Capital Eye Vol. 17 No. 8

       The lawmaking process was designed to make it hard to pass legislation. That’s obviously a two-edged sword, but lately it has been working in our favor. Lots of bad bills died before the Legislature gaveled out at midnight on Day 60.

       Read through to see how our issues fared and how many really horrible bills fell short of the finish line. A short list of the worst to fail includes the Women’s Bill of Wrongs; the Lock Up the Librarians/book banning bill; as well as the timbering in state parks, anti-carbon offset agreements, anti-air monitoring and welfare for Diversified Energy bills.

Bad Bills: Dead or Alive? (Mostly Dead)
The lawmaking process was designed to make it hard to pass legislation. That’s a 2-edged sword, but lately it has been working in our favor. Even if the news itself isn't always good, we are fortunate to have an amazing statehouse press corps. Links here to some of their wrap-ups for further reading.
Tagged: Budget Priorities, Civil Rights, Energy, Environment

Dead Election Bills More Notable Than Ones That Passed
100+ bills related to elections were introduced this session. Of those, only 6 made it to the Governor’s desk. With the trend of state lawmakers limiting voting access and making it harder for eligible Americans to vote continuing around the country, we’re fortunate that no voter suppression bills passed.
Tagged: Civil Rights, Democracy

Climate Eye 2024 Session Wrap Up
With help from the political will and support of members like you, were able to help stop a number of bad bills. We backed a lot of bills that didn’t make it across the finish line, but we will continue to work for solutions to those issues both inside and outside the Legislature.
Tagged: Energy, Environment

HCFA 2024 Legislative Wrap Up
There are two bills that many are calling on the Governor to veto. One is SB 841, which cuts unemployment benefits. The other, HB 5105, creates exemptions for childhood immunizations in private, parochial, and virtual public schools. The best news at the end of the session might be the bills that didn't pass. Unfortunately, the “flat” budget passed on the last night of the session, failed to fill the $114 million dollar gap in Medicaid funding.
Tagged: Budget Priorities, Civil Rights, Families, Healthcare

Arming Teachers Bill (HB 4299) “Thankfully Dead”
We're happy to report that HB 4299 was never put on agenda and, in the words of one sensible Senator, was reported as “thankfully dead.”
Tagged: Civil Rights, Families

ALERT – Landmen Buying Pore Space Rights!
A summary of WV SORO's actions on bills during the 2024 West Virginia Legislature's regular session, which ended March 9th. Also land agents are going door to door trying to get surface owners to sign away rights to the pore space in the rock formations under their land, and we need to educate surface owners about that.
Tagged: Budget Priorities, Economy, Energy, Environment