Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days, your daily guide to the West Virginia Legislature.
Today is March 4, 2024 — the 55th day of the regular session.
How do you like the sound of highs near 80 … in March?
That’s what you’re looking at Charleston. However, I don’t recommend wearing shorts if you’re heading to the Capitol to meet with state lawmakers.
Today is Prevention Day at the Legislature.
Think tobacco and substance abuse. Also bullying, suicide and more. The West Virginia Prevention First Alliance is hosting the event that will bring prevention professionals to the Capitol to hobnob with lawmakers about their communities and the issues that face them.
I don’t mean to make light of prevention efforts. These are serious issues that deserve the attention of lawmakers. But you may want to intervene when you hear what the 60 Days editorial board has cooking. We’ve decided to keep this newsletter going year-round. Not every day, but at least weakly — I mean, weekly.
Or do I?
The editorial board put their heads together and took inspiration from the amusing application of “weakly” in the masthead of the late, legendary editor Jim Comstock’s humor newspaper, the defunct West Virginia Hillbilly.
Expect The West Virginia Weakly to turn up in your inbox starting a week after the session ends this Saturday night.
We’re still hashing out the details, but one thing is for sure — we’re gonna need more coffee. And let us know what you think of our BIG IDEA for a “weakly” in the comments.
Today’s Floor Agenda:
Heading into this final week of the regular session, the House is loaded up with spending bills at the passage stage today. There’s a bit more variety on third reading in the Senate. In any case, here’s a quick look at some of the bills we’re keeping an eye on as they make their way through the process on the floor of each chamber.
Those spending bills in the House would fund everything from the state Division of Highways to the National Coal Heritage Area Authority. These bills don’t necessarily get a lot of attention, but they are the nuts and bolts of governing.
The budget bills from both chambers — Com. Sub. for S. B. 200 and Com. Sub. for H. B. 4025 — are on second reading in the House, but things are bit up in the air.
As Brad McElhinny of WVMetroNews reports, there are calls for a special session to deal with the state budget following word last week of “a $465 million obligation to the federal government over whether West Virginia maintained its obligation to uphold its proportional support for education funding when it accepted covid relief funding.”
The committee substitute for S. B. 152 — Displaying official US motto in public schools — is advancing on the House floor. It’s also on second reading.
Here’s a bill we’ve yet to mention and yet the 60 Days editorial board has been discussing it behind-the-scenes — because we’re both former employees of West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Heck, my son even worked there for a while.
The committee substitute for S. B. 844 - Redesignating Educational Broadcasting Authority as Educational Broadcasting Commission — is making its initial appearance on the House floor. It’s on first reading today.
This is one of those bills in which the short title doesn’t tell you the whole story. The bill doesn’t just mandate a name change for the EBA, it also would also reduce the number of board members and takes away its power to employ WVPB’s Executive Director, putting that responsibility in the hands of the curator of the state Department of Arts, Culture and History.
A separate bill that’s also on first reading in the House — Com. Sub. for S.B. 865 — would make Curator Randall Reid-Smith a cabinet-level secretary — leading to concerns about a weakening of the firewall between WVPB and the governor’s office.
A couple of House bills we’ve mentioned before could end up being passed by the state Senate today. They are among the bills on third reading:
Eng. Com. Sub. for H. B. 4845 - To prohibit swatting — this bill would increase penalties on those who make false public alarms.
Eng. H. B. 5237 - Prohibiting driving slow in left lane except under certain circumstances - (With right to amend)
Full House Active Calendar / Full Senate Active Calendar
Committee schedule:
The House Judiciary Committee is holding a public hearing today in the House Chamber. The panel is taking comment on S.B. 590 - The Political Subdivision Labor Regulatory Limitation Act. The hearing starts at 9 a.m. If you want to speak, be there a half-hour early to sign up. Following the public hearing, House Judiciary will meet 10 a.m.
House Education has a couple of Senate-passed bills on its agenda that seem worth noting. The panel is meeting at 2:00 p.m.
S. B. 143 — Creating WV Guardian Program. This bill would allow veterans and some retired law enforcement officers to provide armed security in public schools.
S. B. 813 — would allow student athletes to play high school and travel sports at the same time.
Senate Finance is also a committee to watch today. Among the House-passed bills on the agenda for the 3:00 p.m. meeting:
Com. Sub. for HB 4883: Relating to increasing annual salaries of certain employees of the state. This is the pay raise bill for members of the West Virginia State Police, public school teachers and school service personnel.
Com. Sub. for HB 4880: Relating to personal income tax social security exemption. The bill would phase out state income taxes on social security benefits over three years.
The rest of committee line-up looks like this. We’ve provided links to agendas where available.
9:00 a.m. - House Finance
9:30 a.m - Senate Government Organization
9:30 a.m - Senate Education
10:15 a.m. - Senate Judiciary
1:00 p.m. - House Government Organization
1:00 p.m. - Senate Transportation and Infrastructure
2:00 p.m. - Senate Banking and Insurance
3:00 p.m. - Senate Judiciary -Agenda TBA
Time TBA - Senate Economic Development
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.
That “In God We Trust” bill? West Virginia Watch’s Amelia Ferrell Knisely reports that already cash-strapped schools and universities may have to pay for the displays in every classroom.
P.R. Lockhart of Mountain State Spotlight reports on what to know about the move to reduce unemployment benefits.
Here’s Phil Kabler’s latest Statehouse Beat column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
For what it’s worth, the Wall Street Journal wrote a piece about Don Blankenship’s run as a Democrat for Joe Manchin’s U.S Senate seat.
And finally, 60 Days failed to acknowledge last Tuesday’s 52nd anniversary of the Buffalo Creek Disaster, one of the worst mine disasters in the country’s history. 125 people were killed, 1,121 were injured, and more than 4,000 were left homeless after a coal slurry impoundment dam managed by the Pittston Coal Company burst at around 8 a.m. on February 26th, 1972. Here’s what the Logan Banner published about the disaster last week.
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.
Love the idea of the Weakly!
Another bill on the House Education agenda today is SB 614 "Relating to elementary behavior intervention and safety." It mandates the removal and suspension of elementary school children for certain behaviors and could result in the involvement of law enforcement. The bill has been criticized by child advocates for failing to provide behavioral supports and the potential to exacerbate existing disparities in schools suspensions. There are a couple of excellent take downs of this bill in the Commentary over at West Virginia Watch.