Public Comments

Statement Opposing the Use of Speed Enforcement Cameras in Construction Zones

I oppose the use of speed enforcement cameras in construction zones.

Protecting road workers and motorists is essential, and work-zone safety should be taken seriously. However, automated speed cameras are not the best solution. These systems raise significant concerns about fairness, due process, and public trust. They often issue citations without accounting for context—such as sudden traffic flow changes, unclear signage, lane shifts, or whether workers were actually present in the zone at the time.

Speed camera enforcement can also become more about generating revenue than improving safety. When the public believes enforcement is primarily financial, confidence in traffic laws and highway safety efforts is weakened.

A better approach is to focus on visible law enforcement, clear signage, reasonable and consistently posted speed limits, improved lane markings, and public education. These measures promote safety while preserving accountability and discretion.

Work zones should be safe, but safety should be achieved through fair, transparent, and effective enforcement, not automated penalties that can overreach and erode public trust.

Public Comment Regarding SB704 – Veteran Perspective

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Kristin T. Cicchetto, and I am a retired veteran who served 21 years in the United States Marine Corps. I am writing to respectfully express my opposition to SB704 and to ask that you carefully consider the unintended consequences this legislation would have on veterans like myself.

After dedicating over two decades of my life to military service, the transition to civilian life required rebuilding structure, purpose, and support systems outside of the military environment. Professional coaching services have been an important resource in helping veterans maintain accountability, set goals, manage stress, and continue progressing personally and professionally after service.

These services provide valuable support that complements medical care and mental health treatment. They help veterans stay engaged, focused, and productive members of their communities. Many veterans rely on coaching to assist with career transitions, personal development, and maintaining overall well-being. Removing or restricting access to these services would eliminate an important form of support that veterans voluntarily choose to improve their lives.

Veterans have earned the right to make informed decisions about the resources and services that best support their health, independence, and continued success. Limiting access to coaching services reduces those options and may negatively affect veterans who are working hard to build stable and meaningful lives after their military careers.

I respectfully ask that you consider the importance of preserving access to these services and oppose legislation that would restrict veterans’ ability to choose the support systems that work best for them.

Thank you for your time, your consideration, and your continued commitment to those who have served our nation.

Respectfully,

• Improves Access — FPA creates greater access to care, especially in underserved urban and rural areas. States with FPA are more likely to have NPs working in rural and underserved areas and NP practices than states with more restrictive licensure models.
• Streamlines Care and Makes Care Delivery More Efficient — FPA provides patients with full and direct access to NPs' services at the point of care. FPA removes delays in care that are created when dated regulations require an NP be part of an unnecessary regulatory-mandated contract with a physician as a condition of practicing their profession.
• Decreases Costs — FPA avoids duplication of services and billing costs associated with outdated physician oversight of NP practice. FPA reduces unnecessary repetition of orders, office visits and care services.
• Protects Patient Choice — FPA allows patients to see the health care provider of their choice. FPA removes anti-competitive licensing restrictions that interfere with patient-centered health care

Our citizens have suffered from lack for years! Lack of clean water, lack of employment, lack of help to improve conditions, lack of care or concern by our state government. Now is the time! Support this infrastructure improvement to improve the living conditions for not just the current residents but for the future residents. Our Southern Coalfields need help, not just for themselves but for our entire state! Thank you.

1. We have a grandchild with Hearing Aids with private insurance, which does not pay for them. Simple question?? Why does medicaid recognize the treatment of hearing loss as a basic medical necessity, while most private medical insurance companies do not. Recent research has confirmed that hearing loss plays a vital role in both cognitive development and decline.  Therefore, the funding of treatment for hearing is essential to both young and the old. 

Most people I know that only use edible thc are some older folks but, I’m sure a few people don’t smoke do to personal reasons and it would be nice to have more options. Personally I don’t use it much because a 10mg dose isn’t enough for anyone with a tolerance and I’d rather eat a gummy that says 100mg than eating a drop of rso or another form of thc concentrate and hoping it’s the right dose for myself. It would also be cool to make snacks with a pretty small dose, small enough to keep it a fair price so people can just buy them in larger quantities if they don’t like the taste. I’d rather do that than take a capsule anyway. Personally really hope we get edibles might as well make it recreational while you’re at it if we’re being honest, and I promise I’ll still renew the medcard even if it does get recreational.

• Encourages the planting of NATIVE e pollinator-friendly habitats on private property; (C) Creates a strategy for the planting of NATIVE  pollinator-friendly habitats in state parks and state forests;
• Provide funding sources to establish native pollinator habitats in state parks and state forests

I strongly support CS for HB 5341.

This bill targets repeat domestic violence offenders and serious cases, not isolated disputes. That distinction is critical. It focuses on patterns of abuse that pose ongoing risks to intimate partners.

The registry is thoughtfully structured. It applies prospectively, limits public information, and includes clear removal timelines. Those safeguards matter.

Transparency protects victims. Giving individuals access to information about repeat offenders allows them to make informed decisions about their own safety.

Finally, directing funds to domestic violence legal services ensures accountability is paired with victim support.

Domestic violence is a public safety issue. This bill treats it as one. I urge its passage.

Mariah Richards

I support the gummies.

• Adult tobacco use rates remain among the highest in the nation (32.9%).
• High school tobacco use, including e-cigarette use, continues to threaten youth health (28.5%).
• According to the 2025 American Lung Asociation’s State of Lung Cancer report, the rate of new lung cancer cases in West Virginia is 76.3 and significantly higher than the national rate of 52.8.

• A $5 million annual transfer from interest and other returns earned on the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund – Part B (“Rainy Day B” fund) into the new account. In 2025, West Virginia collected $184,500,000 in tobacco related revenue from excise taxes and payments from the tobacco master settlement agreement; $5 million is a modest investment to help current users quit and prevent our kids from becoming addicted. The fund paves the way for allowing our current middle- and high-school students to become the first nicotine free generation. *The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) best practices recommend that West Virginia spend $27.4 million annually.
• Ensure that these funds are dedicated solely to tobacco prevention and cessation.
• Allow funds to remain available year to year if not fully expended, providing stability and long-term planning capacity.

• Mandatory pre-construction karst assessments: Require site-specific hydrogeological surveys before any data center is sited in a county with documented karst geology, identifying cave systems, sinkhole risk zones, and groundwater flow paths.
• Clear definition of 'majority karst': Establish a scientific standard for determining which counties qualify, to eliminate administrative ambiguity and ensure consistent application statewide.
• Surface water withdrawal limits: Set enforceable daily and seasonal withdrawal limits tied to stream flow data to protect downstream users and aquatic ecosystems during drought conditions.
• Water use reporting: Require metering and quarterly DEP reporting of all water consumed, creating a public record and enabling early detection of overconsumption.
• Water-efficient cooling technology: Encourage or incentivize closed-loop, adiabatic, or air-cooled designs that dramatically reduce consumptive water use compared to traditional evaporative cooling towers.
• Renewable energy integration: Incentivize certified microgrid districts to incorporate renewable generation, solar, wind, or run-of-river hydro,  consistent with West Virginia's evolving energy landscape.

Dear Energy and Public Works Committee,

Please amend and pass this bill to restore the ability of communities to have input to decisions made regarding the use of public land and water and the building of data centers and other industrial sites on our good Jefferson County land. In growth counties (Jefferson County) as the term is defined in §7-20-3 of this code, with majority karst hydrogeology, any water utilized by data centers or any developments in a Microgrid District or high impact data center project, for any use other than domestic use, shall originate from surface water whether obtained from a utility or directly by the development. "Originate from surface water" is defined as relating to the intake of water when first drawn from its natural origin, clarifying that it be drawn from a surface water course not a subsurface well.

We do not need data centers in Jefferson county!! It's not a good move for us.  It takes our precious water.  Let's not sell our souls and resources. We like farm land and need it! We like fresh water.