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Local Government

Amendment to broaden Women’s Bill of Rights mostly whittled away

CHARLESTON — The Women’s Bill of Rights, as introduced at the West Virginia Legislature, would codify the definitions of “man” and “woman” while assuring availability of single-sex spaces like restrooms and locker rooms. Democrats in the House of Delegates offered an amendment to sub in a different, broader set of rights: removing a tax on feminine hygiene products, providing free access to feminine hygiene products to all women in jails, requiring implicit bias training for perinatal healthcare professionals, pushing for pay equity, making clear adults have the right to ...

Manchin frustrated over blocked border bill

CHARLESTON — Sen. Joe Manchin says he is incredibly discouraged over the failure of a border security package that had been negotiated by a bipartisan group of his colleagues. “Everything in this bill made the border a lot safer and helped us be able to control that border than what we have today,” Manchin, D-W.Va., said in a call with West Virginia reporters Thursday. “And if you’re playing politics with everything you do in your life, that’s the safest thing you can do is a no vote because you don’t have to explain it a whole lot. Someone’s always mad about ...

House jails committee approves bill creating ombudsman to investigate jail complaints

CHARLESTON — The House of Delegates is advancing a bill that would create an ombudsman program in the state’s Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. According to HB 5358, the ombudsman would work in the Office of the Inspector General in DCR and review complaints against a state agency or correctional facility. The staff attorney for the House Jails and Prison Committee told committee meetings Thursday the agency currently has an assistant commissioner that reviews grievances. The bill would create a further review option. “This would be an independent person that ...

Women’s Bill of Rights’ has ‘absolutely nothing to do with women’

CHARLESTON — In a public hearing about legislation called “The Women’s Bill of Rights,” most speakers said the bill does nothing of the sort and, instead, is an effort to punch down on transgender people. Some speakers countered that Thursday, saying society has reached the point that the bill is necessary to define “man” and “woman,” while specifying that public spaces like restrooms and locker rooms should be reserved under those definitions. House Bill 5243 generated a splash last week when Gov. Jim Justice advocated for its passage along with Riley Gaines, a ...

Bill allowing sale of raw milk advances through ag committee

A bill that would allow the sale of raw milk in West Virginia passed the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee in the House of Delegates Wednesday. The bill, HB 4911, would wipe out current state law that only allows the distribution of raw milk through what are called “shared animal ownership agreements.” Bill sponsor, Del. Mike Hornby, R-Berkeley, called the current law, passed in 2016, relating to raw milk a “ponzi scheme.” He said residents should be allowed to sell raw milk to their neighbors. “This is a freedom bill,” Hornby said. “If I want to ...

City Councilor Danielle Trumble appointed to serve on League of Cities Human Development Committee

Danielle Trumble, Fifth Ward City Councilor of Morgantown, has been appointed to the National League of Cities (NLC) 2024 Human Development Federal Advocacy Committee. Trumble was elected to a one-year term and will provide strategic direction and guidance for NLC’s federal advocacy agenda and policy priorities on workforce development, education, early childhood, public health care, mental health parity, immigration reform and more. The appointment was announced by NLC President Mayor David Sander of Rancho Cordova, Calif. “I’m honored for the opportunity to be an ...