From the Well | February 13, 2024

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86th West Virginia Legislature

State Capitol

February 13, 2024

West Virginia News Headlines

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INSURANCE COVERAGE: The Senate Finance Committee passed legislation that is a Committee Substitute bill relating to health insurance coverage for certain emergency services.

LAW ENFORCEMENT: The Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 732, which expands cooperation between law-enforcement agencies and military authorities.

OPIOID PRESCRIPTIONS: Passed by the House Banking and Insurance Committee, House Bill 5340 prohibits insurance providers from preferring opioid drugs over non-opioid drugs for pain treatment.

BOARD OF MEDICINE: The Senate Health and Human Resources Committee adopted legislation that combines the West Virginia Board of Medicine and the West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine into a single board.

DIVIDING DHHR: The House Health and Human Resources Committee adopted House Bill 4978, which, according to Counsel, is one of a series of bills necessary to implement a 2023 law that divided the former Department of Health and Human Resources.

VACCINATIONS: The House Health and Human Resources Committee adopted legislation that says provisions for vaccination would apply to virtual school students who participate in West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities programs or co-curricular programs.

WORKFORCE BENEFITS: The Senate Workforce Committee passed a bill that expands the employment and training requirements necessary for individuals to receive SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits in West Virginia.

PROPERTY TAX: The Senate Finance Committee approved Senate Bill 395, which relates to the valuation of industrial property and natural resources by the tax commissioner.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: The Senate Education Committee approved a bill that prohibits a public school student from being required to participate in instruction related to sexual orientation and gender identity if the student’s parent, custodian, or guardian objects in writing.

Increase to minimum of $2,000 as the amount recoverable by fire companies from homeowners insurance policies

for response to fire call

The legislation aims to standardize the minimum coverage that insurance providers must offer for fire department services across different policies.

The amendment added subsection B, which creates an effective date of January 1, 2026, for the bill. The Committee learned that provision allows insurance companies enough time to place the new language in their policies and make any necessary changes before it goes into effect.

Relating to health insurance coverage for certain emergency services

The bill will be reported to the full body with the recommendation it pass.

SB444 aims to mandate that insurance providers cover pre-hospital screening and stabilization care provided by an ambulance service, whether the patient is transported to an emergency room or later declines transportation.

The bill excludes air ambulance services and specifies that coverage would be subject to deductibles or copayments required by an individual’s insurance plan. It would apply that mandate to several types of insurance providers in West Virginia.

Requiring cooperation between law-enforcement agencies and military authorities

The legislation specifically provides that prosecuting attorneys may assign an assistant prosecutor to provide assistance to the National Guard or other military authority in the state.

Counsel said the bill expands information that can be provided and expands the offenses to which the cooperation applies.

Chairman Charles Trump of Morgan County asked Lt. Col. Scott Applegate, Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for the West Virginia National Guard, why the bill is needed. Lt. Col. Applegate responded that cooperation between local law enforcement and the military opened up a few years ago but did not include prosecuting attorneys.

“This closes the gap with local prosecutors,” Lt. Col. Applegate said. He added that it also encourages cooperation between entities.

Relating to requiring insurance coverage to not prioritize the use of an opioid over a nonopioid drug

for the treatment of pain

HB5340 provides that if a licensed health care provider prescribes a non-opioid drug, the health insurance carrier cannot require the patient to try an opioid drug first before the non-opioid drug.

Transferring duties and licensing from Board of Osteopathic Medicine to Board of Medicine

The Committee will report the bill to the full body with the recommendation it pass.

SB714 would transfer the regulation and licensing of osteopathic physicians (DOs) from the osteopathic board to the new combined board. Supporters say the change will standardize processes and increase efficiency, while ensuring equal representation of allopathic (MDs) and osteopathic physicians on the board. However, some osteopathic physicians oppose the bill because they feel it could limit their ability to advocate for their unique approach to holistic care and maintain their distinct identity and regulatory board.

The key points of debate are whether separate boards are still needed to represent osteopathic medicine and whether equal representation and rights still can be guaranteed under a single combined board.

Relating to clarifying the authority of appointed officials

HB4978 provides that local boards of health report to the State Health Officer. The statute specifies the Commissioner of the Bureau of Public Health “may be the state health officer.”

Thus, each of the 12 sections of code relating to local boards of health will be amended accordingly, including sections dealing with local boards of health powers and duties (§16-2-11) as well as duties of the local health officer (§16-2-12) who is appointed by the local board of health and who may serve as a full-time or part-time capacity.

The local health officer is to be a physician or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse with the ability to practice independently and be currently licensed in the state and knowledgeable about public health. A local health officer serves at the will and pleasure of the local board for a term of one year and is eligible for reappointment at compensation determined by the local board of health.

The local health officer may be removed from office by the Commissioner upon the recommendation of the state health officer if the local health officer fails or refuses to carry out the lawful orders or rules of the Secretary in the event the state health officer determines a public health emergency exists or if the local health officer fails or refuses to enforce public health laws and rules necessary to prevent and control the spread of communicable or reportable diseases dangerous to the public health.

Upon removal, the board immediately shall appoint a successor local health officer.

To eliminate the vaccine requirements for public virtual schools

The Committee, however, spent most of its time discussing various aspects of required vaccinations for students, including the efficacy of vaccinations, the disparity between requiring vaccinations for students enrolled in schools as compared to Little League, church or who accompany parents shopping, as well as comparing the efficacies of required vaccinations with harmful effects on students who receive vaccines.

As the discussion progressed, inevitably moving into the realm of the pandemic, Committee Chair Amy Summers of Taylor County reminded the Committee that matters regarding COVID-19 were not on the agenda, although Delegate Ric Griffith of Wayne County used the pandemic as a means to support vaccinations as well as documented measles outbreaks in each state contiguous to West Virginia.

Delegate Mike Pushkin of Kanawha County also invited the director of the Charleston Health Department to discuss aspects of the legislation, contributing to the larger required vaccines discussion among committee members.

Delegate Steve Westfall of Jackson County said he came to the Committee opposing the introduced bill but was pleased with the amended bill, which allows virtual school students to participate in public schools as home-schooled students may.

Following adoption of the bill, which has a second reference to Senate Judiciary, Committee Vice Chair Heather Tully of Nicholas County reported House Bill 5361, the final bill on the Committee agenda, would be taken up at the next Committee meeting.

That bill, which relates to influenza immunizations being offered to patients and residents of specialized facilities “on a voluntary basis,” would be taken up the next Committee meeting.

Expanding employment and training requirements necessary for SNAP benefits

The Committee will report the bill to the full body with the recommendation it passes, but first it will be referenced to the Finance Committee.

SB562:

·    would make the requirements mandatory for able-bodied adults without dependents aged 18-59, rather than just 18-52 as it currently stands;

·    directs the Department of Human Services to provide counties with a list of all available SNAP employment and training programs and services;

·    requires the Department to submit annual reports on the mandatory SNAP employment and training program data to the Legislative Oversight Commission to allow for better evaluation of program outcomes over time.

The overall goal is to help more SNAP recipients achieve self-sufficiency through work or job training by expanding the pool of people required to participate in employment-related activities as a condition of receiving food assistance benefits.

Relating to valuation of industrial property and natural resources by Tax Commissioner

The bill will be reported to the full body with the recommendation it pass.

SB395 would continue the current manner in which industrial and natural resources property is valued, keeping royalty interests appraised using a market approach rather than an income approach.

Prohibiting public schools from requiring students to participate in sexual orientation instruction

Each public school, as required in SB515, are required to provide “advance written notification” to the parent, custodian, or guardian of a child subject to instruction with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity, including the right to exempt the child from participation.

Additionally, “public schools and the county board employees assigned to the school” are prohibited from “knowingly giving false or misleading information to the parent, custodian, or guardian of a student regarding the student’s gender identity or intention to transition to a gender that is different than the sex listed on a student’s official birth certificate or certificate issued upon adoption if the certificate was issued at or near the time of the student’s birth.”

A related bill provision would require a public school employee to “report a student’s request for an accommodation that is intended to affirm the student’s gender identity from a person employed by the public school to an administrator employed by the county board and assigned to the school; and require the administrator to report the student’s request to the student’s parent, custodian, or guardian.”

The legislation authorizes the Attorney General to bring action to enforce the legislation.

The state Board of Education is required to promulgate a policy to implement the legislation.

Finally, the bill has a severability clause, saying if the proposed section of law or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the section that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.

The bill passed by voice vote.

There were no questions for Committee Counsel or Committee discussion.

41st Day: February 19, 2024 — Last day to introduce bills in the Senate. Senate Rule 14 does not apply to originating or supplementary appropriation bills and does not apply to Senate or House resolutions or concurrent resolutions

47th Day: February 25, 2024 — Bills due out of committees in house of origin to ensure three full days for readings

50th Day: February 28, 2024 — Last day to consider bill on third reading in house of origin; does not include budget or supplementary appropriation bills

60th Day: March 9, 2024 — Adjournment at midnight