Public Comments

Please vote to invest these dollars in public services that help children, families, and workers thrive.  We do not need tax cuts that will only help the wealthiest among us, and will cut funding from important programs for families in West Virginia.  

I support SB927 with no amendments or weakened language. This bill addresses issues relevant to beekeepers and residents. It should be solely regulated by the Department of Agriculture and not outlying municipalities, which can cause a lot of conflict, and be overly burdensome to beekeepers. Passing this bill as it stands is GOOD for West Virginia.

To the Members of the Judiciary Committee,

My name is Crysta Black, and I am writing today not just as an advocate for justice reform in West Virginia, but as someone who lives every day with the reality of incarceration affecting my family and many others across our state.

Bills like SB 137 may appear on paper to strengthen accountability by increasing sentences. However, for families like mine, they represent something far deeper — the continued expansion of punishment without addressing the underlying issues that lead people into the justice system in the first place.

Longer sentences do not heal communities. They do not repair harm. And they do not create the conditions necessary for real change.

What families across West Virginia desperately want to see are meaningful investments in rehabilitation, education, mental health care, and personal development programs within our correctional facilities. When individuals are given access to programs that help them understand their actions, develop emotional regulation, learn job skills, and address trauma or addiction, we see real transformation happen.

I have personally witnessed how access to programs and personal growth opportunities can change the trajectory of a person's life. Growth is possible. Accountability is possible. Redemption is possible. But those things require resources, support, and the opportunity for rehabilitation.

Policies that simply extend incarceration without expanding rehabilitative opportunities ultimately cost taxpayers more money while doing little to improve long-term public safety.

Families like mine are not asking for the absence of accountability. We believe deeply in accountability and responsibility. What we are asking for is a justice system that also believes in growth, healing, and the possibility of change.

If our goal as a state is safer communities, then we must focus on policies that reduce recidivism and prepare individuals to return to society as healthier, more stable, and productive members of their communities.

I respectfully urge the committee to reconsider policies that increase incarceration without addressing rehabilitation and instead focus on solutions that strengthen families, support transformation, and build safer communities for all West Virginians.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Crysta Black

West Virginia Advocate for Justice Reform

I am a massive supporter of honey bees having raised many with my family and neighbors and have seen the positive impact they have on the environment and farms in my community. The bees provide pollen to the farmers in my community helping their crops, which helps to feed livestock. The bees also provide honey which brings lots of income in a state which needs as much as possible. I have also throughout the years of raising them they have never stung me or anyone I know and I walk near their boxes with no suit and they pay no mind. Thus I am asking anyone republican or democrat to support the bees as they are a massive benefit to the community and environment of this great state of West Virginia.  I know major cities in West Virginia and other places safely have urban beehives. We just need common sense and freedom loving legislation

I strongly support this bill. It would be a meaningful step forward for the cosmetology profession and the people it serves.

Please allow this bill move forward as written:

• Without amendments
• Without weakening language
• Without patchwork local control

1. Supporting Bill 927 is good for WV im a Beekeeper  and we need to keep this Bill  totally to the WV agriculture Department   not Government Ran per States that dont know WV's.

As a female beekeeper and former officer of the Monongalia County Bee Club, I am writing to express my strong support for SB 927 as written, without amendment.

Beekeeping in West Virginia is more than a hobby or profession — it is stewardship. For generations, our work has been guided by science-based oversight through the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, with careful attention to disease management, responsible hive practices, and public safety using established best management practices.

This structure has protected beekeepers, consumers, and our agricultural community alike.

As someone who works closely with bees and fellow beekeepers, I believe SB 927 preserves  our industry to thrive while maintaining necessary safeguards. I respectfully ask that you support this bill in its current form.

Thank you for your consideration and for your service to our state.

I support SB 927.  Beekeeping goes way beyond a hobby in West Virginia.   For our farmers and small scale growers, to pollinators. We all put our faith in our  West Virginia Agricultural Department to have stability for our entire state.  Please continue SB 927 with no amendments. Thank you

Please support SB 927 to help strengthen and protect our bee population.

• Commercial insurers will remit timely and fair reimbursement directly to EMS providers that meets actual expenses
  • Current reimbursement does not meet expenses and insurers frequently pay to the patient, not directly to the EMS agency
• No balance would be sent to patients- except for plan required deductibles, copays or coinsurance
  • 13 other states have similar legislation
• Fair rates from insurers reduce burden on taxpayers to subsidize the service and can encourage good-faith negotiations

Please pass House Bill 4191. This bill would help my daycare in so many ways. Please support us Child Care Providers. Thank you for your time.