Public Comments

This is so vital to help childcare centers stay open and be able to budget to provide high quality services.

I support this bill.

My name is Chris Gale, and I am a West Virginia resident who cares deeply about strengthening access to quality, affordable child care in our state. I am writing in support of House Bill 4517 — legislation to maximize the utility and accessibility of West Virginia’s child care tax credit for employers by expanding eligibility to employer-sponsored child care facilities accessible to the work site in addition to traditional on-site facilities.

Child care is a critical part of our economic infrastructure. When employers are encouraged through tax incentives to help meet the child care needs of their employees — whether by supporting a nearby facility or creating space that is easily accessible — this helps more working families find care, increases workforce participation, and supports economic stability.

By making the tax credit more useful and accessible, HB 4517 helps align state policy with the real needs of employers and working families. It makes West Virginia a more attractive place to live and work, and it helps ensure that parents aren’t forced to make impossible choices between earning a paycheck and caring for their children.

I respectfully urge you to support HB 4517 and help expand opportunities for child care investment in our communities.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

My name is Tiffany Gale, and as a family child care provider in West Virginia, I strongly support House Bill 4517. This bill updates West Virginia’s existing child care tax credit for employers so that it better supports the development and continued operation of employer-provided or employer-sponsored child care — including facilities that are accessible to employees even if not located directly on the work site.

Families and employers both struggle when quality child care is hard to find. When employers are encouraged through tax policy to invest in child care — whether on site or nearby — it can help expand available seats, improve work-life balance for parents, and strengthen our overall child care infrastructure. For many of the parents I serve, access to reliable, affordable care affects their ability to work and support their families every day.

By maximizing the utility and accessibility of this tax credit, HB 4517 would create stronger incentives for employers to invest in child care options for their workforce, helping fill gaps in care and making it easier for employees to stay connected to the job while their children receive quality early learning. This is especially important in our rural areas where child care options are limited and families often struggle to find stable care.

I respectfully urge you to support HB 4517 and help strengthen child care supports that benefit families, employers, and communities across West Virginia.

Thank you for your consideration.

My name is Chris Gale, and I am writing to support House Bill 4067, which would allow employees working 20 hours or more per week in licensed child care centers or certified family child care homes to receive a child care subsidy for their own children, regardless of income.

Quality child care is essential for families and the workforce. Yet the sector has long struggled to recruit and retain staff because compensation is often low and workers can barely afford care for their own children. By allowing child care workers to access subsidy support, this bill would help ease that gap and make careers in early childhood more sustainable.

When those who care for our children can afford care for their own families, it:

• Improves workforce stability in child care settings;

• Reduces turnover and increases consistency for children and families;

• Strengthens access to quality care throughout our communities.

Supporting those who give so much to others is an investment in West Virginia’s children and families. I respectfully urge you to support HB 4067.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

My name is Tiffany Gale, and I am a child care provider and member of the early childhood community in West Virginia. I am writing to express my strong support for House Bill 4067, which would allow employees of child care programs — including family child care homes — who work at least 20 hours per week to receive a child care subsidy for their own children, regardless of income.

This bill makes sense for our child care workforce. Many of the dedicated professionals who care for our children are parents themselves. Despite the importance of their work, child care employees are often paid low wages and struggle to afford care for their own children. This creates financial stress and barriers that make it harder to recruit and retain quality staff — a challenge that many providers, including myself, face every day.

By ensuring that child care workers can access subsidy support for their families, HB 4067 would help remove a critical barrier to workforce stability. It would:

• Support recruitment and retention of qualified child care staff;

• Recognize the value of early childhood professionals by supporting their own families;

• Strengthen the overall child care system by helping keep more caregivers in the field.

I urge you to support this practical and compassionate legislation. Helping child care workers afford care for their own children is not only fair — it benefits families, children, and our entire early childhood system.

Thank you for your consideration.

My name is Chris Gale, and I am a West Virginia resident and strong supporter of quality child care in our state. I am writing to express my support for House Bill 5345, which would base child care subsidy payments on enrollment rather than daily attendance.

Families depend on stable, reliable child care so they can go to work and provide for their children. When child care programs struggle financially due to inconsistent subsidy payments, it affects availability for everyone. If providers cannot count on steady funding, many are forced to reduce enrollment or close altogether, making it even harder for working families to find care.

Paying based on enrollment simply reflects how child care actually works. Providers hold a space for a child whether that child is present that day or not. Just like a school or any other service, the spot is reserved and staffed. It makes sense for the payment structure to match that reality.

Strong child care supports working families, local businesses, and the broader economy. Policies that help stabilize child care programs are investments in West Virginia’s future workforce and in our children’s development.

I respectfully ask you to support HB 5345 and help strengthen the child care system for families and providers across our state.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

My name is Tiffany Gale, and I am a licensed family child care provider in West Virginia. I strongly support House Bill 5345, which would shift child care subsidy payments to be based on monthly enrollment rather than daily attendance.

As a small business owner and early childhood professional, I invest my time, money, and heart into creating a safe, nurturing, and educational environment for children. Like any small business, I have fixed costs — food, supplies, utilities, insurance, and licensing requirements — that do not change when a child is absent. I still hold that child’s space and plan staffing based on enrollment.

The current attendance-based system creates unpredictable income for providers. Children get sick, families have emergencies, and weather or transportation issues happen. When that occurs, providers lose revenue even though we are still operating and reserving a spot for that child. This makes it very difficult to maintain stable budgets, keep quality materials in our programs, and remain financially sustainable.

Basing subsidy payments on enrollment would:

• Provide stability for small family child care businesses

• Help providers stay open and serve their communities

• Encourage more providers to enter the field

• Increase child care availability for working families

Reliable child care is essential for West Virginia’s workforce and economy. When child care is stable, parents can work and children receive consistent, quality care.

HB 5345 is a practical, common-sense step toward strengthening child care in our state. I respectfully urge you to support this bill for the benefit of providers, families, and children across West Virginia.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

• As someone who worked in this field for many years and has also had three children go to childcare, I can say with my whole heart that when you find a good childcare you hold onto it. One of the main reasons why I stopped working in childcare was because it is so underpaid. And that is not on the programs themselves at all. Unfortunately childcares are struggling for funding as it is. The teachers can be some of the most wonderful and talented teachers around, but they still have bills to pay and unfortunately most of the time they don’t qualify for childcare payment assistances. Therefore, these teachers would benefit incredibly from their own children being offered scholarships. They spend so much time working with and caring for children in communities that don’t have access to consistent warm meals and love. They spend their hard earned money on classroom supplies, treats, and other classroom needs like diapers and wipes and have their own children to worry about as well. They are who so many of us trust our babies with in a world that is hard enough. Please see these workers and their hard work and understand that they deserve the world. They deserve to be able to do what they love and still be able to afford living as well.

Edibles would be a great way for me to medicate and get relief from the medical marijuana Industry

• Nearly 28.5% of West Virginia high school students use tobacco products, among the highest rates nationally. 

• More than 4,280 West Virginians die each year from smoking-related causes. 

• West Virginia has the second-highest rate of new lung cancer cases in the United States. 

• Increased state investment in prevention and cessation 

• Comprehensive, school-based prevention programs 

• Youth-specific cessation and quit services 

• Restrictions on flavored tobacco and vaping products 

• Higher tobacco taxes 

• In an effort to help combat the growing youth addiction to tobacco products, The American Lung Association offers programs to assist schools, parents and youth in cessation efforts that work. In fact, the Lung Association collaborated with West Virginia University to develop INDEPTH, an alternative to suspension or citation. We encourage delegates and school officials to work with us to help West Virginia youth break tobacco addiction. 

1. Fully funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs at CDC-recommended levels. 

1. Expanding access to youth vaping cessation services statewide. 

1. Enacting strong restrictions on flavored tobacco and vaping products. 

1. Increasing tobacco taxes, which are proven to reduce youth initiation. 

1. Strengthening smoke-free protections in schools and public spaces. 

1. Randy became addicted to kratom, a substance that is often marketed as “natural” and “safe.” You can buy it at gas stations, smoke shops, and convenience stores, with little warning and no real oversight. Like many others, Randy was led to believe it wasn’t dangerous. That belief cost him his life.Kratom took hold of my son slowly. It changed him in ways that were painful to watch and impossible to stop. This was not a failure of character or willpower — it was addiction. And addiction does not care how kind, strong, or loved someone is. The only substance found in Randy’s system was kratom. Mitragynine toxicity ended his life. Saying that out loud still feels unreal, but it is the truth, and people need to hear it. I share Randy’s story because I don’t want another family to feel this kind of loss. I don’t want another mother to bury her child because something sold openly was treated as harmless when it was not. If speaking up can save even one life, then Randy’s life — and his death — will continue to matter. We miss him every single day. We love him always. And we will keep telling the truth about kratom, for Randy and for everyone who is still at risk.

I support HB5 260 Because medical edibles provide a safe regulated option For patients who cannot consume cannabis And deserved medically, appropriate alternatives.

Dear Members of the Committee,

My name is Wendy Chamberlain. I am a mother, and I am here because my son, Joseph, is dead.

Joseph did not struggle with illegal drugs. He did not overdose on fentanyl or heroin. He used kratom—Whole leaf natural powder , specifically its primary alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine—products that are sold openly, marketed as safe, and completely unregulated.

My son died from mitragynine toxicity. A product he used for energy. He was my only child , business owner and a dad to 3 amazing boys.. He simply sat down one evening to watch tv and fell asleep and never to wake up again.  This changed our lives forever.. He was so full of life and love.. And taken away at 38 yrs old on 8/30/2020.

After his death, I did what grieving parents do when the system fails them—I started asking questions. I learned that kratom products vary wildly in potency, that newer extracts are far stronger than what users believe they’re taking, and that there is no federal oversight, no dosing standards, and no warning labels that reflect real risk.

I now serve as the founder and chair of Kratom Danger Awareness,  nonprofit and I represent thousands of families across this country—parents who have buried children, spouses who have lost partners, and families living through addiction that began with a product sold as “natural” and “safe.”

This is not speculation. This is not anecdote.

In 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration formally accepted our citizen petition requesting the scheduling of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. That acceptance means the federal government determined there is enough scientific and medical concern to warrant a full review under the Controlled Substances Act.

That matters.

Because it confirms what families like mine have been saying for years: these substances are not harmless supplements. They are psychoactive compounds with real risks—risks that communities like yours are now being forced to manage on the ground.

Local action matters when federal action lags. West Virginia 

has the opportunity to put public health first, to protect families, and to prevent more parents from standing where I stand today.

I am not here because I want to be.

I am here because my son cannot be.

Please act -before more families join ours.

Thank you

Wendy Chamberlain 

Chairman, Senators, and Delegates

My name is Jennifer Brandt. I am a licensed pharmacist working in hospital medicine. In my daily practice, I manage medications in acute care settings, including patients experiencing withdrawal, toxicity, and polysubstance complications.

I am here in my professional capacity to respectfully support a full ban on kratom.

From a pharmacologic standpoint, kratom is not a neutral substance. Its primary alkaloid, mitragynine, acts at the opioid receptor. In humans, mitragynine is metabolized into 7-hydroxymitragynine, which has greater potency at that same receptor.

When a substance activates opioid receptors and produces a more potent metabolite in the body, we recognize that as a dependence-producing profile. That is not a moral judgment…it is receptor pharmacology.

You may hear discussion about limiting 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) content to certain percentages. From a clinical perspective, that does not resolve the underlying issue. The metabolite 7-OH is derived from the plant itself. 7-OH is only synthesized from kratom. It is not an external contaminant that can simply be removed through manufacturing controls.

Historically, when plants produce or convert into compounds with abuse potential, we regulate the plant. Cocaine is derived from the coca plant. Heroin originates from the opium poppy. We do not rely solely on alkaloid percentage caps to determine whether those substances belong in gas stations or vape shops.

The practical question before you is whether a substance with opioid receptor activity, that can be chemically converted into a more potent substance and has dependence potential should be sold in gas stations and convenience stores.

West Virginia understands the impact of opioid-related harm. In my practice, Normalization precedes escalation. Substances that begin as widely available consumer products can become public health burdens once patterns of dependence take hold.

If dependence increases, the downstream effects are predictable: increased treatment utilization, strain on Medicaid budgets, pressure on child welfare systems, and greater law enforcement involvement. Those costs are ultimately borne by the state and its taxpayers.

There is also a regulatory consideration. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stated publicly that products containing kratom are adulterated under federal law. That position appears on the agency’s website and in the New Dietary Ingredient rejection letter issued to Johnson Foods for its whole-leaf natural kratom product. These are not recognized lawful dietary supplements.

Louisiana reviewed this issue and placed kratom in Schedule I. The Ohio Board of Pharmacy conducted an Eight-Factor Analysis and similarly concluded by a unanimous decision that kratom meets criteria for Schedule I classification. Other states reviewing the same pharmacology are reaching similar conclusions.

From a pharmacy perspective, a substance that activates opioid receptors, produces a more potent metabolite in humans, and is considered adulterated under federal law does not fit within the framework of a benign over-the-counter consumer product.

West Virginia has already borne significant costs from underestimating opioid-acting substances. I share this information simply to assist you in evaluating whether continued retail sale aligns with what we know about receptor pharmacology, dependence patterns, and fiscal stewardship.

Thank you for your time and for your service to the people of West Virginia.

This is yet another ridiculous bill from the out of touch politicians in Charleston, and frankly, it makes no sense. The level of misplaced confidence required to propose this is staggering. It is incredible that a state which consistently ranks at the bottom or second to last in education every time a report is released feels qualified to tell homeschoolers how to do their job. Homeschooling isn't an easy out and it would be what the parent should be doing in that case to take responsibility for their children and save the state money on services that the parent obviously is not interested in.

​We should be encouraging parents to step up and homeschool if they and their children find that public schools aren't meeting their needs. It is no secret that public schools involve a significant amount of wasted time. Many students find they can stay focused at home and complete their studies in a fraction of the time.

​By passing this legislation, we are simply forcing more families into a system that already lacks the resources to properly support them. When a parent chooses to take responsibility for their child’s education because the traditional system isn't working, that should be welcomed, not punished.

​By the time the few people making these laws realize the damage they are doing, there won't be anyone left in the state to pay the taxes that fund their salaries. Passing this sends a clear message: every person who has already moved away was right to leave. This isn't about education; it is a petty, mean-spirited attack on the homeschooling community and parents' rights.

• Workers in other professions rely on death benefits under WV Code §23-4-10 (Workers’ Compensation).
• No separate, stand-alone funeral benefit statute exists for coal miners, correctional officers, highway workers, sanitation workers, teachers, or public utility workers.
• These professions also face documented occupational fatality risks.

1. Unequal statutory treatment – The benefit is profession-specific, not risk-specific.
2. Budget prioritization – The state continues carving out categorical benefits rather than evaluating equitable, uniform standards.
3. Policy inconsistency – If the Legislature recognizes line-of-duty death as warranting additional state support, the standard should apply to all high-risk public servants.

• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
• Androgen insensitivity syndrome
• Gonadal dysgenesis

• Hormone therapy
• Endocrine stabilization
• Corrective or reconstructive genital surgery
• Ongoing metabolic monitoring

• Physician shortages
• Limited specialty care access
• Long travel distances for endocrinology and surgical services

• 14th Amendment – Equal Protection Clause
• 14th Amendment – Due Process Clause
• Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. §18116) prohibiting discrimination in federally funded healthcare programs

• Referral requirements
• Continuity of care
• Non-abandonment protections
• Emergency stabilization clarity beyond federal minimums

• Beneficence (acting in the patient’s best interest)
• Nonmaleficence (do no harm)
• Justice (fair access to care)
• Respect for patient autonomy

• Documentation standards
• Notice requirements
• Timely referral
• Assurance that another provider is reasonably accessible

• Equal protection under the law
• Access to medically necessary treatment
• The state’s obligation to ensure nondiscriminatory healthcare access

• Conflicts of interest
• Use of public office for private gain
• Financial disclosure compliance
• Certain post-employment restrictions

• Excessive borrowing
• Structuring debt in ways that increase long-term taxpayer liability
• Poor refinancing decisions
• Fiscal mismanagement absent personal financial gain

• Repeals and reorganizes multiple bonded indebtedness statutes
• Consolidates procedures under a new chapter
• Expands Treasurer rulemaking authority, including emergency rules

• Require independent third-party fiscal impact analysis before issuance
• Mandate public reporting of refunding savings projections vs. outcomes
• Create enhanced legislative audit triggers
• Strengthen disclosure requirements for bond-related financial advisors or underwriters

• Reduce procedural friction
• Centralize discretion
• Increase reliance on internal review

• Long-term taxpayer obligations
• Credit ratings
• Future budget flexibility
• Infrastructure funding priorities

Please support our students who are deaf and hard of hearing! Many of my students are lower income and their families need this support so that their children have the best access to their educational needs!

• Purchasing new U.S.-compliant systems
• Training personnel on new equipment
• Replacing software ecosystems
• Disposing of existing equipment
• Potential contract termination penalties

1. A full fiscal impact disclosure.
2. A statewide inventory of currently used drone systems.
3. A cost comparison between domestic and foreign alternatives.
4. A clear explanation of how this bill improves operational safety or security beyond existing federal restrictions.

• Rising electric rates tied to infrastructure recovery and generation costs
• Housing shortages and affordability concerns
• Limited wage growth compared to energy and corporate profit margins

• Residential rate stabilization mechanisms are strengthened
• Utility cost recovery does not disproportionately burden households
• Public infrastructure and housing needs are prioritized
• Economic incentives demonstrably benefit West Virginia residents first

1. Define “judicial warrant” clearly as a warrant issued by a federal or state court upon probable cause and signed by a judge or magistrate. This ensures administrative warrants are not mistakenly treated as judicial orders.
2. Include a data minimization requirement stating that agencies shall only disclose the specific information identified in the warrant and no broader datasets. This prevents overcollection or fishing expeditions.
3. Clarify that nothing in this section prohibits communication of immigration or citizenship status when required by federal law, ensuring the bill remains consistent with 8 U.S.C. § 1373 and avoids unnecessary legal conflict.
4. Strengthen transparency reporting requirements by requiring agencies to distinguish between judicial warrants and other requests, and to report the number of denials based on lack of warrant. Transparency promotes accountability and public trust.

• Frequent users,
• Chronic medical users, or
• Patients consuming high-THC formulations.

• Lawful medical cannabis patients could face DUI charges based predominantly on residual THC levels,
• Without evidence of actual driving impairment, and
• Without adequate statutory guidance discouraging reliance solely on nanogram levels.

• A threshold of 3 ng/mL THC can lead to a DUI charge under impaired driving laws,
• There is no comparable per se drug threshold for many other legally prescribed medications with impairing potential.  

• Property access and local housing supply
• Agricultural competition
• Mineral and timber market pricing
• Rural tax base stability
• Community development patterns

• Acreage and land use
• Timber value
• Carbon credit and sequestration agreements
• Revenues derived from land
• Tax generation data

• Provide public access standards to ensure transparency benefits citizens
• Establish enforcement penalties for noncompliance
• Address how reported data will prevent harmful land aggregation
• Protect small landowners or family farms from displacement pressures

• Limited housing availability
• Reduced farmland accessibility
• Concentrated mineral and timber control
• Economic dependency on large industrial landholders

• Public database access
• Anti-monopoly safeguards
• Protections for small agricultural producers
• Review of tax equity between large and small landowners

• Require measurable compliance improvements tied to intake/screening/investigation standards highlighted by the OIG audit.  
• Require timely public fatality disclosure consistent with §49-5-101(e) (clear minimum dataset and deadlines).  
• Strengthen/standardize Critical Incident Review reporting and public-facing summaries under §61-12B.  

• W. Va. Code § 61-3-20 (Embezzlement)
• W. Va. Code § 61-3-13 (Larceny)

• Mandatory public financial reporting
• Independent audit requirements
• Clear State Auditor review authority under W. Va. Code § 12-4-14 and § 12-4-17
• Defined internal controls and record retention
• Jurisdiction that survives resignation

• West Virginia Constitution, Article XII, §1, requiring a “thorough and efficient system of free schools.”
• U.S. Constitution, First Amendment (Establishment Clause), prohibiting government endorsement of religion.
• Fourteenth Amendment, guaranteeing equal protection and due process.
• Federal civil rights statutes including Title VI and Title IX.

• Engel v. Vitale – State-sponsored prayer in public schools is unconstitutional.
• Abington School District v. Schempp – Mandatory Bible readings in public schools violate the Establishment Clause.
• Stone v. Graham – Posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms without a clear secular purpose is unconstitutional.

1. Politicizing education governance.
2. Destabilizing long-term academic planning.
3. Creating volatility in curriculum standards.
4. Undermining compliance with federal funding requirements.
5. Exposing counties to costly constitutional litigation.

• West Virginia Constitution, Article III, § 9
• U.S. Constitution, Fifth Amendment

• Roads
• Utilities
• Infrastructure

• A widow in bankruptcy may keep equity from unsecured creditors,
• But can still lose the same property for unpaid taxes.

• Rising tax assessments,
• Rent escalation,
• Development pressure,
• Economic displacement without formal eminent domain.

• U.S. Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment
• West Virginia Constitution, Article III, § 10

• Urban vs rural residents,
• Heirs vs renters,
• Tax-delinquent owners vs bankruptcy filers.

• Protects equity in some contexts,
• While allowing displacement in others,
• Without structural reform addressing tax pressure, zoning inequities, and infrastructure disparities.

• Review of tax foreclosure timelines,
• Transparency in eminent domain necessity determinations,
• Urban displacement protections,
• Heir property clarity reforms.

• existing public adjuster contracts already in force,
• ongoing claim files,
• or disputes already pending.

• mandatory licensing to “act as or hold [oneself] out” as an adjuster (§33-64-2(a))  
• new contract rules and rescission requirements (§33-64-3)  
• new “insured’s rights” notices and conduct rules (§33-64-4)  
• new fiduciary trust-account handling requirements (§33-64-5)  
• new fee/commission limits and conditions (§33-64-6)  

• WV Constitution, Art. III, §4: “No… law impairing the obligation of a contract, shall be passed.”  
• U.S. Constitution, Art. I, §10, cl. 1: “No State shall… pass any… Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts…”  

1. Add an explicit prospective-only clause, such as: “This article applies only to contracts entered into on or after July 1, 2026, and does not impair existing contracts or vested rights.” (This directly reduces Contract Clause litigation risk.)  
2. Add a transition/grandfather provision for ongoing claims and existing adjuster engagements so current claims are not disrupted mid-stream.
3. Strengthen consumer financial protection, including re-evaluating whether a $5,000 bond is adequate to cover foreseeable harms.  
4. Require a self-funded implementation model, ensuring staffing/enforcement costs are covered by license fees—not general revenue.

The state of WV was built on the backs of coal miners. As the mines close, the workers are still affected. They have immense chronic pain, and lung conditions that prevent them from consuming the cannabis plant. Not only for pain relief, but for ptsd management. Please allow the production of Edibles in this state, so that we may further help people who have sacrificed their bodies, for our state to grow. Another side of the coin, think about all of the cancer patients that can not consume cannabis easily. These patients have lung cancer, or throat cancer. If they were able to add an edible to their tea, or be able to drink a thc drink. The relief they could feel for a time, would be wonderful for them. It may give them enough encouragement to keep fighting these diseases. My grandma could have used it, she fought for 8 years with various cancers. She didn’t get to see the wonders of cannabis, because she died in 2008, after a doctor told her she was going to die and there was no saving her. It was a harsh reality, and she had no relief, just pills. These pills/chemo through all 8 years ate her alive, she was skin and bones, puking every night. I was in middle school and was with her every night for the last 4 years of her life. She was in agony, and all I could do was rub her back and lay with her on the couch, while she moaned and cried in pain. My grandma deserved relief from her daily torture, but no, the state waited too long to give her a more natural remedy; she died in agony. No one deserves that, no one should be forced to swallow 30 pills a day, just to become addict and overdose. You don’t overdose on cannabis, you consume it, and you eat, that’s a game changer for cancer patients who have lost their appetite. Edibles aren’t for kids or teens just trying to get high, they’re for your grandma with arthritis, your grandpa who just had a hip replacement, your uncle who has black lung from the coal mines, your dad who has a bad back from working construction, and your mom who nearly broke her back caring for you and your constituents.

• A lawful oath,
• A materially false statement,
• Made knowingly and willfully.

• Are predictive estimates,
• Rely on modeling assumptions,
• Are not traditionally given under oath,
• Often involve discretionary economic projections.

• Assumptions,
• Forecasting models,
• Inflation projections,
• Behavioral estimates,
• Federal funding contingencies.

• Acceptable methodologies,
• Disclosure of assumptions,
• Margin of error thresholds,
• Independent review processes,

• Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352 (1983) (void for vagueness doctrine).

• Chill executive participation,
• Encourage defensive over-estimation,
• Interfere with interbranch legislative analysis.

• Competing economic theories,
• Differences in actuarial assumptions,
• Evolving federal reimbursement policies,
• Market volatility.

• Political pressure risks,
• Disincentives for candid fiscal evaluation,
• Unequal application of enforcement.

• W. Va. Code § 61-5-5 (false swearing),
• W. Va. Code § 6B-2-5 (Ethics Act misuse of office),
• Administrative discipline,
• Removal procedures under existing law.

• Clear statutory definitions of “materially misleading” in the context of predictive modeling.
• Mandatory disclosure of modeling assumptions.
• Defined safe-harbor provisions for good-faith estimation.
• Independent fiscal review mechanisms before criminal referral.
• Explicit exclusion for reasonable methodological disagreements.

• Broadband access
• Teacher availability
• Course offerings in rural vs. urban districts

• Establish challenging academic standards
• Maintain accountability systems
• Disaggregate data by subgroup (race, income, disability, etc.)

• Clear measurable standards
• Comparable rigor across districts
• Transparent reporting

• Implementation leads to disparate educational opportunity, or
• Students in certain geographic or socioeconomic areas receive reduced access to advanced coursework.

• Computational thinking
• Coding principles
• Cybersecurity fundamentals
• Data literacy

• Establish a uniform statewide assessment standard
• Define minimum instructional benchmarks
• Require transparent county-level reporting
• Ensure equal access to industry credential pathways

I am writing in support of WV House Bill 5403.

This bill represents a meaningful and necessary step toward improving public safety in our state. The facilities currently operating under the existing exemption are, in effect, functioning without appropriate regulatory oversight. We are fortunate that West Virginia has not yet experienced a preventable tragedy associated with these conditions.

The structures in question constitute a clear change in occupancy classification. An exemption originally intended for infrequent, private events, such as a family member’s or neighbor’s wedding, has increasingly been applied to recurring, for-profit assembly uses. When a building functions as an assembly occupancy, it should be subject to the life safety requirements designed for that level of public risk.

Allowing large gatherings without consistent application of fire and life safety standards places the attending public in an unnecessarily vulnerable position. House Bill 5403 helps ensure that regulatory intent aligns with actual use and promotes reasonable safeguards for those who attend these events.

For these reasons, I respectfully support the passage of this bill.

I would like to share a real story - not a statistic. I’m writing as someone who has seen firsthand how a person can change over decades.

One of my childhood friends and high school classmates (Keyser High School class of 1993) was sentenced at age 18 to life in prison and has now spent more than thirty years behind bars in West Virginia. While the rest of us grew up — building families, careers, and purpose — his entire adulthood has taken place inside a correctional facility.

Over those decades, he did not give up. He pursued education, completed faith-based coursework, strengthened his communication and academic skills, and became known for discipline, leadership, and accountability. He accepts responsibility for the harm he caused and does not minimize it. He is not the same person he was as a teenager.

House Bill 4758 concerns me because it moves policy toward longer time served before a person can even be considered for parole review, particularly for life and first-degree murder sentences. Delaying review does not guarantee greater safety — but it does remove an important mechanism for evaluating whether someone has truly changed after decades of demonstrated accountability and rehabilitation.

Parole review does not guarantee release. It provides a structured, professional evaluation of whether a person is safe and appropriate to return to society. Preserving that review process supports both accountability and public safety.

Justice should be firm, but it should also be wise enough to recognize growth and rehabilitation over time.

I respectfully urge you to vote NO on House Bill 4758.

Please support Second Look and allow people like my childhood friend and classmate to be evaluated for who they are today, not only who they were as teenagers. People can grow, accountability can endure, and justice should be wise enough to see both.