CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVDN) — Several bills passed the full House of Delegates this week by unanimous votes for a total of 24 House bills sent to the West Virginia Senate for its consideration.
House Bill 4028, which would exempt building materials and construction work from state or municipal sales and use tax used for the construction, repair or maintenance of a public school facility, passed the full House unanimously Jan. 28, and has the potential to allow as much as 15% more spending on public education facilities.
School Building Authority Executive Director Andy Neptune addressed the House Finance Committee last week when this bill was in the hearing stage and described it as a win for his agency, for contractors and for counties.
“We believe this is going to increase the purchasing power,” he said, noting the 6% sales tax plus 1% in supplies savings would give the SBA “more bang for our buck” and helps counties stretch their bond dollars for projects as well.
“We can redirect the millions we would be saving off of that back to us to be able to go with other projects,” Neptune said. “For example, so many times counties will come to us for roofing projects that also involve HVAC projects, and the cost is just too much to be able to help with as much need as we have across the state; this would allow us to be able to look further into those counties and be able to say, ‘well, we’ll tie together HVAC projects with the roof,’ which realistically should be done when you think about this … .”
The Skills to Work Act, House Bill 4005, passed the full House Jan. 27. It would align work requirements to U.S. Labor standards, which expands apprenticeship opportunities for 16- to 18-year-olds, allowing them safe, supervised, hands-on training for an in-demand economic environment.
“This is about being able to bridge a gap,” said Delegate Ryan Browning, R-Wayne, the lead sponsor of the bill. “Too many of our high school seniors graduate and feel like they have to leave the state to find a good job, but this bill establishes a direct connection between education and employment by creating structured, supervised apprenticeship programs that lead directly to job opportunities.
“Students gain hands-on experience while employers continue refilling our local talent pipeline.”
House Bill 4002, which would establish the West Virginia Collaboratory, also passed the House Jan. 27. The initiative would facilitate public policy research projects through the state’s research institutions of higher learning and distribute the expertise to be utilized by state and local governments in their work.
Two more measures that passed unanimously Jan. 29 were House Bill 4626, which would form a grant program to allow U.S. Food and Drug Administration trials with the controlled substance ibogaine for the treatment of opioid use disorder, substance use disorder and any other neurological or mental health conditions, and House Bill 4610, which would ensure the state’s current law to allow “right-to-try” cutting age medicine for terminally ill patients would extend to patients with life-threatening or severely debilitating illnesses as well.
House Bill 4437 also passed unanimously Jan. 29, and it would allow Gold Star parents to receive one vehicle registration free of cost.
“Gold Star parents have lost a son or daughter in service to the nation, serving to protect and defend your freedom and safety at home and abroad,” said Delegate Charles Sheedy, R-Marshall. “The ability to display a Gold Star license plate on their vehicle denotes them having lost a son or daughter and should call up our respect to recognize their sacrifice. To receive a free plate shows that the people of West Virginia are grateful for their sacrifice.”
The last day to introduce bills is Feb. 17, and 1,012 bills have been introduced in the House. The 60-day, regular legislative session ends at midnight March 14.
