Day 43: Health Department split will be up for a vote in the Senate
And campus carry now heads to Gov. Jim Justice.
Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days.
Today is Tuesday, February 22nd — the 43rd day of the West Virginia Legislature’s regular session.
This morning’s briefing comes to you from Morgantown, where I did my research and writing in a nice new office chair I was forced to buy for my “News Cave.” My 10-month-old puppy did a number on the last one and it had lost its ability to smoothly wheel from one end of my desk to the other. I was tipping over.
It’s probably difficult to believe that something like a new chair can change a person’s entire disposition. But trust me: after weeks of clunking around and spilling onto the carpet, it did the trick for me.
This morning, you’ll definitely find me in my new chair in the “News Cave” — sipping coffee, skimming the web and trying to get to work on any number of projects that have been piling up in my head as of late.
But I digress — and there’s legislative news to highlight, after all. So, onward and upward:
A bill to split the beleaguered West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources into three separate departments with three separate secretaries is up for a vote this morning in the Senate.
For years, DHHR has drawn criticism for being inefficient and having a high turnover of staff. More recently, allegations of patients being abused in state-run facilities put the department back under the proverbial microscope.
HB 2006 has been championed by both Republicans and Democrats — a rare show of unity this session. The measure has also been unchanged since clearing the House Health Committee just a week into the session, which means it would next head to the governor.
But the question remains whether Gov. Jim Justice will sign the bill. He vetoed a similar measure last year, but he has said he’s now open to the idea.
Aside from that legislation, the Senate has a pretty stacked agenda for its 11 a.m. floor session, with 12 other bills up for passage, 13 bills on the amendment stage and four bills on first reading. You can dig in for yourself by taking a look at the Senate Calendar.
Committee agendas are stacked for the day in the Senate.
1 p.m. — Committee on School Choice (208W)
SB 625: Requiring certain transcripts to be accepted as record of student's performance for placement in micro school programs
HB 2820: To provide HOPE scholarship recipients with the ability to play sports
1 p.m. — Economic Development (451M)
SB 169: Requiring certain movie theaters to provide open captioning during certain showings
SB 677: Clarifying role and responsibilities of State Resiliency Officer
HB 3307: Establishing the West Virginia-Ireland Trade Commission
HB 3428: Relating to the West Virginia Business Ready Sites Program
2 p.m. — Outdoor Recreation (208W)
Eng. Com. Sub. For HB 2062: Establish rules and regulations for e-bikes in West Virginia that more closely comport to federal law
SB 468: Continuing Cabwaylingo State Forest Trail System
3 p.m. — Judiciary (208W)
SB 659: Clarifying juvenile competency determination process extends to status offenders
Com. Sub. for SB 541: Providing for election reforms
SB 666: Placing cap on maximum penalty that may be imposed for first-degree robbery
3 p.m. — Finance (451M)
Com. Sub. for SB 522: Allocating percentage of county excise taxes for funding improvements to election administration
Com. Sub. for SB 561: Relating to administration of WV Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Fund Act
Com. Sub. for SB 590: Transferring 911 personnel from PERS to Emergency Medical Services Retirement System
To get through its lengthy — and seemingly growing — floor calendar, the House of Delegates began shifting this week to split floor sessions. That means they’re gathering in the morning, breaking for committee meetings and then returning for an afternoon/evening floor session to continue advancing bills.
As a matter of fact, House lawmakers regrouped for an 8 p.m. floor session last night.
With “crossover day” (Day 50, Wednesday March 1st) looming, an increase in the pace comes as no surprise, as Republican leaders are hoping to salvage as many pieces of legislation as possible.
And, as of the moment this briefing hits your inbox, today’s floor calendar is all bills on first reading. This comes after the Rules Committee decided yesterday evening to move quite a few measures from the active to the inactive calendar.
You can check out what’s expected to hit the floor — as of early this morning — on the House Special Calendar. However, I’d also be on the lookout for at least some bills to migrate back over to the active calendar once the Rules Committee meets before the floor session.
Here’s a look at the committee schedule in the House. Click on the name of the committee for today’s agenda.
9:15 a.m — Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services - Room 460-M
9:30 a.m — Veterans’ Affairs and Homeland Security - Room 215-E
10:45 a.m — Committee on Rules - Behind Chamber
1:00 p.m — Committee on Finance - Room 460-M
2:00 p.m — Committee on Education - Room 432-M
3:45 p.m — Committee on Government Organization - Room 215-E
The big story from Tuesday was campus carry passing the House on an 84-13 vote. Aside from 11 of the 12 minority Democrats voting against the bill, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R-Clay) and Erikka Storch (R-Ohio) also hit the red button in opposition.
The measure allows those with proper permits to carry concealed weapons on college and university campuses. Under the bill, schools would be able to limit where guns would be allowed under some circumstances, such as sporting events or daycare. It would also require schools to provide storage space and lockers or safes for handguns.
SB 10 now heads to Gov. Justice to sign or veto.
You can take a look at coverage on SB 10’s passage in the House from The Charleston Gazette-Mail (paywall), WVMetroNews and The Associated Press.
And, finally, here’s a look at some other legislative coverage that caught my eye yesterday:
Senate committee changes pay raise bill from 5% to $2,300 across-the-board (WVMetroNews)
Broad-ranging PEIA bill swiftly moves from Senate Finance Committee to the floor (WVMetroNews)
Senate bill would take on nagging problem of jail bills by establishing a formula (WVMetroNews)
West Virginia House Health Committee moves bill providing protections to people with disabilities (WVNews via Parkersburg News and Sentinel)
That does it for me this morning. Thanks to everyone who chipped in to fuel my baseball-watching habit. But, if you haven’t donated to 60 Days yet, there’s still time. If that’s not your thing, feel free to share this post.
If you want to get in touch, you can email us at 60daysgilesdave@gmail.com.
Also, I’m on Twitter at @davemistich and Giles is @GilesSnyder.