The West Virginia Chamber is pleased to present its Scorecard for the first session of the 86th West Virginia Legislature.
Over a dozen bills that have an impact on economic development, job creation and education outcomes were used to create this annual scorecard. A working group of West Virginia Chamber of Commerce members participated in a thorough vetting of these issues, and helped provide guidance on the “weight” each vote should have on a legislator’s final score.
To read a description of each bill that is “scored,” please click the category tab for that item. To view the scorecard, please click here.
2023: HB 3035 – Relating generally to high-quality education programs and school operations
HB 3035 is a comprehensive bill designed to ensure that students are reading and doing math at grade level by the third grade. This bill also adds a highly qualified teacher’s aid to all classrooms in the 1st through the 3rd Grade. The bill contains the provisions of SB 274 which was known as the Third Grade Success Act. The West Virginia Chamber strongly supported HB 3035.
2023: SB 188 – Grid Stabilization and Security Act of 2023
SB 188 was designed to demonstrate to groups building natural gas-fired power plants that West Virginia is a welcoming location for such projects. The bill expedites the permitting process for these plants and also directs the Secretary of Economic Development to locate potential sites for natural gas generation. Under the provisions of this bill, these plants will not sell to West Virginia customers, but rather directly to PJM, the regional grid. The West Virginia Chamber strongly supported SB 188.
2023: SB 188 Foster Amendment – **TRIPLE WEIGHTED**
Delegate Foster’s amendment to SB 188 was a direct attempt to kill the bill by diluting the intent of the language by combing a similar coal bill. It was noted that a similar amendment to include gas in the coal version was not made by Delegate Foster. The West Virginia Chamber strongly opposed Delegate Foster’s amendment to SB 188, and the vote was “triple weighted” in the scorecard.
2023: HB 2882 -Making a supplemental appropriation to the Department of Economic Development – **DOUBLE WEIGHTED**
HB 2882 was a supplemental appropriation to the Department of Economic Development to fulfill the commitment made to Form Energy for locating on the site of the former Weirton Steel Mill. Form Energy is a high-tech battery manufacturing company that will bring 750 jobs to the region and help spur economic development where Weirton Steel once stood. There are several safeguards in place related to Form Energy meeting certain thresholds. The West Virginia Chamber strongly supported HB 2882, and this vote was “double weighted” in the scorecard.
2023: HB 2882 – Phillips Senate Amendment – **DOUBLE WEIGHTED**
Senator Phillips’ amendment to HB 2882 would have reduced the supplemental appropriation to the Department of Economic Development below the necessary level to complete the agreement with Form Energy. Specifically the amendment would have redirected some of the funding to a community college program in the state, but debate on the amendment revealed other funds were available for that program. The West Virginia Chamber strongly opposed the Phillips amendment to HB 2882, and this vote was “double weighted” in the scorecard.
2023: HB 2882 – Foster House Amendment
Delegate Foster’s amendment to HB 2882 would have redirected the supplemental appropriation to the Department of Economic Development to the Water Development Authority. The amendment would have defeated the purpose of the appropriation. The West Virginia Chamber strongly opposed the Foster amendment to HB 2882.
2023: HB 2882 – McGeehan House Amendment
Delegate McGeehan’s amendment to HB 2882 would have eliminated the supplemental appropriation to the Department of Economic Development. The amendment would have defeated the purpose of the appropriation. The West Virginia Chamber strongly opposed the McGeehan amendment to HB 2882.
2023: HB 2896 – Relating to making West Virginia an Agreement State with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
HB 2896 was the legislation needed for West Virginia to move forward with becoming an agreement state with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Agreement states are able to enter into regulatory authority with the NRC and are more able to deal with creating nuclear energy within the state. The West Virginia Chamber supported HB 2896, but the only vote taken was in the House of Delegates.
2023: HB 3111 – Creating Infrastructure Ready Jurisdictions
HB 3111 would have allowed municipalities within WV to apply to the Department of Economic Development to become recognized as infrastructure-ready zones provided that they refrained from enacting any other permitting requirements than those already contained in state code. Such jurisdictions would have received preferential treatment on infrastructure grants. The West Virginia Chamber supported HB 3111, but the only vote taken was in the House of Delegates.
2023: HB 3272 – Relating to the operation of private trust companies in West Virginia
HB 3272 essentially ends the Rule Against Perpetuities for private trusts administered by private trust companies by removing the requirement that the trust vest or terminate after 90 years and instead change the requirement to 1,000 years. This bill is designed to help bring more trust banking business to West Virginia. The West Virginia Chamber supported HB 3272.
2023: SB 268 – Relating to PEIA – **TRIPLE WEIGHTED**
SB 268 is a major reform of PEIA, the Public Employees Insurance Agency. This bill helps guarantee that PEIA is financially stable in the future by making some key changes:
- Changes the reimbursement rate of PEIA to in-state hospitals from 50% of Medicare to 110% of Medicare.
- Requires the PEIA Finance Board to return to an 80/20 payer mix
- Requires spouses of PEIA to take insurance through their employer IF their employer offers health insurance. PEIA employees would still have option of paying 100% to include spouse.
The West Virginia Chamber strongly supported SB 268, and this bill was “triple weighted” in the scorecard.
2023: SB 572 – Reforming cause of action for public nuisance
SB 572 was an agreed-to bill between business and the trial bar in an effort to reform what types of suits could be brought as a “public nuisance. Following a 33-0 vote in the West Virginia Senate, several plaintiffs’ friendly delegates in the House Judiciary Committee defeated the bill. The West Virginia Chamber strongly supported SB 572, but the only vote taken was in the Senate.
2023: HB 2218 – Distracted Driving Act
HB 2218 is the Distracted Driving Act of 2023. This bill clarifies that using other applications on one’s mobile phone while driving is illegal, closing a loophole in the law whereby only the act of texting was considered illegal. This bill was a top priority of the insurance industry. The West Virginia Chamber strongly supported HB 2218.
2023: HB 3270 – To amend the deliberate intent statute to limit noneconomic damages to $500,000 – **TRIPLE WEIGHTED**
HB 3270 places limits on the amount of noneconomic damages that can be awarded in deliberate intent cases. This bill was an agreed-to bill between the plaintiffs’ bar and business and was crafted as a way to place some guardrails on this section of law. The bill makes no changes to the amount of economic damages that can be awarded. The West Virginia Chamber strongly supported HB 3270, and this bill was “triple weighted” in the scorecard.
2023: HB 3270 – Motion to Proceed to 3rd with Right to Amend in Senate
This vote was a motion by the Senate Majority Leader to advance HB 3270 to 3rd Reading with Right to Amend. The vote occurred after an objection to a unanimous consent request. The issue was a problematic amendment made by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and this was a step to allow more time to address that issue and avoid another vote in the House of Delegates on the bill. The West Virginia Chamber supported advancing HB 3270 to 3rd Reading with Right to Amend. This was only a vote in the Senate
2023: HB 3270 – Vote on Senate Judiciary Committee Amendment – **DOUBLE WEIGHTED**
This was a vote on approving the amendment that was made by the Senate Judiciary Committee to HB 3270. As the bill arrived in the Senate, it had been agreed to by the plaintiffs’ bar and the business community. The amendment to the bill was narrowly approved on a 9-8 vote, with both the Chairman and Vice-Chairman opposing its adoption. This amendment would have had the effect of killing the bill, but was successfully rejected by the full Senate. The West Virginia Chamber strongly opposed the Judiciary Committee amendment to HB 3270, and this vote was “double weighted” in the scorecard. This was only a vote in the Senate.
2023: HB 2526 – Relating to reducing the Personal Income Tax – **TRIPLE WEIGHTED**
HB 2526 was the tax reform bill of the 2023 Legislative Session. The bill had several components including:
- 21.25% cut to the Personal Income Tax
- 100% rebate on Vehicle Property Taxes
- 50% Business and Inventory Tax credit for businesses with an assessed value of <$1 Million
- 100% homestead exemption for disabled veterans
The West Virginia Chamber strongly supported HB 2526 and this bill was “triple weighted” in the scorecard.
2023: SB 151 – Levying tax on pass-through entity’s income – **TRIPLE WEIGHTED**
SB 151 allows owners of pass-through entities to be taxed at the entity level rather than at the individual level. The effect is a potentially significant savings to the federal Personal Income Taxes for pass-through entity owners with zero cost to the State of West Virginia. The West Virginia Chamber strongly supported SB 151 and this bill was “triple weighted” in the scorecard.
