. An approved third party would also be needed to study the social, economic and environmental impact of a proposed closure.
The measure comes just behind Senate resolution adopted this week that calls on Mon Power to buy Pleasants Power Station from Energy Harbor.
That does it for me this morning.
If you want to get in touch, you can email us at 60daysgilesdave@gmail.com.
I’m on Twitter at @davemistich and Giles is @GilesSnyder.