MORGANTOWN – The House of Delegates introduced 580 bills on Wednesday, Jan. 10, the first day of the 2024 session. Some of them are carryovers from last year, and a big chunk of them are agency legislative rules bills. Here’s a sampling of the non-rules bills. Local sponsors and cosponsors are noted.
- HB 4011, to modify exemptions from criminal liability to include a distinction for biological lessons regarding reproduction. Delegate Geno Chiarelli, R-Monongalia, sponsor.
- HB 4014, to authorize the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue special registration plates for autism awareness.
- HB 4024, to require medical insurance providers to include infertility services in their policies.
- HB 4167, to allow for credit card payments at toll booths.
- HB 4178, to grant authority to attending physicians to professional judgment to certify that a patient’s serious medical condition would benefit from the use of medical cannabis.
- HB 4186, to require each high school student to pass a test on the United States Constitution as a requirement to graduation from high school.
- Hb 4191, to modify the requirements imposed on social media companies to prevent corruption and provide transparency of election-related content made available on social media websites; provides equal opportunities for all candidates and political parties to speak without policy or partisan-based censorship.
- HB 4194, adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the categories covered by the Human Rights Act, prohibiting discrimination in employment and places of public accommodation.
- HB 4220, to provide that microschool tuition and fees are qualifying expenses for Hope Scholarship accounts. Delegate Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, sponsor.
- HB 4233, require birth certificates issued in this state to include the gender of the child at birth and prohibit use of the term “non-binary” on birth certificates.
- HB 4251, to establish the offense of adulteration or alteration of medical cannabis testing results.
- HB 4256, to incrementally increase the minimum wage in West Virginia every year to $15 an hour by 2028.
- HB 4299, to authorize teachers in elementary or secondary schools to carry concealed firearms and be designated as a school protection officer.
- HB 4319, to allow the possession and smoking of medical marijuana by authorized persons.
- HB 4414, to prohibit hazing in K-12 public education and set penalties and procedures for violation.
- HB 4420, to redefine neglect to allow a parenting style that focuses on allowing children a certain amount of independence, referred to as free range parenting, and establishing that activity is not considered neglect.
- HB 4421, to prohibit drag shows from being performed in front of minors and to prohibit drags shows in schools and libraries.
- HB 4491, to prohibit home schooling of any child in homes where there is suspected or known child abuse or neglect, or domestic violence by a parent or person instructing the child; “Raylee’s Law.”
