2024 Legislative Review
The West Virginia State Legislature adjourned its 2024 session on March 9 after 60 days of discussion and debate. In this 2024 legislative review, West Virginia Executive looks at some of the House Bills (HB) and Senate Bills (SB) intended to have a major impact on West Virginians and the economy. From tax reform to cybersecurity, state lawmakers are doing the work to put the people and communities of West Virginia first.
HB 4759
By Brian Dayton
House: 82 yeas – 12 nays
With significant national conversation surrounding the situation at the southern border of the U.S., much speculation at the beginning of the session discussed what the Legislature may do to address the issue. Enter HB 4759, a piece of legislation that would have required every employer in the state to utilize E-Verify to confirm the legal status of their workers. The problem? The bill was a solution in search of a problem.
At its core, HB 4759 would have stripped out existing code related to hiring immigrants lacking permanent legal status, which requires businesses to conduct an I-9 and calls for potential jail time after a third offense. These financial and criminal penalties were replaced by business license suspensions of 10 days for the first offense, 60 days for the second and permanent for the third. These suspensions could have been triggered not for hiring an immigrant but for simply failing to conduct the e-verification in the specified timeframes, which themselves created a major challenge. Under the bill, businesses were required to conduct an e-verification within three days of hiring an individual unless that person was employed for less than three days, in which case the verification needed to occur on day one. This would have proved especially problematic in the case of a new hire quitting on the first day—something that can happen frequently in some professions.
After passing through the House at a furious pace, HB 4759 began to receive significant scrutiny from members of the Senate, resulting in the bill being referred to both the Government Organization Committee and the Committee on the Judiciary. A coalition of 12 trade associations representing nearly every economic sector in the state was quickly organized by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Builders and Contractors, and this group embarked on numerous meetings with senators to discuss the many pitfalls of the legislation.
Armed with this information, the coalition opposing E-Verify conducted countless meetings with senators to explain the problems with the legislation. The final straw against this bill was research showing that none of the four states on the border—including Texas—had a law close to what was being proposed in West Virginia. Despite its rapid passage by the House, the bill was never taken up in the Senate.
Child Welfare
Child welfare bills of note are HB 4666, which would have defined human trafficking for adults and minors and assigned respective penalties; HB 4867, which would have required pornographic content hosts to use state-approved age verification; and HBs 5051 and 5052, which would have offered eligible businesses a 100% tax credit either on their annual operating costs or for starting a child care facility on their premises.
HB 4666
By Max Fisher
House: 97 yeas – 0 nays
HB 4666 defines human trafficking for both adults and minors and assigns respective penalties, which, upon conviction, include imprisonment, fines or both. The bill also elucidates distinct penalties concerning forced labor, debt bondage, sexual servitude and patronizing a victim of sexual servitude. Some penalties already existing under state law would have been strengthened by the bill, examples of which are increased sentencing for the trafficking or aiding in the trafficking of an adult from 3-15 years in prison to 15-40 years. The trafficking, including aiding and abetting, of a minor would have increased sentencing from 5-20 years in prison to 25-100 years.
Had it passed, HB 4666 would have made anti-human trafficking laws in West Virginia stronger than federal law, allowing prosecutors the ability to prosecute traffickers in state rather than federal court if within the state’s jurisdiction. In addition to increased penalties and limiting parole eligibility, the bill also aims to expand and reinforce resources and support for trafficking victims. The bill passed the House of Delegates unanimously with a 97-0 vote and was then sent to the Senate where it was referred to the judiciary committee and never acted upon.
HB 4867
By Max Fisher
Senate: 33 yeas – 0 nays
HB 4867, sponsored by Delegate Geno Chiarelli, requires certain websites hosting content that is offensive to minors, including pornography, to use age verification methods for those attempting to access their content. The bill specifies that pornographic content hosts must use state-approved methodologies for verifying users’ ages. If they fail to and a minor accesses the content, the website or content host would be subject to either civil or criminal liability, including compensation for any damages to the minor such as psychological harm.
The bill sets the threshold at 33.33%, meaning websites or other mediums that have more than a third of their content fall within very detailed and descriptive parameters set forth in the bill would be regulated under this legislation. The bill, after several amendments in committee, passed the House unanimously with a 96-0 vote. It passed the Senate, also unanimously, with a title amendment that was ultimately rejected by the House.
HB 5051 & 5052
By Brian Dayton
Ask any working parent what one of the biggest challenges they face is, and they are likely to answer child care. West Virginia ranks among the worst states for the affordability and availability of child care—an issue that directly impacts the state’s low workforce participation rate.
Two years ago, the West Virginia Legislature passed SB 656, a cutting-edge proposal to encourage businesses to create child care facilities on their premises by providing a 50% tax credit against the startup costs of the facility. The bill was championed by the West Virginia Chamber and has already seen an impact with some day care facilities now in operation because of the legislation.
At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, child care was identified by House Speaker Roger Hanshaw as one of this session’s top priorities. While a number of bills were introduced, the West Virginia Chamber brought language to the Legislature that ultimately became HBs 5051 and 5052 and their Senate companions, SBs 373 and 258.
HB 5052 was designed to sweeten the incentive for businesses that was put in place in 2022 by expanding the tax credit from 50% to 100%. HB 5051 provides a slightly different tax credit option. Instead of receiving a tax credit for starting a child care facility, businesses would have been eligible for a 100% tax credit on their annual operating costs. This provided another significant incentive to participate in this space for businesses already operating child care for their employees or whose startup costs would have been minor. The legislation was specific to ensure that businesses would have to choose which credit to use and would not be eligible for both.
Late in the session, news broke that the state was facing a potential setback in federal money, and several bills that would have had a fiscal impact—including HBs 5051 and 5052—were set aside. The good news is that it appears the state may receive a waiver from the federal government, which would give an opportunity for these items to be potentially reintroduced in a special session later this year.
HB 5105
By Lisa Costello, M.D., MPH, FAAP
Senate: 20-12, House: 70-29
In its final form, HB 5105 would have eliminated school immunization requirements for public virtual school students and allowed private and parochial schools to set their own immunization standards or completely opt out of any immunization requirements.
West Virginia is touted by state and national medical organizations as holding one of the most effective vaccination policies in the U.S., allowing only medical exemptions from school immunization requirements. As a result, West Virginia has remained among the top 10 of all states in school-age immunization rates. Medical and public health experts have attributed this policy to helping keep preventable diseases such as measles from being seen in West Virginia over the past decade. The state’s current school immunization policy requires protection from 10 diseases: diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella, tetanus and varicella.
While HB 5105 initially sought to eliminate the immunization requirements for public virtual school students, the bill evolved throughout its journey in the Legislature. The first version passed the House Health and Human Resources Committee and next went to the House Judiciary Committee. There, the bill was amended to also exempt private and parochial schools from any immunization
requirements. When the bill went to the entire body of the House, it was amended further to allow nonmedical religious exemptions to the immunization requirements.
HB 5105 then went to the Senate Health and Human Resources committee, where, instead of an automatic opt-out, it was given an immunization policy opt-out provision for private and parochial schools, maintained policy exemption for public virtual school students and removed the nonmedical religious exemption. The amended bill passed the Senate, the House concurred, and the bill was sent to the governor for his decision.
In the end, citing overwhelming input from the medical and health community along with schools, caregivers and others, Governor Jim Justice vetoed HB 5105. In his veto letter, he explains, “West Virginia is way ahead of the pack in protecting our children from preventable diseases like the measles, and in this matter, I will defer to our licensed medical professionals who have come forward overwhelmingly to say this bill could and likely would result in reduced immunity and harm to West Virginia’s kids. Our kids are our future. They are our most important resource, and I will protect them with everything I have.”
SB 231 & 801
By Rachel Coffman
Over the last five years, the discussion around energy diversification in West Virginia has evolved significantly, primarily driven by the imperative for numerous industrial users to mitigate carbon emissions. It is important to understand that diversification doesn’t pit renewables against coal-fired generation but rather emphasizes the importance of having multiple energy sources.
Many of the state’s manufacturers have incorporated solar and wind either through establishing their own solar arrays, power purchase offset agreements or by way of other agreements to achieve their goals of carbon neutrality.
SB 231 and SB 801 represent steps in the opposite direction. SB 231 aims to remove the salvage valuation of personal property tax for wind turbines, posing additional financial challenges for wind operations. SB 801 proposes imposing a $3 tax per megawatt hour on solar and wind production beginning after three years of operation, with the proceeds intended to support volunteer fire departments across all 55 counties. These costs would have been hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
As a result of opposition and apprehensions about costs, neither bill progressed through the Senate. It’s crucial to convey that promoting a diversified energy portfolio doesn’t entail eliminating coal-fired generation but rather offers users a large range of options.
SB 841
By Kenzie Dye
Senate: 24-7, House: 66-31
Both the Senate and House approved SB 841 and sent the bipartisan bill to the governor. When it goes into effect on July 1, 2024, the legislation will implement several changes to the state’s unemployment system, which include raising the amount of money employers pay into the trust fund and capping the maximum unemployment benefit. People will now see a larger initial weekly unemployment benefit, which reduces over time.
The bill also requires individuals to engage in at least four work search activities a week such as registering with the state’s labor exchange system or taking a civil service exam while providing the option of finding part-time work without jeopardizing eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits. SB 841 freezes the weekly maximum unemployment benefit at $662 and freezes the wages that are taxable to employers at the approximate current amount of $9,500. It keeps the duration of benefits at the current maximum level of 26 weeks.
Proponents of SB 841 argue that the legislation strikes a balance between supporting unemployed individuals, incentivizing workforce participation and ensuring the long-term financial stability of the unemployment insurance fund. West Virginia labor organizations arguing that it penalizes workers who lose their jobs by locking in benefits—even if wages go up overall—until the Legislature acts again.
HB 5338
By Azeem Khan and Christopher Ramezan, Ph.D.
Senate: 27-6, House: 91-6
HB 5338, which was ultimately vetoed, would have provided businesses that create, maintain and comply with a comprehensive cybersecurity program, aligned to industry and federally recognized cybersecurity frameworks and standards, with an affirmative defense in the event of a data breach or a cyber incident.
Cybercriminals and nation-state advanced persistent threats do not discriminate in their targets. Data breaches and cyber incidents occur daily across the globe. West Virginia businesses must do everything they can to keep the personal data of residents out of the hands of cyber criminals. HB 5338 is key to that fight, encouraging and supporting hardworking West Virginia business owners who choose to place an importance on the security and privacy of our citizens and consumers’ data. West Virginia is the sixth state in the nation to pass such a law, further advancing efforts to transform the state into a national leader in cybersecurity.
The impetus behind this legislation was to provide additional incentives for businesses to safeguard the personal data of West Virginia residents and consumers. As implementing a comprehensive cybersecurity program may be complex and cost-prohibitive for small and medium-sized businesses, a unique opportunity exists for West Virginia’s institutions of higher education to step in and assist. In keeping with its land-grant mission, West Virginia University (WVU) is leading several industry outreach and support efforts to assist small and medium-sized businesses with developing robust cybersecurity programs and enhancing organizational cybersecurity posture through leveraging faculty expertise and student talent through cutting-edge experiential learning projects. These projects put cybersecurity students’ knowledge and skills into action through helping to safeguard West Virginia businesses’, residents’ and consumers’ personal data. WVU in collaboration with fellow West Virginia higher education institutions is seeking to expand industry outreach and support efforts to businesses statewide, furthering the effort of transforming West Virginia into a national leader in cybersecurity and cybersecurity education.
Ultimately, HB 5338 would have incentivized businesses to proactively invest in cybersecurity, place better safeguards on the personal data of West Virginians and contribute toward the national security of the United States of America.
HB 5690
By Rachel Coffman
Senate: 34-0, House: 95-2
Prior to the legislative session, the leadership of the West Virginia Legislature, in collaboration with major university systems, began exploring strategies to define and address artificial intelligence (AI) policy within the state. Taking a proactive approach, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw
established an AI committee in the House, chaired by Delegate Jarrod Cannon. The committee’s objective extends beyond the mere development of AI policy; it is also charged with soliciting input and insight from various industries.
The committee hosted presentations from technology industry leaders, AI legal experts and other relevant stakeholders. Among the significant legislative actions taken by the committee was the passage of HB 5690, which establishes the West Virginia Task Force on Artificial Intelligence within the Governor’s Office. Comprised of representatives from both the private and public sectors, the purpose of this task force is to define AI, identify appropriate agencies for overseeing AI policy, delineate best practices for the public sector and propose relevant legislation.
The task force will consist of a member from the West Virginia House of Delegates, representative from the West Virginia Senate, the state’s chief information officer from the Office of Technology or their delegate, the state superintendent of schools or their designate, the chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission or their appointee, the state attorney general or their representative, the state secretary of the department of administration or their designate, the state secretary of the Department of Homeland Security or their appointee, the secretary of health or their designate and a representative from the West Virginia Fusion Center.
Additionally, the task force will feature four appointees by the governor from the private sector, each representing key areas of focus of the technology landscape: the cybersecurity industry, the AI industry, a statewide business association and either the WVU Health System or the Marshall Health Network. The bill stipulates that the task force must submit a report by July 1, 2025.
Another area of focus around AI policy was the regulation of deepfake technology, particularly its application in cases involving child pornography and unauthorized use in obscene contexts and its potential impact on elections. While several bills addressing these concerns passed the House, they failed to progress in the Senate. It is anticipated that AI policy will remain a prominent area of legislative interest.
