MORGANTOWN – A Senate bill to create a paid parental leave pilot program for state employees, lead sponsored by the Judiciary chair, died in Judiciary Friday afternoon. Those who voted against it liked the idea but had reservations about the details.
Current code allows state employees to take 12 weeks unpaid leave for a birth or adoption.
SB 197, by chair Charles Trump, R-Morgan, would create a pilot program to provide 12 weeks of paid leave, paid at 90% of the employee’s average weekly wage, up to $1,000 per week. An employee would have to work 12 contiguous weeks to be eligible.
The bill excludes employees of cities, counties and school boards, along with certain others. The 12 weeks would be in addition to accrued annual and sick leave. And the employee could add another six unpaid weeks to the 12 paid weeks under existing code allowing for leave to care for a seriously ill child.
The bill forbids scattering the leave – taking every Friday off, for example – and forbids working on a reduced leave schedule without an agreement with the employer. The employer could not reduce pay or benefits or demote the employee prior to taking leave, but could hire a temporary to fill the slot.
The bill creates a new fund administered by the Department of Labor to pay for the program, with the money coming from ABCC licensing fees, along with any other money the Legislature would want to appropriate.
The pilot would start July 1 and end Dec. 31, 2027.
The bill has two fiscal notes with no dollar figures in them, because no one knows how many people would use the leave or how many temps would be needed.
The unknown costs, the short vestment period and assorted other detail questions sparked some of the opposition to the bill.
Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, said, “I do think it’s a noble concept.” This is a societal issue and a real struggle for young parents. But the bill has too many fiscal uncertainties – and the 12 weeks to qualify seems too short and open to abuse.
“I’m a no vote on this as it’s drafted but I’m not opposed to the idea of lets study this” to put together a program.
The committee’s two Democrats supported the bill. One was co-sponsor Sen. Mike Woelfel, Cabell.
The other was Sen. Mike Caputo, Marion. He said, “The study is in the bill; it’s a pilot program. … Sometimes studies is where good things go to die.”
It’s funded with the alcohol fees, he said, and it was slated to go next to Finance, where they could study that more closely. “I think it’s a noble cause.”
The vote was 6-6 and it died in a tie. Four Republicans joined the two Democrats to support it. Six Republicans voted against it.
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