From the Well | Day 37

Day 37

At the center of the West Virginia state Capitol is an area known as The Well.

It is the informal gathering place for lobbyists, reporters, constituents and lawmakers.

Centrally located between the chambers of the House of Delegates and Senate,

The Well is often where information is shared, alliances are formed, and deals are made.

The Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee on Thursday approved SB622, which establishes guidelines for developing carbon-sequestration projects.

The Committee amended the bill after stakeholders and land owners reached an agreement.

Scott Mandirola of the state Department of Environmental Protection told the committee that DEP granted a permit for a Class V injection site for AEP’s Mountaineer Power Plant, but that site is not active.

DEP is awaiting passage of a legislative rule this year to gain primacy from the U.S. EPA that allows DEP to issue Class VI permits.

After injection is complete, site developers must conduct a number of integrity tests and monitoring, according to the legislation.

Companies pay into a fund that allows them to transfer liability from the site to the state. A developer can apply for transfer 10 years after injecting has ceased.

Ben Beakes of TC Energy said there is tremendous interest in carbon capture and storage in West Virginia. He added the state has the best geography for carbon capture and storage, and West Virginia land owners will own the mineral that will be needed for products 50 to 100 years from now.

Senator Dave Sypolt of Preston County asked about injection interfering with other projects. Mr. Mandirola told the committee nothing involving carbon capture and storage should interfere with other mineral extraction. He said DEP will have to certify that.

The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

An Originating Bill passed out of the House Energy Committee Thursday, amending the Cotenancy Modernization and Majority Protection Act originally passed in 2018.

The Act allows for oil-and-gas exploration companies to develop and drill land without the consent of all cotenants when certain conditions are met.

Under the Act, when there are seven or more cotenants, operators may develop the land if 75% of them sign leases. The Act also provides protection for those who choose not to sign leases.

The House Originating Bill strikes the requirement of seven cotenants and leaves no requirement regarding how many cotenants must exist before cotenancy can be utilized.

The bill passed and is now before House Judiciary. A Senate version of the same bill also passed Senate Energy Thursday.

The House of Delegates Banking and Insurance Committee on Wednesday approved SB262, which allows the state Treasurer to refuse to enter into or remain in banking contracts with financial institutions that oppose fossil-based energy.

The bill passed the Senate 31-2 last month.

State Treasurer Riley Moore has promoted the bill, saying it sends a message to financial institutions that the state doesn’t want to do business with companies that divest from coal and other fossil fuels.

The bill was referred to House Finance Committee.

Click here to read more from the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

The House of Delegates Political Subdivisions Committee on Thursday passed HB4645, which would authorize excess funds from a levy to go into the county’s general revenue fund.

Counsel explained that if a levy brought in more funds during the five-year period of the levy than were approved by the voters, the excess could go into general revenue for other uses.

Delegate John Doyle of Jefferson County asked where those funds go now. The lead sponsor, Delegate Doug Smith of Mercer County said current code doesn’t specify how excess levy funds will be used. The bill was second-referenced to the House Finance Committee.

The House of Delegates Political Subdivisions Committee had several questions Thursday about HB3210, which, as introduced, would provide authority to County Commissions to hold a referendum to approve tourism development projects.

The bill would require a developer to have sought a building permit for the project at least five years prior.

Delegate John Doyle of Jefferson County, lead sponsor of the bill, proposed a strike-and-insert amendment providing that any entity that wants to have a tourism development project of $25 million or more provide a 90-day notification to the affected municipality.

“We need to do this for our really small towns,” he said. “It’s important they get some idea ahead of time that something’s about to happen.”

Delegate Jason Barrett of Berkeley County spoke against the bill, saying it was a chink in the armor of the Tourism Development Act. The bill failed on a tied 7-to-7 count of hands.

There was a question about whether the chairman voted and then a quick move to adjourn, which is non-debatable. The motion to adjourn failed.

A roll-call vote was requested and was sustained. The bill failed again with 6 yes and 9 no votes.

The Senate Judiciary Committee had a long discussion Thursday about vehicular homicide.

Committee Substitute for SB254 is to further define the offense of vehicular homicide, changing negligent homicide to vehicular homicide and making it a felony.

The bill adds a misdemeanor offense for a situation in which a person dies within a year as a result of another person driving in a negligent manner.

Matthew Harvey, Prosecuting Attorney in Jefferson County, spoke in support of the bill and clarified that an accident is not reckless disregard. He gave examples of vehicular homicide where a driver chose to endanger others by going at great speed as an intentional act, but the sentence is limited to a misdemeanor.

“This law puts these acts in line with others,” Mr. Harvey said, noting that fleeing from police or DUI resulting in death carries sentences of not less than five nor more than 15 years.

Several questions surfaced. The committee voted to lay the bill over.

The House of Delegates Education Committee on Thursday discussed HB2364, amends current law prohibiting the possession of firearms or dangerous weapons on school property by creating a new exemption that authorizes school districts to designate one or more elementary or secondary school teachers or administrators as school protection officers (SPO).

The responsibilities and duties are voluntary and are in addition to the normal responsibilities and duties of the teacher or administrator. Up to two SPOs may be designated for each elementary school and three for each secondary school in the district.

Persons designated as a school protection officer are authorized to carry concealed firearms or a self-defense spray device in any school in the district. However, school protection officers may not allow any firearm or device to be out of his or her personal control while on school property. A violation of this prohibition may result in the person being immediately removed from the classroom and subject to employment termination proceedings.

A teacher or administrator of an elementary or secondary school who wants be designated as a school protection officer must make a request in writing, and submit it to the superintendent of the school district.

With the request, the teacher or administrator must also submit proof that he or she has a valid concealed carry endorsement or permit, submit a certificate of completion of a school protection officer training program approved by the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security, and take eight hours of active shooter training provided by the county Sheriff. The training must include a weapons qualification with the firearm they will carry.

The SPO must recertify with the firearm prior to each school year; failure to do so will result in the suspension of the SPO until the recertification occurs.

An applicant for school protection officer must complete training similar to the requirements for the Prevention Resource Officer Program (PRO) established by the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security Division of Justice and Community Services. The training must consist of 24 hours of training. The training must be at least once each year, and the Department may charge the county school board a fee of up to $195 per person. The county school board may require all or part of the fee to be borne by the teacher or administrator.

A school district may not designate a teacher or administrator as a school protection officer unless that person has successfully completed the PRO training program or allow a school protection officer to carry a concealed firearm on school property unless the school protection officer has a valid concealed carry endorsement or permit.

Before a school district may designate a teacher or administrator as a school protection officer, the school board must hold a public hearing on whether to allow that designation. Notice of the hearing has to be published at least 15 days before the date of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation within the city or county in which the school district is located.

A school district that designates a teacher or administrator as a school protection officer must, within 30 days, notify in writing the director of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security of the designation.

Identifying information provided by the school district in the notification is not public information and may not be provided in response to a request for public records.

A school district may revoke the designation of a person as a school protection officer for any reason, and, if a revocation occurs, the district must immediately notify the designated school protection officer in writing of the revocation. Within 30 days of a revocation, the school district must notify the director of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security in writing of the revocation.

A person who has had the designation of school protection officer revoked does not have a right to utilize the grievance process but may appeal the revocation decision to the director of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security who has final decision authority.

The director of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security is required to maintain a listing of all persons designated by school districts as school protection officers and must make this list available to all law-enforcement agencies.

Drew McClanahan, Director of Government Relations for the State Department of Education, answered questions. He indicated the state Board of Education does not have a position on the enactment of the proposed legislation. He is also unaware of any school districts having requesting school protection officers or an indication that school districts believe they are necessary.

Mr. McClanahan was asked about the presence of dangerous implements already available in schools and the rules in place to protect students and teachers. He was also asked about the cooperation between the state Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security.

Dale Lee, President of the West Virginia Education Association, and Fred Albert, President of the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, spoke about the positions of their respective teachers unions.

Mr. Lee was also asked to describe an incident with students taking hostages at Princeton High School in the early 1990s He was also asked about a shooting at Mount View High School.

Mr. Lee said that while there have been over 600 deaths as a result of shootings at educational facilities, there are many more deaths attributed suicide.

Both Mr. Lee and Mr. Albert indicated they are unaware of a desire by their members to participate in such a program and instead have heard from members that they would prefer for prevention resource officers to be responsible for responding to threats of violence.

Adam Crawford of the Fraternal Order of Police answered questions from the Committee about the procedures employed by law-enforcement personnel during an active shooter event.

Delegate Ric Griffith of Wayne County moved to amend the bill by requiring a psychological evaluation and criminal background check as information to be provided with the application to be designated as a SPO. The amendment failed 13-6.

Delegates Ed Evans of McDowell County and Sean Hornbuckle of Cabell County moved to amend the bill by including a requirement that counties have insurance coverage of a minimum of $2 million per occurrence to cover gross negligence and intentional acts. The amendment attempt was defeated by voice vote.

A third amendment was attempted by Delegates Hornbuckle, John Doyle, and Cody Thompson that provided for a local option election in which 5% of the county voters could petition for a vote by the voters to determine whether the county Board of Education could designate SPOs. That amendment was also defeated.

The bill eventually was recommended for passage by a vote of 16-7. The bill now goes to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

SB181 is intended to support the expansion of mental health and suicide prevention services throughout the state in conjunction with the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, according to The Daily Athenaeum in Morgantown.

Congress enacted the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 to handle the significant rise in calls for assistance. It designated 988 as the universal number to reach the mental health crisis hotline system. The number is scheduled to become active in July 2022 to provide assistance in suicide crises or to anyone experiencing mental distress.

Calls to the suicide hotline increased by 63% in West Virginia between 2018 and 2021, according to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Despite the rise in calls, the state hasn’t seen a big increase in suicide rates, according to Lata Menon, CEO of First Choice Services. She said the state could see an increase in calls and longer wait times.

Click here to read more from the Daily Athenaeum.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday quickly passed Committee Substitute for SB430 to modify the witness fee rate paid by the state to match the federal court system.

In the event that witness or mileage fees are demanded and paid, the amount shall be $40 (increased from $10) for each day of attendance and 57¢ (increased from 10 cents) per mile for each mile necessarily traveled to and from the place of attendance.

The Senate Judiciary Committee took up Committee Substitute for SB470 as it came to members from the Senate Health Committee.

The bill relates to health care decisions, renames the physician orders for the scope of treatment as portable orders for scope of treatment, and indicates that advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants may complete them within their scope of practice.

Revisions are made to forms of a living will, medical power of attorney, and combined medical power of attorney and living will and provides clarifying language regarding the effect of signing a living will on the availability of medically administered food and fluids. Oral food and fluids are required to be provided as desired and tolerated.

Reciprocity is provided for portable orders for scope of treatment or similar medical orders validly executed in another state. Documents already prepared and executed prior to Jan. 1, 2023, remain in full force and effect unless changes are made to the documents after that date.

Dr. Alvin Moss, Professor of Medicine at West Virginia University and founding member of the Center for End of Life Care, spoke in support of the bill, noting there hasn’t been changes to the act since 2007.

He said the purpose of the bill was to update many areas of end-of-life care. Hospice, the West Virginia Hospital Association, and many others were involved.

In discussion of “persistent vegetative state,” he told the Committee that medical advances have shown that this is not quite accurate and some patients are actually minimally conscious. That phrase has been removed from the advanced directives form, and other changes have been made based on changes in medical science

Asked about the medical power of attorney, Dr. Moss said it terminates upon death except for such actions as autopsy, organ or tissue donation decisions, and funeral arrangements. He noted the reciprocity among states that helps health care systems respect patients’ wishes.

The bill passed. Following its passage, Chairman Charles Trump of Morgan County informed the committee he had just learned of the death of former Delegate Joe Sparks.

The House of Delegates passed several bills this week to help West Virginia’s economic development efforts

The bills, several of which deal with tax credits or tax exemptions, will go to the state Senate.

HB4002 would create the Certified Sites and Development Readiness Program. Lawmakers in the House of Delegates have been advocating for the bill since the start of the regular session and passed it 98-0.

The West Virginia Economic Development Council passed a resolution earlier this year in support of the Legislation.

The bill is meant to push the state Department of Economic Development to develop evaluation and site criteria standards, as well as application processes for developers.

Click here to read more from WVMetroNews.

The House of Delegates Thursday overwhelmingly passed HB4025, which would provide a five-year exemption from severance taxes on the extraction of rare earth elements and critical minerals. The bill sets a July 1 effective date.

House supporters have said the nation depends on other countries, especially China, for essential minerals that are critical to technology industries.

Click here to read more from the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

The West Virginia Senate this week voted 33-0 for Gov. Jim Justice’s proposal for a 5% pay raise for state employees.

The bill now goes to the House of Delegates.

The $71.4 million cost of the raises for state police, teachers, student support personnel, and school service personnel is included in the Governor’s proposed fiscal 2023 budget. The increases would be effective July 1

Click here to read more.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office has reached an agreement with many county and city governments about how money from future opioid settlements and verdicts will be dispersed.

Attorney General Morrisey unveiled the Memorandum of Understanding Wednesday during a press conference in his state Capitol office.

The agreement, which Morrisey called West Virginia First, would create a private nonprofit foundation that would receive 72.5% of any settlements or judgments. Local governments would get 24.5%, and the remaining 3% would be held by the state in escrow.

Click here to read more from the West Virginia Record.

The West Virginia Senate on Wednesday approved legislation creating law enforcement training related to interacting with people with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders.

SB570 would amend the current law establishing a training curriculum regarding autism. The West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services and the West Virginia Alzheimer’s Association will be responsible for assisting the state with designing the courses, which will include training on identifying people with neurological disorders and matters like elder abuse.

The Senate passed the bill 34-0.

Click here to read more from WVMetroNews.

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of the 85th West Virginia Legislature.

Hartman Harman Cosco, Public Policy Strategists, LLC, (H2C) is a strategically assembled bipartisan lobbying firm comprised of legal, communications and policy professionals. H2C possesses the insight and intuition that only comes from decades of hands on experience leading community and statewide initiatives.