Tag: speaker

“What Elliott Pritt is accused of doing is shocking, disgusting and disappointing in every way. My heart aches for his family, and if any part of these serious allegations are true, the law should be applied in full force. No child should ever be exploited by anyone, especially by the adults placed in positions of trust and charged with preparing young people, many of whom our statistics tell us unfortunately have no other caring adult figures in their lives. Effective immediately, Delegate Pritt has been removed from all official roles connected with his service as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates.

“In America, we all enjoy the presumption of innocence, and Delegate Pritt is entitled to that same constitutional protection. Public officials and leaders are, and rightfully should be, held to a higher standard. When the people place their trust in elected officials by entrusting them with the right to hold public office, more than the minimum is expected. The West Virginia House of Delegates simply will not tolerate conduct that even approaches what is alleged in the public filings released by federal law enforcement today. Delegate Pritt deserves the right to defend himself freely and fully in a court of law, but the public and his colleagues deserve more. West Virginia is entitled to representation that is unclouded by serious allegations of criminal behavior involving the exploitation of vulnerable citizens.

“I urge Elliott Pritt, for the benefit of his family and the people of his District, to spare his students and his colleagues at every level the continued embarrassments and distractions and to resign from elected office as soon as he is able.”

Contact: Ann Ali at (304) 340-3323

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, announced several initiatives he expects the West Virginia House of Delegates to consider when second regular session of the 87th Legislature convenes in January.

“West Virginia voters continue to tell us they want us to focus on jobs,” Hanshaw said. “When our leadership team surveyed the 91 Republican Delegates in the 100-member House to prepare for this year, 81 of them responded, and overwhelmingly the focus was clear: economic development and the education that builds it for the state.”

Hanshaw noted that the proposals came from interim committee reports and studies, along with workgroups and conferences to learn from other states since the 2025 regular session had adjourned.

“This is by no means an exhaustive list of everything that will be debated during the session, and we certainly don’t have all the details ironed out on these things yet either,” he said. “We recognize the growing majority party includes many voices and each of our communities has different needs, but every community benefits from good jobs and opportunity.”

Hanshaw spoke about efforts to enhance workforce-ready education programs within the state, starting with a pay raise for teachers and service personnel. Other proposals included the ReCharge West Virginia Act, which would reimburse certain training costs for existing businesses that upskill their workers and boost their wages, as well as two work skills pathway programs: Skills at Work, and Tech Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul for future aviation careers. The West Virginia Collaboratory proposal would connect higher education research with the Legislature to provide data-driven solutions for major challenges.

Several proposals to ensure fair regulations and minimal red tape look to continue shaping the job-creating business climate West Virginia is becoming known for.

“These may not be the most provocative bills, but they are issues our members hear about when they’re at the gas station and the grocery store,” Hanshaw said. “Things like expanding what we define as ‘recovered feedstock’ and ‘solid waste’ would recognize advanced technology for recycling and allow for more manufacturing, and that’s a proposal for more jobs, plain and simple.”

Other business climate proposals included allowing portable benefits for the modern workforce to more flexibly maintain retirement or insurance savings across multiple employers; Mountaineer Flex, a performance-based, flexible tax credit to encourage major investment and job creation without limiting it to a specific industry; a timing proposal for the PSC to allow an Energy Infrastructure Approval fast track for more modern and reliable power which also would create jobs; and TEAM-WV, which would create a competitive, statewide nonprofit to drive a cohesive strategy for site development, partnerships and business growth.

“We always look to serve the long-term interests of the state with real and lasting infrastructure and development, along with the knowledge that different parts of the state have different needs,” Hanshaw said.

Finally, proposals to address responsible economic growth included the Construction Cost Relief Act, which would exempt building construction materials from the state sales tax; the Welcome Home Act, which would help real estate developers by separating their parceled inventory to fairly tax what is developed; the West Virginia First Small Business Growth Act, which would allow capital and financing for job creators already in the state; an update with additional funding to the Industrial Access Roads program for local Economic Development Agencies; and expanding site readiness grants with more funding altogether while including smaller acreage.

“I cannot think of a single societal ill that cannot be improved by a thriving economy,” Hanshaw said. “Ensuring people have opportunities to earn a decent living and make the right decisions for themselves and their families should not be controversial or even political, which is why we will remain focused on the principles that create and maintain a growing and diverse economy.”

Contact: Ann Ali at (304) 340-3323

West Virginia lost a very special person today, and I lost another wonderful friend. Justice Tim Armstead was the very embodiment of the word gentleman. He was kind, thoughtful, smart, encouraging and deeply committed to his family, his faith and his state. He accomplished more than one lifetime’s worth in his short time here. He was a legislator, Speaker of the House and a Supreme Court Justice, but much more than that, he was a loving husband, father and grandfather. Tim Armstead was my friend, my mentor and a trusted confidant. I will miss him deeply.

Tim was a man of infectious optimism. He saw the good in everything and everybody – good that was too often hard for others, including me, to see. I always admired his near-total ability to forgive and forget, even when others – again, including me – didn’t want him to. Tim Armstead set an example of servant leadership that should inspire not just every public official, but every person.

Tim was a man of deep faith and conviction, not the kind that often appears for political theater, but the kind that shapes the life and true trajectory of honest believers. Over the years I often thought about the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:22, which command us to abstain from the very appearance of evil. In my lifetime I have encountered no person who embodied that virtue more than Tim Armstead. Tim was a man so deeply committed to doing right at all times and in all circumstances that he no doubt disadvantaged himself and his family throughout his career in service of his mission to uphold ethics, integrity and his true belief in what was right.

I will miss Tim Armstead. I will miss the wise counsel he often gave me in times of tough decisions. I will miss the lighthearted jokes he told me when I visited his chambers after a long day on the House floor, and I will miss that no matter whatever else I encountered in my career, I could always take comfort knowing there was a man at the highest levels of service to our society who was guided by nothing more than a sincere desire to do the right thing. Most of all, I will miss my friend. My prayers are with Anna and Tim’s family.

Contact: Ann Ali at (304) 340-3323

I am sad today. Yesterday our state lost a leader, and I lost a friend. Doug Skaff and I had been friends for over 25 years. We first met as students at WVU when he and I were there together as young men straight out of high school. Even then we would talk about what we thought the state of West Virginia could be and brainstorm ideas for making it happen. It was among the highlights of my professional life having the opportunity to work with him on some of same ideas he and I talked about over 20 years prior.

Doug loved West Virginia. He loved people, and he loved speaking up for what the future could be for us. Doug and I traveled all across the country together. We represented the state together in some of the most high-profile meetings I have ever taken, and we promoted West Virginia to anyone who would listen, all in the name of creating more opportunities for our friends, family and neighbors here in the Mountain State. Doug was a fantastic ambassador for West Virginia, and it was a privilege to share the stage with him when I had the opportunity. However, those aren’t the moments I will remember most about Doug Skaff.

The conversations Doug and I shared over the past decade as we both sought to fulfill a mission in public service always ended the same way, regardless of how they began. No matter the topic, Doug and I eventually always turned to the question of how to promote more communication among people about things that matter, and how we solve the problems that face real people in real communities. Doug was convinced that if people just spent more time together and understood each other better, all the division among people would eventually disappear into the reality of shared struggles and shared beliefs. I believed – and still believe – that he was right.

Doug accomplished a lot in his life, for himself and for others, and he was always quick to talk about plans for the future, how he wanted to improve the state and his community. But his favorite topic, and his proudest accomplishment, was his family. Doug and I never had a conversation without him asking about my family, my wife and our two daughters, and then telling me about the latest in his own family.

West Virginia is better today for the short time we had with Doug Skaff. It was my privilege to know him and work alongside him. Yesterday’s tragic accident stole a leader from our community and our state. West Virginia lost a true champion in Doug Skaff, and I lost a good friend.

Contact: Ann Ali at (304) 340-3323

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, offered effusive praise this week to the Berkeley County Commission and all those involved in donating four retired police cruisers to Clay, Mingo and McDowell counties, as well as the town of Kimball.

“These vehicles are still in excellent condition, and Berkeley County’s generosity will help law enforcement operations in these smaller communities, mine included, continue their vital work in a cost-effective manner,” Hanshaw said.

The Commission had decided several years ago to gradually phase out the use of Ford Taurus sedans and shift to a fleet of SUVs for the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department. The donated vehicles were four remaining cars from the fleet. Berkeley County’s process for retired police cruisers is to have them declared as surplus and then either sell them via auction or offer them in kind to other local government entities, which Berkeley County has done a handful of times over the years.

Delegates Michael Hornby, Michael Hite and Chuck Horst, all R-Berkeley, joined Berkeley County Commission Vice President Steve Catlett and County Administrator Gary A. Wine to help deliver the vehicles to their new owners in Charleston Tuesday, May 20.

“The local Delegates really did the work of identifying where there was a need and made the connections for the County Commission,” Hanshaw said. “These are the actions of true public servants at every level, and I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who had a hand in this.”

Contact: Ann Ali at (304) 340-3323

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, today announced several leadership roles within the West Virginia House of Delegates and a change to the committee format for the upcoming 87th Legislature.

Hanshaw, first elected to the House in 2014, is expected to be elected House Speaker for the fifth time when the House convenes for the 87th Legislature Wednesday, Jan. 8. “Each of the ladies and gentlemen who will come to this building to take the oath of office will do so with the confidence of the 1.8 million West Virginians who are counting on us to chart a course of leadership and progress that will improve their daily lives,” Hanshaw said. “A new Legislature is an opportunity to adjust the foundation we have here to facilitate the work of the House, and we believe the lineup we’ve assembled will bring about new discussions, new approaches and new solutions.”

Returning to the position of Majority Whip will be Delegate Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer. Delegate Matt Rohrbach, R-Cabell, will serve as Speaker Pro Tempore as well as continue to serve as Deputy Speaker, a role Delegate David Kelly, R-Tyler, will take on as well.

Delegate Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, will serve as House Majority Leader. Several members will serve as Assistant Majority Leaders: Delegates Tom Clark, R-Webster; David Green, R-McDowell; Keith Marple, R-Harrison; Delegate-elect Dave McCormick, R-Monongalia; Erica Moore, R-Roane; Mickey Petitto, R-Harrison; and Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette.

Gearheart will be aided in his role with several Assistant Majority Whips: Delegates Jim Butler, R-Mason; Jordan Bridges, R-Logan; Eric Brooks, R-Raleigh; Dave Foggin, R-Wood; Delegate-elect Sarah Drennan, R-Putnam; and Bill Ridenour, R-Jefferson.

The Conference Chairman role will be filled by Delegate Mike Hornby, R-Berkeley, who will help facilitate majority caucus meetings and policy discussions among Republican members. Delegates John Paul Hott, R-Grant, and Doug Smith, R-Mercer, will return to their roles as Conference Vice Chairmen.

“In addition to a strong blend of new and established leadership, I’m excited to implement a new format for our committee work here in the House,” Hanshaw said. “For far too long, the success rate of a legislative session has been measured by the number of bills passed, and that’s just not the appropriate assessment for what should be a focus on problem-solving.

“We’ve seen that the low-hanging fruits, such as the elimination of the food tax and creation of an Intermediate Court of Appeals, have already been picked after 10 years of a Republican majority. What’s left are the complex, complicated issues that will require a different approach to lawmaking.”

The House will have six standing committees: Health and Human Resources, Energy and Public Works, Finance, Government Organization, Education and Judiciary. The Standing Committee on Finance will have four subcommittees and all other standing committees each will have three subcommittees. The committee process also will see changes.

The Speaker will refer each introduced bill to a standing committee or a subcommittee, and similar to the floor session’s three-day process, a bill going through the committee process may cover three days: Introduction, with agency reviews and comments from the public on day one, markups to the bill on day two and committee votes on day three. Both the subcommittees and standing committees will follow this process.

“Not only did we want to build in specific and predictable steps with appropriate timing for the committee process, but we also wanted to better execute our oversight role,” Hanshaw said. “Not every problem is solved by enacting a new law, and we think regular discussions with Executive Branch agencies will give all of us a better understanding of the challenges, successes and resources out there in every corner of our state.”

The Standing Committee on Finance will be led by Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood, with Delegate Clay Riley, R-Harrison, serving as Vice Chair. Its Subcommittee on Revenue will be led by Gearheart as its Chairman and Delegate Chuck Horst, R-Berkeley, as Vice Chair. Delegate Trenton Barnhart, R-Pleasants, will be Chairman of the Banking and Insurance Subcommittee and Delegate Walter Hall, R-Kanawha, will be the Vice Chair. The Investments Subcommittee will have Delegate Jarred Cannon, R-Putnam, as Chairman and Delegate-elect Ray Canterbury, R-Greenbrier, as Vice Chair. The Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman will be Hott and Roy Cooper, R-Summers, will serve as its Vice Chair.

Delegate Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, will serve as Chairman of the Standing Committee on the Judiciary and Delegate JB Akers, R-Kanawha, will be its Vice Chair. The Courts Subcommittee will be led by Delegate Phil Mallow, R-Marion, as its Chairman and Delegate Andy Shamblin, R-Kanawha, as Vice Chair. Delegate Buck Jennings, R-Preston, will serve as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee and Delegate Bryan Ward, R-Hardy, as its Vice Chairman. Delegate Laura Kimble, R-Harrison, will lead the Legal Services Subcommittee as its Chairman and Delegate Josh Holstein, R-Boone, will serve as its Vice Chair.

Delegate Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, will serve as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Health and Human Resources. Delegate Michael Hite, R-Berkeley, will be its Vice Chair. The Public Health Subcommittee will be led by Delegate Scot Heckert, R-Wood, and Vice Chairman Geno Chiarelli, R-Monongalia. Delegate Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis, will be Chairman of the Human Services Subcommittee with Delegate Margitta Mazzocchi, R-Logan, serving as its Vice Chair. The Health Care Regulation Subcommittee will have Delegate Dean Jeffries, R-Kanawha, serving as Chairman and Delegate Adam Vance, R-Wyoming, as its Vice Chair.

The Standing Committee on Government Organization will be led by Delegate Chris Phillips, R-Barbour, as its Chairman and Doug Smith, R-Mercer, as Vice Chair. Its Subcommittee on Government Administration will have Delegate Jonathan Pinson, R-Mason, as its Chairman and Delegate Mark Dean, R-Mingo, as its Vice Chair. The Subcommittee on Local Governments will be led by Chairman Dana Ferrell, R-Kanawha, and Vice Chairman Mike DeVault, R-Marion. The Agriculture, Commerce and Tourism Subcommittee will be led by Delegate Wayne Clark, R-Jefferson, as its Chairman and Delegate Patrick Lucas, R-Cabell, as its Vice Chair. The Standing Committee on Education will be led by Chairman Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, and Delegate Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, will serve as its Vice Chair. The Delegate Chris Toney, R-Raleigh, will serve as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Education and Delegate Jeff Campbell, R-Greenbrier, as its Vice Chair. Delegate Lori Dittman, R-Braxton, will be Chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee with Delegate Jimmy Willis, R-Brooke, serving as its Vice Chair. Delegate Kathie Hess-Crouse will serve as Chairman of the Educational Choice Subcommittee and Delegate Mike Hornby, R-Berkeley, as its Vice Chair.

Delegate Bill Anderson, R-Wood, will be Chairman of the Standing Committee on Energy and Public Works with Delegate Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock, serving as its Vice Chair. Delegate Bob Fehrenbacher, R-Wood, will serve as Chairman of the Energy and Manufacturing Subcommittee with Delegate George Street, R-Preston, as its Vice Chair. The Economic Development Subcommittee will be led by Chairman Gary Howell, R-Mineral, and Vice Chairman Jordan Maynor, R-Raleigh. Chairman Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, will lead the Environment and Infrastructure Subcommittee with Delegate Rick Hillenbrand, R-Hampshire, serving as its Vice Chair.

“We know this will be a big adjustment for a lot of us, especially our staff and the public, but we are optimistic about this approach, which we think will be easier to follow and will lead to a more solution-oriented approach to lawmaking,” Hanshaw said.

Contact: Ann Ali at (304) 340-3323