Public Comments

Regarding HB 4517:

For businesses like ours, access to reliable child care is not a side issue — it is a workforce issue. One of the biggest challenges we face in securing and retaining employees is the lack of available, affordable child care in our area. We have had potential workers turn down jobs or reduce their hours simply because they could not find dependable care for their children.

Agriculture and farm operations depend on a steady, reliable workforce. During planting, harvest, market season, and special events, we need employees who can consistently show up and work scheduled hours. When child care falls through, parents are forced to miss work, leave early, or decline employment altogether. That impacts productivity, revenue, and ultimately the sustainability of small family farms like ours.

HB 4517 is a practical solution. By expanding the employer child care tax credit to include employer-sponsored child care services — not just on-site facilities — this bill makes it possible for rural and small businesses to participate. Most small farms and businesses cannot build and operate their own child care center, but we could partner with or financially support existing licensed providers if the tax structure makes that investment feasible.

This bill recognizes that child care is essential infrastructure for our workforce. When businesses are empowered to support child care solutions in their communities, employees are more stable, businesses are stronger, and rural economies benefit.

For these reasons, I respectfully and strongly urge passage of HB 4517.

As a former child care provider, I strongly urge support of West Virginia House Bill 5345.

I made the difficult decision to stop providing child care because the pay was inconsistent and unpredictable. Under the current system, providers are only reimbursed based on daily attendance. If a child missed days due to illness, vacation, medical appointments, weather, or other unavoidable reasons, my pay was reduced. Yet my expenses — staffing, food, utilities, supplies, insurance, and maintaining a safe learning environment — did not decrease when a child was absent.

This system places the financial burden on providers for circumstances completely outside of our control. No worker should have to experience unpredictable income because someone else is sick or on vacation. That level of income instability is not sustainable and drives qualified, caring professionals out of the child care field.

HB 5345 would correct this by basing subsidy payments on monthly enrollment rather than daily attendance. This commonsense change would provide stability for providers, encourage more individuals to remain in or return to the profession, and strengthen West Virginia’s child care system for working families.

Reliable child care is essential for our workforce and our economy. If we want providers to stay in business and families to have dependable care options, we must create a payment structure that reflects how child care actually operates.

For these reasons, I respectfully and strongly urge the Legislature to pass HB 5345.

• Please vote yes on HB 5345

I am both a mother and an executive director with 14 employees. Without good childcare, my employees have difficulty working full time. I support any funding to help with childcare which I consider an important part of our infrastructure.

I support this bill!

This is so important for the children and families that I serve as a center director. We need this funding to keep our quality programs!

• WV has 231 fewer childcare programs today than in February 2024.
• Programs are closing even with enrollment-based payments because margins are already razor thin.
• Reverting to attendance-based payments would cause hundreds more closures.

• Parents lose childcare and leave the workforce.
• Businesses lose employees and productivity.
• Communities lose economic growth opportunities.

• Daily attendance records required
• Regular licensing inspections
• Random audits required twice a year (monthly since September) for centers and monthly for other providers
• Documentation verification requirements
• Payment recovery when records are inaccurate

• Keep classrooms open
• Maintain staff
• Serve working families

• Parents cannot work.
• Employers cannot grow.
• West Virginia cannot compete economically.

Please support HB 4517 to strengthen West Virginia’s employer child care tax credit so more employers will actually use it to create real child care options for working families.

When my children were young, my household had two full-time working parents but almost no child care choices. In our county there was effectively one option, and the projected cost over the early childhood years was easily over tens of thousands of dollars. With no employer-supported options and no practical local care, we ended up moving an hour away from our jobs just so family could help watch the kids, which put enormous strain on our marriage and ultimately contributed to divorce and family separation.

HB 4517 would make it far more feasible for employers to provide or sponsor child care by increasing the tax credit for capital investments and operating costs and allowing unused credits to be carried forward for up to 20 years. It also makes clear that child care can be ‘employer-sponsored’ and located in places that are reasonably accessible to workers, not just on the employer’s physical premises. If more employers had practical, generous incentives like this in place years ago, families like mine might have had stable care closer to work and avoided the extreme choices we were forced to make.

Please pass HB 4517, along with HB 4067 and HB 5345, so that child care is treated as shared infrastructure between families, providers, and employers—and so other parents don’t lose their jobs, marriages, or relationships with their children because basic child care wasn’t available.

As a full-time working parent in a two-parent household where both adults worked full time, child care was a nightmare. In the county where we lived, there was only one real option, and the projected cost for both of our children, before they would have aged out, was well over tens of thousands of dollars. The lack of options and the financial pressure forced us to move an hour away from our jobs just so family could help watch the kids, which put enormous strain on our marriage and ultimately contributed to our divorce and family separation.

These bills address two sides of the same crisis. HB 4067 helps child care workers afford care for their own children based on their hours worked, which will help retain staff and keep centers open for families like mine. HB 5345 would require subsidy payments to be based on enrollment rather than daily attendance, giving providers predictable income instead of penalizing them when children are absent due to illness or family schedules. Without that stability, centers close or stop taking subsidized children, and families in rural counties can be left with no realistic options at all.

West Virginia already knows that enrollment-based payments and stronger child care support are key solutions to our workforce and family stability problems. Passing HB 4067 and HB 5345 would be a concrete step toward making sure other families do not have to make the kinds of impossible choices that mine did just to keep working and keep their children safe.”

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

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 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.

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

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.