Drenching rains. Paralyzing bouts of cold and snow — followed by record-breaking high temperatures the next week, or the next day, even. Lashing rains and winds that generate the funnel and vortex of the occasional F-0 tornado. Climate change brings an extreme meteorological ...
CHARLESTON — The state Senate, after a couple of days of delays, passed a bill representing pay raises for some state employees and another phasing out taxes on Social Security benefits. The bills are key components of what could shape up as the state’s general revenue budget. The Senate earlier tied each of the bills to economic triggers, but backed off that format on Day 60 of the legislative session. The pay raises for state employees and cut for the state taxes on Social Security were two of the main proposals advocated by Gov. Jim Justice in his State of the State ...
CHARLESTON — West Virginia lawmakers passed a $4.96 billion general revenue budget Saturday in the final hours of the regular legislative session. The budget included average 5% pay raises for state employees and a three-year phase-out of state taxes on Social Security, both priorities advocated by Gov. Jim Justice. There was some drama — and waiting — as key policy differences between the Senate and House of Delegates were untangled over the final two days of the session. “It was basically a flat line budget. There was a little bit of an increase, but we did pay raises ...
Delegates passed a long-discussed bill that would allow elementary school teachers to remove especially disruptive students from classrooms. SB 614 passed on an 82-14 vote. The bill already passed the Senate but goes back there again because of some changes that were made. “I can’t tell you the number of teachers who have told me ‘Oh good lord, thank you. We needed something to get these kids out of the class that are just, pardon the expression, hellbent on raising cain and causing disruption,’” said Delegate Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer. When a teacher in grades ...
The House of Delegates passed a bill to remove a marital exemption for some criminal sexual offenses Senate Bill 190 would remove a provision in criminal code where an allegation of inappropriate sexual contact applies only when the victim is not married to the aggressor. “It removes marriage as a defense to first degree and third degree sexual assault,” said House Judiciary Chairman Tom Fast, R-Fayette, in explaining the bill. The House already passed a bill that included this change in state policy. That was a bill called the “Women’s Bill of Rights.” Senators ...
Delegates didn’t put their faith in proposed amendments to a bill requiring “In God We Trust” signs in schools or another bill ensuring classroom discussions are allowed to ruminate on the ways the universe might have begun. Senate Bill 152 would require display in a conspicuous place in West Virginia schools a durable poster or framed copy of the United States national motto, “In God We Trust.” Delegate John Williams, D-Monongalia, would also have inserted the state motto “Montani Semper Liberi,” or Mountaineers are always free. “We don’t have that much of a ...
