Public Comments

Please make sure than girls have the opportunity to participate in wrestling in West Virginia.  I have a grandaughter who is in middle school, and loves wrestling.  It's been good for her self-esteem.  And she is winning!  Girls sports are as important -- actually, more important -- than boys.  Please do all you can to allow our girls to participate in sports safely.  Thank you.

Participation in high school sports (including wrestling) is a proven way to foster positive youth development. Young women should have the opportunity to wrestle against other young women in their own sanctioned division.

I support this bill!

I oppose this bill.  The country is, right down to our local cities, partisan and divided enough. I would rather have local elections be about local issues that party affiliation.

It is reasonable and common sense to protect children from the damage that comes from obscene sexual content online. This does NOTHING to hinder free speech. The websites can still publish the material as much as they like. Nobody is stopping them. And no user would be forced to visit these websites and use the age verification methods. It's voluntary usage. Protecting children from this is a LEGITIMATE role of government power. Pass it!

No. Localities should maintain their autonomy to control their own elections. State Legislators would be better served focusing on serious legislation to improve the lives of West Virginians, focus on affordability, adequately fund education for all children, protecting all children from harm. Plenty to work on and this bill is unserious and unnecessary and appears to be a power grab. We certainly do not need more of that. Continue to allow localities to determine their destiny via the voice of their people based on a candidate's message, experience and willingness to commit to improving the lives of their constituents.

This bill isn't the best for a few reasons. #1 - Notarization should not be required. #2 - Philosophical exemptions should be included. #3 Vaccine/medical mandates MUST be totally abolished if we expect to brag about the montani semper liberal state. All that said, if passed as is it would be a step in the right direction.

This bill just further creates a divide by forcing people to "pick a side" and create labels rather than work together to find solutions for their communities regardless of where they land on the political spectrum. Please vote against this bill.

I coached high school wrestling for several years. I took 8 girls to meets for years. Not having this sport sanctioned but having a sanctioned state tournament is just a bit odd. Technically the girls was not allowed to wear their school apparel at girls only meets. How do you half sanction a sport? This also puts thr boys wrestling at a huge disadvantage. No school will hire a girls only coach if it is not sanctioned. For us this meant we didn't hire more coaches but jist took one away. Then yhat left me to coach 8 girls by myself. Please sanction this sport for the sake of everyone.

The state should not lower or weaken labor protections for our youth. The bill should maintain it's current language to uphold the standards.

My daughter is 12 yrs old and has been wrestling for 2 yrs now. I support this bill 100%

Please support this, thank you.

No

Girls should have equal opportunities in all sports. There is girls volleyball, girls basketball, and softball. Why take wrestling away from them?

Please support girls wrestling and sanction it as a high school sport. It’s growing nationwide. Don’t let WV be the last to move girls wrestling forward.

I believe it’s time for the state of WV to pass this bill.  The young ladies need this.

This bill is long overdue!!!

The girls in the state of West Virginia fight for a spot on a co-ed team to be able to wrestle to begin with then don’t get to get a real states. It really shows how unfair and how gender really does play a role in everyday sports especially in high school. Women deserve to get a true state championship experience they work so hard everyday to earn, JUST like the men they have to wrestle for spots on their varsity rosters.

I strongly oppose this bill. These bills, which have been passed in several states, are simply legal moralism at its finest. States have historically tried to regulate obscene and indecent material under the guise of protecting children, e.g., Butler v. State of Michigan, 352 U.S., 380 (U.S. 1957). Under Butler, Alfred Butler was arrested under Michigan's obscenity statute when he sold a copy of the book The Devil Rides Outside to a police officer. The state trial judge found that the book would lead to the corruption of children, and Butler was convicted and fined. However, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the statute violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, as it reduced the adult population to reading only what was available to children. H.B. 4412 along with S.B. 498 are just the modern equivalents of Butler, as their passage will essentially reduce WV's population to only viewing online material that is available to children. However, this is not exactly true because an individual can easily bypass these restrictions utilizing a VPN or using a social media platform. Social media sites like Twitter or Bluesky would most likely not be found to house 33% or more of "sexual material harmful to minors." Therefore, a minor with a social media account on these sites would be able to access pornography even if H.B. 4412 was signed into law. Furthermore, unless WV completely bans the use of VPNs, then an individual would still be able to gain access to sites that fit the criteria of H.B. 4412. Even if H.B. 4412 was amended to require websites to block VPN traffic it would still be ineffective. VPN companies utilize stealth VPNs, which disguise VPN traffic as normal internet traffic, making VPN usage harder to detect. The addition of an amendment requiring websites to block VPN traffic would most likely just start an arms race between stealth and detection software. Another issue in H.B. 4412 is the issue concerning data. H.B. 4412 requires that that commercial entity or third party which performs the age verification not retain any identifying information of the individual after access has been granted to the material. However, data deleted from a hard drive or server is never really deleted, but rather overwritten with new data over time. For example, if I delete a large file in the recycling bin, then my computer will show that more space is available. Technically, this isn't true. The file still exists, but the space it encompassed can now be overwritten with new data. The issue with that file still existing is that it is recoverable with the right tools. Recoverable data is an issue in terms of the data H.B. 4412 requires for age verification, as data breaches are a matter of when not if. H.B. 4412 requires individuals to verify using their name, social security number, date and place of birth, mother's maiden name, biometric records, medical information, educational information, financial information, or employment information. Due to data being overwritten and not truly deleted, if a malicious actor via a data breach gained access to a commercial entity or third-party's data, then said malicious actor could potentially recover data pertaining to individuals that hasn't been completely overwritten. In essence, H.B. 4412 is setting up the people of WV to be subject to identity theft, blackmail, and fraud in the event of a data breach. In relation to the data individuals must sacrifice to verify their age, there is also the nature of the cost placed on the commercial entities who must implement age verification software on their websites. Age verification services, depending on the size of the commercial entity having to implement them, can base their costs on large monthly subscription fees to user-based fees that range from $0.50 to a few dollars per verified user. H.B. 4412 is vague about how often a user must verify their age. Therefore, if one assumes that their age would have to be verified each time they visited a site that falls under H.B. 4412, then the cost of the age verification could be debilitating to commercial entities who accrue millions of users per day. This is why several large companies that distribute pornography to adults have opted to end their services in states, which have passed similar bills to H.B. 4412 due to the burden placed on interstate commerce. Under Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc., 397 U.S. 137 (U.S. 1970), when a statute regulates evenhandedly to effectuate a legitimate local public interest, and its effects on interstate commerce are only incidental, then it will be upheld unless the burden imposed on such commerce is clearly excessive in relation to the putative local benefits. Here, the local benefit is to protect children from sexual content deemed harmful. The U.S. Supreme Court has historically held that a state has a legitimate interest in protecting minors from explicit content that may be harmful. (Ginsburg v. State of New York, 390 U.S. 629 (U.S. 1968)) However, the U.S. Supreme Court has also historically held that speech that adults have a right to engage in may not be unnecessarily suppressed for the sake of protecting children. (Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (U.S. 1997); Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (U.S. 2002)) The state has a legitimate interest in protecting children from explicit content that may be harmful with the caveat that the state's interest does not unnecessarily suppress the rights of adults to engage in free speech they're entitled to hear. In Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton (U.S. 2025), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Texas law like WV's H.B. 4412 only incidentally burdened the protected free speech of adults. However, under the Pike balancing test, a court will have to analyze whether the state's interest, i.e., protecting minors outweighs burdens imposed on interstate commerce. Those burdens, discussed above, include user-based costs to verify each and every individual, vast privacy concerns, and complete nonaccess if major sites decide to leave the state due to cost overburden. All for the sake of a benefit that is at best illusory. Aside from the burden on interstate commerce that H.B. 4412 would have, there is also the issue that H.B. 4412 is content-based regulation on free speech. Under Paxton, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws like H.B. 4412 only incidentally burden the protected free speech of adults and that these types of laws would be subject to intermediate scrutiny. For a law to pass under intermediate scrutiny, the state has the burden to show that a law furthers an important government interest by means that are substantially related to that interest. However, under the traditional rules prior to Paxton, a content-based regulation on free speech would be subject to strict scrutiny. (U.S. v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc., 529 U.S. 803 (U.S. 2000)) Under strict scrutiny, the state would have the burden to show that a law is narrowly tailored to promote a compelling government interest, and if a less restrictive alternative would serve the government's purpose, then the legislature must use that alternative. The U.S. Supreme Court is right in the sense that a simple age verification would only incidentally burden the protected free speech of adults. However, that is only if you view it at a surface level and don't take into account the numerous privacy concerns and the fact that adults would most likely lose access to explicit content in its entirety if the companies that distribute the content decide to abandon a state's market.  Therefore, I implore the Committee to take the least restrictive alternative regarding H.B. 4412. If the Committee wants to show that this bill is not a plot of legal moralism, but rather an actual effort to protect children from harmful content, then the Committee should let H.B. 4412 die or amend the bill to introduce device-based age verification instead. In general, when I use an electronic device to access a website that website can see what type of operating system I use (IOS, Windows, Linux); my system architecture (32 bit or 64 bit); my browser version (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge); my device type (desktop, laptop, phone, tablet); and my language and time zone. Through device-based age verification I would also be able to share my age status with websites, apps, and programs by verifying my age at the operating system level. For example, when a device is first bought and activated the device itself would require age verification through a government approved ID. This would require age verification only once and would give parents more control over what their children see, as they are likely the ones buying and setting up the devices. Current devices on the market and within the state's jurisdiction could simply update and require age verification. This would shift the burden of cost from companies that distribute explicit material to companies such as Microsoft and Apple who already provide some parental controls on their devices. In theory, device-based age verification would address all the problems explained above. Children would not be able to view explicit material on social media websites because their device would convey to the website that they are either minors or adults. This could potentially change a minor's social media account settings if they had made an account that stated they were over the age of 18. Furthermore, a VPN should not be able to bypass device-based age verification because a VPN masks IP location rather than interfering with information like browser type or your operating system. Data breaches would also be limited because rather than identifying information being stored in a third-party server, the data would be stored inside the device itself. The only conundrum involved in device-based age verification is that parents would simply have to keep track of which of their devices are age verified as adults and keep them out of the hands of children. With the issues stated above, I implore the Committee to kill H.B. 4412 as is or amend the bill to introduce device-based age verification rather than website-based age verification.  

To whom it may concern, I am a father of 5 daughters. 2 of which are Wrestlers, 1 of them a freshman in high school. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am of how girls wrestling has grown and given my girls the opportunity to grow in and love a sport that I grew up loving. Wrestling is a valuable teacher of life skills. It not only teaches self discipline and confidence but it teaches that you have to work for and truly earn everything you get out of it. It has been very disappointing to be yet again a state that is almost last in yet another category and that is the sanctioning of girls wrestling. The WVSSAC continues to move the goaline and kick the can down the road because of money and politics. I am asking that you listen to the overwhelming voice of the citizens of this great state and to not allow the WVSSAC to continue this injustice of not properly representing our girls in the fastest growing sport in the country. Let’s give our girls the proper support and backing that they need and deserve to represent West Virginia. As well as give opportunity to young ladies that have not yet had the opportunity to wrestle and grow in this great sport. Thank you

I am asking that you make Girls Wrestling a sanctioned sport.

I am a mother of two girls wrestlers. A 14 year old high school wrestler and an 8 year old elementary wrestler. Each wrestle and practice beside and with all the boys in the wrestling sport. These girls put in just as much love, sweat, and tears as these boys. And, to be honest I’m seeing a lot more girls winning over some of these matches than the boys. These girls are setting the ground work for what I hope you pass! Girls wrestling is growing so much in size and yet no recognition is given. They deserve it! There are some dedicated wrestling scholars out there that deserve this!! Thank you for bringing my wrestling beauties future and respect to the table. I hope to see that this passes. thank you, Sabrina- proud girls wrestling Mom  

Please consider sanctioning of women’s wrestling in WV schools. My 16 year old daughter started wrestling this year for Keyser High School and it has been one of the best experiences. This is a growing sport across the country and WV should take part in helping it to expand and offer young women another path to personal success and possible college scholarships.

So happy to see WV attempting to take strides for one of the fastest growing sports

Please pass the bill to allow girls to have sanctiond wrestling. It’s my little girls first year and she loves it!!

Women's wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in the country. Choosing to recognize this and these athletes is the right thing to do. This sport has changed many lives of people I know personally and I see the youth excited for their turn, my daughter included.

It is time West Virginia sanctions girls wrestling in WV. These young ladies work their butts off for the sport they love.

I urge a NO vote on this bill. We do not need more partisanship in our society, especially at the local level. Let candidates in local elections run on issues and integrity. If local elections become partisan, the campaigns are more likely to become negative. Local candidates should not have to be aligned with a party's national platform!

I have two granddaughters that Jlove wrestling and do very good at it. They need to be recognized.

I am in full favor of women’s wrestling becoming a WVSSAC sanctioned sport for high school.

I strongly support girls wrestling and the continued growth of opportunities for female athletes. Wrestling builds confidence, discipline, resilience, and leadership — skills that benefit girls far beyond the mat. Girls who choose to wrestle deserve the same respect, resources, and opportunities as boys. Girls wrestling also creates a safer, more competitive environment by allowing athletes to compete against others with similar experiences and physical development. It increases participation, keeps more students involved in sports, and sends a powerful message that strength and determination are not limited by gender. Supporting girls wrestling isn’t about taking opportunities away from anyone — it’s about expanding them. When we invest in girls athletics, we invest in healthier, more confident young people and a stronger school or community culture overall.

I have a daughter that is 7 years old. She absolutely loves wrestling. Most of the reason she fell in love with the sport is due to several of the girls that are currently in high school. One day she wants to be able to wrestle in high school for a girls team. For that to happen women’s wrestling needs sanctioned. If it is not then we will see girls fall out of the sport. Many other states have already sanctioned this sport. It is time for West Virginia to step up and show these young girls that they are just as important as the boys

We need this.

This is a no brainer, of course girls wrestling should be a sanctioned sport in WV High Schools! Girls wrestling is the fastest growing girls sport in the US since 2021.

According to AP news, “At the collegiate level, women’s wrestling is designated as an “emerging” sport and is on track to become a championship-level sport in 2026, the NCAA said.” Let’s be with or ahead of the curve, not behind it.

The first amendment seems to be reason enough to pass this bill. You want to put a Bible in our schools ; yet we can't use religion as an exemption from vaccines? I pay your school tax year after year, but have two children who can't step foot into your schools, because of a choice we made as family. A choice I do not have to defend because it's God given. Choosing not to vaccinate my children is not idealogy , it's our lifestyle. Public safety isn't even an issue because herd immunity starts at 70% , the unvaccinated population here in WV is well below that. I implore you to be a state that honors it's constituents Constitutional Rights. We are one of 4 states that still have this archaic system in place, it's time to do the right thing and allow us to make choices for our family free of government oversight.

I support the sanctioning of women’s wrestling as an official sport recognized by WVSSAC.

I have an 11-year-old girl and a 14 year-old boy who both wrestle. Both started wrestling at around the age of six years old. Wrestling is the type of sport that truly builds character and teaches discipline in ways that other sports do not. My daughter is now getting to an age where it is hard for her to be competitive in this sport as boys are hitting puberty. I believe the sanctioning the sport would bring attention to it and bring more girls into the sport, providing a safe space and a more level playing field for girls in wrestling.

Against!! HB 4691 will take away the ability of tens of thousands of West Virginians to vote. Absentee voting will no longer be available for students, those working out of state, and those who are hospitalized, recovering in a skilled nursing facility, or acting as caregivers for ill loved ones, away from home.

Women’s wrestling deserves to be sanctioned. I have watched athletes learn and grow from this sport faster than any other sport. The support they get is vastly different from their male counterparts. They don’t have a head coach, they don’t get to be considered varsity, they can’t always get funding. I honestly don’t know why this is even a question.

Coming from a wrestling mom who also used to be a mat maid in high school, it’s truly amazing to see how many girls are wrestling now. These girls deserve everything. I absolutely love seeing girls out on the mat—strong, fearless, and paving the way. 💪🤼‍♀️

Vote no. As a female who has made less than my peers and experienced harassment in public places, at first the concept of a man taking something else from womanhood was infuriating. However, I researched (peer reviewed journals) the science behind sex traits and am now an ally of the community and believe their rights should be respected. People are born regularly with female bits AND male bits (i.e. a man can be born with a uterus). Often, these people NEVER know they have parts from different genders. There are some born with obviously both parts. There are females that have stronger male hormones profiles then men and vice versa.  This is all fact based science that shouldn’t be ignored- these are real people born in specific ways. As a former teacher, I had a student who was trans. This person didn’t do it for attention, but their outward body didn’t reflect their mind. They are normal. They are kind. This child, went through literal hell being different. It simply wasn’t a choice. The fact is living life as trans must be unimaginably hard. We don’t need to make it harder. We owe them respect and human rights in the same way they respect us and our human rights. If it means I use a public bathroom that someone with a penis uses- fine. Maybe they’ll have some makeup tips.

Please support this bill!! As a mother of a female wrestler, these girls work as hard as the boys and deserve equal treatment and equal opportunities! This is the fasting growing sport in the nation. We need to step up and support these future leaders.

My name is Zach Shumaker, Head Wrestling Coach at Grafton High School. I have been around the wrestling world for many years. There has always been the occasional female wrestler, but with the advancement of the sport, we have seen that number increase by a lot. So much so, they now must hold the girls State Tournament multiple days. You’re seen many more girls only matches, and just about every match you go too, tournament directors are at least making an effort to add just a female wrestling part. We as a wrestling community are at the point that it is time to sanction girls wrestling in this state. We are approaching the point, if not past, of falling behind as a state (again) and wrestling community. Nation wide, let alone West Virginia, there has been a major push to protect woman’s sports. To give woman a fair and equal opportunity to compete. It is also no secret that there is a competitive difference between males and females in all sports. When you add the level of aggressive contact required for high school  wrestling into the equation, the gap widens more. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen plenty of woman win against male competitors, but the percentage of success is much less than what it could be if given a fair and equal opportunity to wrestle only girls in their respected weight classes. What also needs to be taken into consideration is the addition of woman’s wrestling in colleges nationwide. This gives female wrestlers an opportunity to pursue an education and compete at the collegiate level. I have a 3 year old daughter, and I hope she chooses the less popular path and wrestles. I also hope that by that time it is a more popular path, like we are starting to see. If we do not do what is right though, all the work that has been put in to growing the woman’s division will mean nothing and we will regress as a state and sport, taking away opportunities from children of all ages. Don’t lose sight of what this is about. It’s about the children of West Virginia!

West Virginia’s current licensure reciprocity structure for school psychologists seeking to practice independently creates unnecessary barriers that ultimately limit student access to essential mental health and evaluation services. While licensure standards are intended to protect the public, the existing process is often overly restrictive compared to neighboring states and does not reflect the realities of today’s school psychology workforce.

School psychologists across the United States are trained under nationally aligned standards through NASP-approved programs, accredited university preparation, supervised internships, and standardized credentialing processes such as the Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) credential. These benchmarks already ensure high-quality preparation. Yet experienced, fully licensed school psychologists in other states frequently face duplicative hurdles when attempting to serve West Virginia students in private or independent practice settings.

This has several serious consequences:

1. Reduced Access to Services for Children and Families
West Virginia continues to face shortages in child mental health providers, especially in rural regions. School psychologists in private practice help fill critical gaps by providing psychoeducational evaluations, risk assessments, counseling, and consultation services that schools often lack capacity to deliver in a timely manner. Lengthy or uncertain reciprocity processes delay or prevent qualified professionals from serving children who are already waiting months for evaluations and supports.

2. Outdated Barriers in a Modern Service Delivery Era
The profession has evolved. Telehealth, remote assessment models, and cross-state consultation are now standard practice. Many surrounding states have adapted licensure pathways to reflect workforce mobility and the need for interstate collaboration. West Virginia risks falling behind if its policies do not align with contemporary service models and regional workforce patterns.

3. Duplication of Already-Verified Competency
Professionals seeking reciprocity are often already licensed as independent school psychologists or psychologists elsewhere, have years of experience, carry malpractice coverage, and may hold national credentials such as NCSP. Requiring redundant documentation, additional examinations, or prolonged approval timelines does not meaningfully enhance public safety — it simply restricts workforce supply.

4. Impact on Schools and Special Education Compliance
Schools depend on timely evaluations to meet IDEA timelines and provide Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). When external evaluators are scarce, districts struggle with compliance, and students experience delays in identification, intervention, and services. Expanding access to qualified reciprocal providers directly supports school systems in meeting federal mandates.

Recommended Modernizations

West Virginia could maintain strong professional standards while improving access through:

• Streamlined reciprocity for professionals licensed in states with comparable standards

• Recognition of NCSP as evidence of meeting training and competency requirements

• Reduced duplicative documentation where credentials are already verified

• Temporary or provisional licensure pathways while full review is completed

• Alignment with interstate licensure mobility efforts seen in other health professions

Bottom Line

Modernizing reciprocity is not about lowering standards — it is about removing unnecessary barriers that prevent qualified professionals from serving children. West Virginia’s students, families, and schools benefit when licensure systems are rigorous and responsive to workforce realities. Updating reciprocity policies would strengthen service access, reduce evaluation backlogs, and support the state’s commitment to child mental health and educational equity.

As a mother of a high school girl wrestler , I am 100% in favor of sanctioning girls wrestling.  My daughter is a junior, and this is her third year wrestling.  The girls' team practices daily like the boys, competes under the school name, and currently has four top 10 ranked wrestlers in the state.  The boys and girls support each other,  and our community supports them.  The girls deserve the recognition from the WVSSAC.

Girls wrestling in WV is behind in years to sanction them. These girls pour their heart and soul into this sport. They travel far and wide to tournaments. Google my granddaughter, Alexandria Evans, she is WV girls High School Champion 100# for 3 years. Just in the last 2 years girls are competing in the boys state tournament.  If you have the chance go to the WSAZ Tournament in Huntington you will be amazed with these girls. Please sanction them they deserve their State standing behind them

My daughter has been wrestling since she was 6 years old. Unfortunately as kids get older and puberty starts the boys get stronger and our girls are left at a disadvantage. Sanctioning women’s wrestling would give our girls an equal opportunity to do the sport they love. Please choose to support our girls!!!

there is no good reason for WSSAC to not sanction. The girls have the right to have their own sanction and for WV to acknowledge girls wrestling.

Charlie Kirk is not from WV and it does not benefit anyone living in WV to be required to participate in a day or week set aside to honor him and his ideologies. Kirk claimed to be Christian, but the Bible contradicts some of his statements. I encourage all elected senators and representatives to utilize this session to tackle issues that will positively affect residents of WV - affordable health care, clean water, access to free and public education, etc.

I strongly support sanctioning women’s wrestling in West Virginia. As a parent of a competitive freshman daughter who wrestles and an 8th grade daughter just starting out, I’ve seen firsthand how this sport builds confidence, discipline, and resilience in young women. Right now, female wrestlers put in the same work and dedication as their male teammates but don’t receive the same recognition, opportunities, or protections that come with a sanctioned sport. Sanctioning women’s wrestling would ensure safer competition, fairer opportunities, and a clear pathway for growth at the high school level. More importantly, it sends a message to girls like my daughters that their hard work matters and that West Virginia values equity in athletics. I urge you to support sanctioning women’s wrestling so our daughters can compete, grow, and succeed on an equal playing field.

This is a great step forward for Girls wrestling and the numbers will most likely double if passed and should have already been done the wvssac has dropped the ball again and would great if you guys could pick it up. Girls deserve to be able to complete just the same as the the boys and get to wrestle Girls only

Support Women’s Wrestling Opportunities in West Virginia Dear Delegate, I am writing to ask for your support of women’s wrestling opportunities in West Virginia schools. Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing high school sports in the nation. It provides young women with opportunities for athletic participation, college scholarships, leadership development, and personal growth. Many neighboring states already recognize and support women’s wrestling programs, and West Virginia students deserve the same opportunities. Supporting women’s wrestling promotes equity in athletics and gives more students a chance to succeed both on and off the mat. I encourage you to support legislation, funding, or policy initiatives that expand women’s wrestling programs at the middle school, high school, and collegiate levels. Thank you for your time, service, and consideration. I appreciate your commitment to the students and families of West Virginia. Sincerely, Kayla Bain and my daughter, Charlotte Bain 6 years old Calhoun County

We support women's wrestling

Do not pass HB 4013. Counties in southern WV are already dealing with inadequate amounts of safe drinking water. An introduction of data centers into the area may further compromise people's access to much needed water. Additionally, I have further concerns as to how the necessary infrastructure to power such centers would be developed - likely through use of taxpayer money.

As a mother of six, with three boys currently in wrestling for the past 7 years and our youngest daughter will be starting soon, I wish we had a women’s wrestling team when my oldest two daughters were coming up in school. The discipline and self worth that wrestling instills is unlike any other sport. Girls/women need this as much, if not more than boys, as they grow up and deal with first adolescence and then adulthood. I support this bill for the WVSSAC to sanction women’s wrestling in high school and hope they will also eventually do it for middle school too.

I would love to see this happen! My daughter loves wrestling and has been wrestling for youth for 4 years in a club.  High school will be quickly approaching and this would be great for our state!

The cons outweigh the pros on this one. These data centers require tremendous amounts of energy and water. Our municipalities and counties in Southern WV don't have adequate, reliable, and safe drinking water as it stands. This would only magnify the problem. Since we are within 500 miles of half the US population. Why not explore warehousing and transportation jobs to start with.U

This bill will help strengthen and stabilize existing childcare providers. Many existing providers have closed classrooms due to the inability to hire qualified staff. The low wages available due to WV childcare subsidy payment rates are inadequate to recruit staff. Adding childcare as a benefit will allow parents who have left the workforce to return. If WV pays for childcare for one child so the child's parent can work in a childcare setting, that will open 9 additional spots for other jobs in the community. Childcare is the workforce behind the workforce. Please prioritize this bill. Save my childcare center and the 150 families that rely on it to work.

I think the only way you could have convinced me that this bill is anything other than racist and hateful would have been passing Del. Young's proposed amendment making the transport illegal only if the accused offender was getting paid to do it. As it currently is written, I do not think HB 4433 should pass. The people you're targeting are struggling enough as it is. Allow those of us who wish to help them to do it.

Say Yes to Girls Wrestling!!!

Environmental rule-making bills must protect public health, clean water, and air quality while ensuring transparency and accountability. Weakening regulatory authority or fast-tracking permissive rules places communities at risk and shifts long-term costs onto taxpayers. West Virginia has already paid a high price for lax oversight. I urge lawmakers to oppose any measures that dilute environmental safeguards.

Environmental rule-making bills must protect public health, clean water, and air quality while ensuring transparency and accountability. Weakening regulatory authority or fast-tracking permissive rules places communities at risk and shifts long-term costs onto taxpayers. West Virginia has already paid a high price for lax oversight. I urge lawmakers to oppose any measures that dilute environmental safeguards.

Environmental rule-making bills must protect public health, clean water, and air quality while ensuring transparency and accountability. Weakening regulatory authority or fast-tracking permissive rules places communities at risk and shifts long-term costs onto taxpayers. West Virginia has already paid a high price for lax oversight. I urge lawmakers to oppose any measures that dilute environmental safeguards.

Environmental rule-making bills must protect public health, clean water, and air quality while ensuring transparency and accountability. Weakening regulatory authority or fast-tracking permissive rules places communities at risk and shifts long-term costs onto taxpayers. West Virginia has already paid a high price for lax oversight. I urge lawmakers to oppose any measures that dilute environmental safeguards.

Environmental rule-making bills must protect public health, clean water, and air quality while ensuring transparency and accountability. Weakening regulatory authority or fast-tracking permissive rules places communities at risk and shifts long-term costs onto taxpayers. West Virginia has already paid a high price for lax oversight. I urge lawmakers to oppose any measures that dilute environmental safeguards.

Environmental rule-making bills must protect public health, clean water, and air quality while ensuring transparency and accountability. Weakening regulatory authority or fast-tracking permissive rules places communities at risk and shifts long-term costs onto taxpayers. West Virginia has already paid a high price for lax oversight. I urge lawmakers to oppose any measures that dilute environmental safeguards.

Environmental rule-making bills must protect public health, clean water, and air quality while ensuring transparency and accountability. Weakening regulatory authority or fast-tracking permissive rules places communities at risk and shifts long-term costs onto taxpayers. West Virginia has already paid a high price for lax oversight. I urge lawmakers to oppose any measures that dilute environmental safeguards.

It is time for West Virginia to move into this century and sanction women’s wrestling! Women and girls in WV deserve the same opportunities as boys! They also deserve the same opportunities that are opening up to girls in other states because of wrestling. Do not hold these girls back any longer!!!!!

Environmental rule-making bills must protect public health, clean water, and air quality while ensuring transparency and accountability. Weakening regulatory authority or fast-tracking permissive rules places communities at risk and shifts long-term costs onto taxpayers. West Virginia has already paid a high price for lax oversight. I urge lawmakers to oppose any measures that dilute environmental safeguards.

Bills affecting wildlife management and natural resources must be guided by science, conservation principles, and long-term environmental stewardship—not short-term political pressure. Any changes to DNR authority or wildlife regulation should prioritize ecosystem health, public access, and sustainability. I urge the House to carefully scrutinize HB 4330 and HB 4331 and reject provisions that weaken environmental protections.

Bills affecting wildlife management and natural resources must be guided by science, conservation principles, and long-term environmental stewardship—not short-term political pressure. Any changes to DNR authority or wildlife regulation should prioritize ecosystem health, public access, and sustainability. I urge the House to carefully scrutinize HB 4330 and HB 4331 and reject provisions that weaken environmental protections.

Not only is this bill unnecessary, it would place an undue burden on Municipalities that would be forced to amend their Charters.  For many municipalities, this is not an easy process and means putting items on a ballot (or holding a special election).  After all of that, if it is the will of the people to keep their municipal elections non-partisan (and they vote as such) Municipalities would not be able to amend their Charter but would then be in violation of state code. Most of the issues that Councils and Mayors deal with on a municipal level are not partisan issues.  Clean water, sewer, planning and zoning....these all occur through non-partisan governance.  If one wants to know the party of any candidate, all they need to do is ask.  No one is being deceptive.

I urge caution and opposition to HB 4456. Expanding or formalizing law enforcement cooperation related to immigration or cross-jurisdictional enforcement risks entangling local agencies in federal actions that may undermine constitutional rights, due process, and community trust. Our state is NOT a border state and weaponizing our law enforcement officers in ways that harm community trust should not be underestimated. Public safety depends on cooperation between residents and law enforcement—not policies that create fear or overreach.

As a public educator, this bill terrifies me. Even a trained police officer is only 25% accurate in a fire fight. How can we expect a citizen who has passed the barest of background checks to be more accurate? In all lilkihood, this will result in more deaths from guns, not less.

This bill should be pasted to protect all consumers from unfair practices of public utilities.

HB 4457 strengthens democratic participation by allowing unaffiliated voters greater access to primary elections. Encouraging broader civic engagement improves legitimacy, representation, and voter confidence. West Virginia should be lowering barriers to participation, not reinforcing exclusionary systems. I support HB 4457 as a step toward a healthier democratic process.

HB 4060 would move West Virginia backward by discouraging or limiting modern electronic payment systems. In an economy that relies on efficiency, security, and accessibility, reverting to outdated payment methods increases administrative cost, fraud risk, and inconvenience for residents and businesses. This bill undermines modernization efforts and fiscal responsibility and should be rejected.

This seems incredible. I am a public educator, and many of my coworkers have confided in me that most of their salary goes toward childcare. My wife and I are currently childless, and the cost of child care is one of the largest contributing factors. THIS is a Pro-Life bill that actually cares about children after they are born rather than force parents into dire financial straits.

I oppose HB 4034 because it fails to improve educational outcomes while raising serious First Amendment and free-speech concerns. Public education policy should focus on student achievement, critical thinking, and inclusion—not ideological enforcement that creates legal risk and distracts from learning. This bill does not address teacher shortages, funding inequities, or student support needs, and should not advance.

HB 4052 raises serious constitutional concerns due to vague or overly broad language that could be applied inconsistently or abusively. Laws governing harassment must be narrowly tailored to protect people without infringing on free speech or lawful conduct. This bill risks chilling constitutionally protected activity while granting excessive discretion in enforcement. I respectfully urge lawmakers to reconsider or reject HB 4052.

I oppose HB 4433. This bill appears to expand state power in ways that undermine fairness, due process, and human dignity without demonstrating a clear public benefit. Laws should reduce harm and improve outcomes, not expose the state to increased legal risk or arbitrary enforcement. West Virginians deserve legislation grounded in evidence, constitutional protections, and proportionality—not punitive measures that fail to address root causes. I urge the House to reject HB 4433.

I do not support further development of "school choice". As a public educator, I frequently have students who return from home school and private school who are several grade levels behind in fundamental skills. Additionally, school choice removes valuable funding from public schools, and public schools are able to do more good with each dollar they are given when compared to private schools, charter schools, and homeschooling co-ops.

HB 4674 is yet another attempt by the state of West Virginia to control the healthcare of women. My body, my choice! Do not vote in favor of this bill. It not only criminalizes life-saving drugs that can be used to induce medically necessary abortions, but it also includes language suggesting that the life of a fetus is more valuable than the life of it's mother (or, I guess, incubator would be a more accurate term).

My daughter is in 6th grade and just started wrestling this year.  She has fallen in love with the sport. My son wrestled his last 2 years in high school after working hard to get a program established at his high school.  My youngest son is 7 and this is his second year wrestling.  We have quickly become a wrestling family and love this sport. Girls need the same recognition as boys especially in wrestling. We support this bill.

I strongly oppose HB 4080, which would force municipal elections in West Virginia to become partisan. Local government is where residents address practical, non-ideological issues—water systems, public safety, infrastructure, zoning, and budgeting. Requiring party labels in mayoral and city council races undermines local decision-making by injecting national partisan conflict into offices that are meant to be accountable directly to neighbors, not party machines. Nonpartisan municipal elections encourage broader participation, reduce barriers for qualified candidates, and keep the focus on competence and community needs rather than party loyalty. This bill risks discouraging civic engagement, shrinking candidate pools, and further eroding trust in local government at a time when transparency and collaboration are urgently needed. I urge the Legislature to reject HB 4080 and preserve local control and nonpartisan governance in our municipalities.

My granddaughter is 9 years old and she loves wrestling,she has been doing it since she was 6.

How about NO. There is no reason that any person outside of military forces in a war zone would actually need a machine gun. It would make mass shootings more devastating, if that's what you're going for.

As a mother of a women's wrestler I would love to see the become sanctioned.   My daughter loves this sport and deserves the chance to compete to her highest potential.

Wrestling is such an incredible sport my family has fallen in love with. It shows so much physical strength along with a ton of mental strength. We have came so far for women let’s not stop growing this sport for these young woman! On our local team we have such a strong girls team growing and they are the most incredible young women. So powerful and giving them recognition and support is just what they need to keep going to the top.

As a person who enjoys not giving the state more of my money, I say vote yes to pass this repeal. However, it does make me worry about the safety issues that could come with it in the next few years as people decide they don't need to perform upkeep to their vehicles.

Sounds like a reasonable change. Probably also a good idea to prohibit an elected official from switching parties WHILE THEY ARE SERVING.

I am writing in support of Women’s Wrestling being sanctioned by the WVSSAC. It is important to sanction events for women athletes across the state for college scholarship programs that could benefit West Virginian students.

I fully support the passing of this bill! Vote yes!