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House passes bill allowing 14-year-olds to work without permit

Kids as young as 14 could get a job without a work permit under a bill passed by the West Virginia House of Delegates. Delegates were split on the wisdom as debate unfolded in the House on Tuesday, but the bill passed by a fairly wide margin, 83-16. “I must say that many of us in this room probably worked when we were 12, 13, 14 years old out on a farm, bailing hay, digging postholes, whatever we were doing,” said Delegate Todd Longanacre, R-Greenbrier. “And if [there is] one thing kids need today in our society [it] is to start learning work at an earlier age not a later ...

Senate sends two AI child porn bills to House

MORGANTOWN — The Senate advanced two bills to the House on Tuesday, both aimed at combating AI-era child pornography. SB 740 criminalizes altering a photograph, image, video clip, movie, or recording containing sexually explicit conduct by inserting the image of an actual minor so it ...

Workers could retaliate against attacks without fear of firing

CHARLESTON — Employees who defend themselves from attacks in the workplace could not be fired under a bill advanced Monday by the House Judiciary Committee. House Bill 5621 says that anyone who is physically attacked by a workplace intruder and responds with reasonable and proportionate force — including the potential use of deadly force — to defend themselves or others may not be punished or fired for their actions. The bill allows self-defense not just for actually being attacked but also for instances of a reasonable apprehension about being attacked. “I think this will ...

House Finance advances bill to phase out income tax on Social Security

Gov. Jim Justice’s call to eliminate the personal income tax on Social Security has become a three-year phase-out under a bill advanced Friday by the House Finance Committee. Leaders of the committee said they want to provide a tax break for seniors while also being cautious about the state’s budget. “It has been our custom, as well as our prudence, that we generally phase tax cuts in,” House Finance Chair Vernon Criss, R-Wood, said Friday afternoon in response to a delegate question about the multi-year approach. The estimated financial effect of fully eliminating ...

Public libraries now open to obscene material display charges

CHARLESTON — Delegates passed legislation opening public and school libraries up to felony charges for the display or dissemination of obscene material to minors. Lawmakers debated the matter for about an hour Friday, with Republicans contending the bill would protect minors from exposure to obscene material and Democrats saying the change would expose librarians to the threat of criminal prosecution and result in a chilling effect on books on the shelves. House Bill 4654 passed on an 85-12 vote. It now goes to the state Senate for consideration. Delegate Brandon Steele, ...