Public Comments

Dear Members of the Higher Education Subcommittee,

I am a firefighter in Huntington WV and a member of IAFF Local 289.

Firefighters face significantly higher cancer risks due to repeated exposure to carcinogens in smoke, building materials, and toxic runoff. Routine cancer screening programs are a proven, proactive measure that save lives through early detection. From a financial standpoint, early diagnosis also results in substantial cost savings for insurance providers and state health systems by avoiding the far greater expenses associated with late-stage cancer treatment, long-term disability, and loss of workforce productivity. Investing in comprehensive cancer screening for firefighters is not only a moral obligation to those who risk their lives to protect our communities, but a fiscally responsible strategy that reduces long-term healthcare costs while preserving experienced, healthy first responders.

1. Are we trying to address prison overcrowding, shortages of prison employees and expenses? No? What does this bill hope to accomplish? An aging population and prisons that will require more medical Care, more overall expenditures? I haven't seen any statistics that says this will help in any way. Is this just this more grandstanding? How does it help?

I strongly support Delegate Pritt’s bill proposing a 25% raise for West Virginia teachers. As an educator who has worked in multiple educational settings and has chosen to serve in a West Virginia public school, I have seen firsthand how low teacher pay directly affects staffing, morale, and student outcomes.

West Virginia teachers earn significantly less than educators in surrounding states, making it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain qualified teachers. Many talented educators leave for neighboring states or leave the profession entirely, not because they lack commitment to students, but because they cannot afford to stay. This constant turnover disrupts learning, strains remaining staff, and ultimately harms students.

A 25% raise is not excessive. It is corrective. It is a necessary step toward making teacher pay competitive and recognizing the professional skill, time, and emotional labor required to educate today’s students. Teachers are expected to address academic gaps, mental health needs, trauma, and family instability, often with fewer resources and increasing demands.

Investing in teachers is an investment in students, communities, and the future of West Virginia. If we want strong schools, stable classrooms, and long-term economic growth, we must value educators in a tangible way. Delegate Pritt’s bill is a meaningful step in the right direction, and it deserves serious consideration and support.

As a Christian, I do not support requiring public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. Public education exists to serve students and families of many different faiths and belief systems, and it should remain a place where no single religious doctrine is promoted or imposed.

Taxpayer dollars, instructional time, and administrative energy are limited. These resources should be focused on improving literacy, math achievement, student mental health, school safety, teacher retention, and addressing chronic absenteeism...not on symbolic measures that do not improve student learning outcomes.

Faith is deeply personal and meaningful, but it is most powerful when chosen freely, not mandated by the government. Just as we would not expect Islamic, Jewish, or other religious texts to be posted in public school classrooms, we should not require Christian doctrine either. Religious freedom includes the freedom from having beliefs imposed by the state.

Our schools are facing real, urgent challenges. We should be prioritizing policies that strengthen education for all students rather than creating unnecessary division or distractions from the work that truly matters.

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Encouraging larger families aligns with West Virginia's commitment to promoting the institution of the family and ensuring a nurturing environment for children. Providing tax relief to families with four or more children reflects the state's recognition of the vital contributions these families make to the community.

House Bill 4009 does not offer a viable solution to the problems it identifies. While the bill acknowledges that gig and contract workers face instability around healthcare, retirement, and other benefits, the proposed Portable Benefit Account model does not meaningfully alleviate those burdens.

Under this bill, participation and contributions are entirely voluntary, with no requirement that hiring parties contribute to worker benefits in any meaningful or proportional way. As a result, workers remain responsible for funding their own healthcare, retirement, and income protection, leaving the underlying precarity of contract work unchanged.

More concerning, the bill explicitly provides that contributions to a portable benefit account may not be used as evidence in determining a worker’s employment classification. This provision protects hiring parties from misclassification challenges and weakens existing labor protections, effectively insulating corporations from responsibility while offering workers little more than a new financial account.

Portable benefits can be part of a serious labor reform only when they include enforceable employer obligations and preserve workers’ rights to proper classification. House Bill 4009 does neither. For these reasons, I urge the House to vote no on this bill as written unless it is substantially revised to prioritize worker protections and corporate accountability.

I strongly support HB 4627, which provides preventive cancer screening for professional firefighters in accordance with International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) guidelines.

Firefighters are exposed throughout their careers to known carcinogens, and medical research consistently shows significantly higher cancer rates among firefighters than in the general population. The IAFF clearly demonstrates that early cancer detection saves lives and reduces long-term healthcare costs. Cancers identified at early stages require less invasive treatment, have higher survival rates, and avoid the substantial costs associated with advanced disease, extended disability, and long-term care.

Preventive screening is fiscally responsible. Studies show that investing in evidence-based cancer screening reduces overall healthcare spending by preventing late-stage diagnoses, lost work time, and workers’ compensation claims. Removing copays and deductibles ensures firefighters can access these screenings before symptoms appear, when treatment is most effective and least costly.

HB 4627 reflects nationally recognized best practices and appropriately treats cancer screening as an occupational health necessity for firefighters. I respectfully urge the Legislature to pass this bill.

I support West Virginia HB 4009 because it modernizes our workforce by allowing portable benefits that follow workers across jobs. This bill supports independent contractors and gig workers by expanding access to health, retirement, and financial security benefits without disrupting flexible work models or obligating an employer to costly, regulated benefit structures. HB 4009 helps West Virginia stay competitive while respecting worker choice.

• Clear, measurable job creation benchmarks tied to real wages;
• Sunset provisions so credits expire if goals aren’t met;
• Strong accountability and clawback provisions so companies must repay credit if performance promises aren’t delivered - including enforcement
• Transparency requirements to ensure public reporting on outcomes.

• Preserve strong local zoning and land-use authority
• Require full, independent infrastructure and environmental impact studies
• Protect utility ratepayers and public water resources
• Ensure transparency and meaningful public participation