Day 44: The House votes today on reducing taxes for Social Security recipients
Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days, your daily guide to the West Virginia Legislature.
Today is Thursday, February 22, 2024, the 44th day of the regular session.
Take the umbrella to the Capitol with you. Periods of rain are in the forecast for Charleston this afternoon — with highs in the low 60s.
Before we get too far into today’s legislative preview, I have some whining to do.
I admit Dave is pretty good at linking together the Activity Calendar’s seemingly disparate lobby days and coming up with a joke to get you to treat us to a coffee or two. You should know, however, I saw the humor in the whole thing FIRST. Including Activity Calendar events in our newsletter was MY IDEA!
Am I being irrational about this? Petulant even? Probably. But I’m a middle child who may be somewhat desperate for a little credit now and then. Coffee would be nice about now.
Putting aside my insecurities for the moment, today is Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol. College students from around the state will be on hand to bring lawmakers up to speed on the research that’s being conducted at the undergraduate level.
Activists will also be at the Capitol for a Religious Freedom Rally. The rally comes nearly a year after the GOP supermajority in the Senate suspended the three-day-reading-rule and gave final approval to the Equal Protection for Religion Act just a day after the House passed the bill.
At the time, the Associated Press wrote that the measure was viewed by supporters “as a tool to protect religious freedom” but “labeled a “license to discriminate” by LGBTQ rights advocates …”
Undergraduate research and religion.
Should be a fun day at the Capitol.
Today’s Floor Agenda:
Governor Justice’s proposal to get rid of the remaining income tax on Social Security benefits is at the passage stage in the House today. But HB 4880 isn’t the same bill it was when it was introduced.
Gov. Justice’s initial plan would have fully eliminated income taxes on Social Security benefits all at once. But House Finance on Friday advanced a committee substitute that calls for a three-year phase out after the state Department of Revenue said the move would blow a $37-million dollar hole in the budget.
During Friday’s meeting House Finance Chairman Vernon Criss (R-Wood) expressed concern about what he called “the shock, to me, of $37 million to the budget at one time.” He said that figure “is substantial enough not to consider doing that at this time when we’ve got all these other things rolling through at the same time.”
You can take a look at the rest of the House floor calendar here.
Over in the Senate, a committee substitute for the committee substitute (is your head spinning yet?) for SB 562 is on the amendment stage.
The measure would expand work and training requirements for those on the public assistance program known as SNAP.
The remainder of the Senate Calendar is here for you to feast statehouse brain on.
Committee schedule:
The House Finance Committee has a pair of pay raise bills on its agenda for today’s 9:00 a.m. meeting.
The bean countersThe Finance Committee members will take a look at HB 4734, which would boost pay for state corrections employees — a sector that’s been plagued by understaffing and concerns over a spate of inmate deaths.Committee members will also consider HB 4883, which aims to boost pay for State Troopers, public school teachers and school service personnel.
Senate Education is meeting at 9:30 a.m. and has SB 813 on the agenda.
That’s the bill that would allow student athletes to play for schools and travel teams at the same time.
Senate Health and Human Resources is meeting at 1:00 p.m. and has a few House-passed bills it’s taking up.
Those bills include HB 4233, which would ban the use of the term “nonbinary” on West Virginia birth certificates.
At its 3:00 p.m. meeting, the Senate Judiciary Committee is taking up a pair of tobacco-related measures. The most significant is one that would bump the age at which a person could buy tobacco — from 18 to 21. If passed, SB 717 would bring West Virginia in line with the minimum legal sales age approved by Congress in December 2019.
Com. Sub. for SB 755: Providing safeguards for online sales of tobacco products
Com. Sub. for SB 717: Prohibiting sale of tobacco products to individuals younger than 21 years of age
Senate Judiciary is also planning to take up a measure know as the CROWN Act.
The legislation seeks to end discrimination based on hair styles — a long running effort we mentioned earlier this month on Black Policy Day. Similar versions of SB 496 have been introduced, made it to committee but have failed to pass in recent years.
Here’s a look at other committee action set for today — with the caveat that agendas for a couple of meetings were unavailable when we put this thing to bed in the wee hours of the morning:
9:30 a.m. - House Judiciary
9:30 a.m. Senate Government Organization
10:30 a.m.- Senate Rules
10:45 a.m. - House Rules
1:00 p.m. - House Technology and Infrastructure
1:00 p.m. - Senate Energy, Industry and Mining
3:00 p.m. - House Health and Human Resources
3:00 p.m. - House Economic Development and Tourism
3:00 p.m. - Senate Finance Committee
60 Days links: Reading that’s good for you and good for West Virginia. Click on the links to help support the reporters who work at the state Capitol day in, day out.
Amelia Ferrell Knisely of West Virginia Watch reports on the House debate over a bill that would allow K-12 teachers in public and private schools to carry concealed weapons. The House passed the bill a party-line vote, 89-11 vote.
Erin Beck of Mountain State Spotlight has this story on House lawmakers advancing a bill to give pay raises to special education teachers and aides. The measure still must get through House Finance before it hits the floor.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail’s Mike Tony has this story on a bill that environmentalists fear could open public lands to economic development for special-interest projects.
Jeff Jenkins of WVMetroNews reports that Charleston Police have opened up an internal investigation into a traffic stop involving Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston.
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.
Hi Giles and Dave,
Do you know anything about legislation advancing to hold librarians criminally responsible for inappropriate books given to children? I must admit I don't read every word on this fine site so may have missed it. Thanks, guys.
Nora