Effective From Passage: April 4th, 7th, & 9th, 2025
A recap of the bills passed in early April 2025.
April 4th, 2025
SB 282: Modifying Provisions for Employment of Retired Teachers as Substitutes in Areas of Critical Need and Shortage
Lead Sponsor: Senator Grady (R-Mason, SD 4)
Bill Sponsors: Senators Woelfel (D-Cabell, SD 5), Deeds (R-Greenbrier, SD 10), and Oliverio (R-Monongalia, SD 13)
This bill allows retired teachers and bus operators to work unlimited days as substitutes in areas with critical shortages without losing their retirement benefits. Counties have to create shortage policies and receive State Board approval before hiring retired substitutes, who can only fill spots when no non-retired qualified person is available. If someone retires and starts substitute work in that same fiscal year, they lose annuity reserve benefits during that period. To avoid that penalty, they must retire before July 1 of the prior year. Retired substitutes are temporary part-time employees who don’t get additional pension benefits or seniority. Additionally, this bill cuts posting requirements for these vacant positions from continuous to just twice a year (beginning and mid-year), except for positions on leave of absence or filled by certified staff who aren’t available yet. This program runs through June 30, 2030, with the State Board having to report annually on how it’s working.
SB 369: Authorizing Miscellaneous Boards and Agencies to Promulgate Legislative Rules
Lead Sponsor: Senator Woodrum (R-Summers, SD 10)
This bill authorizes administrative rules for dozens of professional licensing boards and state agencies. Most of the bill involves approving updated operating rules for professional licensing boards including architects, barbers and cosmetologists, chiropractors, dentists, funeral directors, massage therapists, medical professionals, occupational therapists, pharmacists, psychologists, real estate professionals, respiratory therapists, sanitarians, and speech-language pathologists. The Department of Agriculture receives approval for nine rules covering fair and festival funding, meat inspection, fish processing, raw milk sales, and plant-based derivatives including kratom. Small fish processors get an exemption for up to 20,000 pounds per year from certain inspection requirements. The Legislature also amended several submitted rules. Dentistry continuing education requirements dropped from three hours to two hours, with required topics changed from opioid prescribing and drug diversion training to infection control. The Election Commission’s campaign finance rules were stripped of all “leadership PAC” references. The Board of Respiratory Care had date-specific provisions removed from licensure criteria. The bill also authorizes rules for the State Auditor (purchasing cards, private trust company confidentiality), the State Conservation Committee’s grant program, and the Hope Scholarship Board.
HB 2233: Authorizing the Department of Environmental Protection to Promulgate Legislative Rules
Lead Sponsor: Delegate D. Smith (R-Mercer, HD 39)
This bill authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to implement environmental and pollution control rules developed in 2024, which cover: hazardous waste management, air quality standards, emissions standards, and water quality standards, underground injection control, and permit fees. The Legislature amended the water quality standards rule to create a process for removing “Category A” public water supply designations from surface waters lacking capacity to support that use, which requires documentation, a 45-day public comment period, public hearing, and EPA approval. The bill also adjusts fecal coliform standards for the Ohio River during non-recreational months (November-April) to a maximum of 2,000 per 100ml. For underground injection control, Class 1 and 5 wells receive 10-year permits while Class 2, 3, and 6 wells receive permits for their operating life with five-year reviews. The bill directs the DEP to amend NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Program rules to issue draft permits three months before expiration, give permittees 10 days to review drafts before public notice, and allow permittee-Director meetings. Permit modifications for facilities accepting waste from indirect dischargers require material alterations resulting in new pollutants or increased concentrations.
HB 3347: Supplemental Appropriation Administration Diamond Bldg.
Lead Sponsor: Speaker Hanshaw (R-Clay, HD 62)
Bill Sponsor: Delegate Hornbuckle (D-Cabell, HD 25)
This bill allocates $15 million from the state’s unappropriated surplus balance in the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Administration’s Division of General Services for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. This money is designated for capital outlay, repairs, and equipment from surplus funds.
HB 3363: Supplemental Appropriation Public Defender
Lead Sponsor: Speaker Hanshaw
Bill Sponsor: Delegate Hornbuckle
This bill provides $22.6 million in additional funding to Public Defender Services for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. The supplemental appropriation comes from the state’s unappropriated General Revenue Fund balance and is split between two areas: $2.6 million for Public Defender Corporations and $20 million for appointed counsel fees.
HB 3368: Supplemental Appropriation Administration Lease Rental Payment
Lead Sponsor: Speaker Hanshaw
Bill Sponsor: Delegate Hornbuckle
This bill adds $581,900 in supplemental funding to the Department of Administration’s Office of the Secretary for lease rental payments during the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. The money comes from the state’s unappropriated General Revenue Fund balance.
April 7th, 2025
SB 615: Eliminating Accelerated Tax Payment Requirements
Lead Sponsor: President Smith (R-Preston, SD 14)
Bill Sponsor: Senator Woelfel
This bill eliminates accelerated tax payment requirements for large taxpayers in West Virginia. This impacts three types of taxes: consumer sales and service tax, use tax, and personal income tax withholding. Under the existing law, businesses and employers whose average monthly tax payments exceed $100,000 must make an accelerated payment by mid-June covering the first half of that month’s liability. However, this bill repeals these accelerated payment provisions across all three tax types. These large taxpayers will no longer need to make the special June payment and can instead follow the standard monthly payment schedule.
SB 715: Relating to Personally Identifiable Information of Member, Retirant, Beneficiary, or Alternate Payee of Retirement System
Lead Sponsor: Senator Oliverio
This bill makes personally identifiable information (PII) of members, retirees, beneficiaries, and alternate payees in retirement systems administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board (CPRB) confidential and exempt from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This protection covers the following data: Social Security numbers, account numbers, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, medical or disability information, direct deposit information, and any other PII. Members, retirees, beneficiaries, alternate payees, and people they authorize are still able to access their own information.
SB 716: Relating to Failure to Pay Required Contributions and Interest Payments for Certain Retirees who Transfer Between Retirement Systems
Lead Sponsor: Senator Oliverio
This bill establishes the penalties for when police officers or firefighters who transferred from the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) to the Municipal Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement System fail to make required contribution payments. Municipalities can elect to move police officers and firefighters hired after July 1, 2015 from PERS to the municipal retirement system. Officers and firefighters who make this transfer must pay a 4% contribution on their total earnings (plus 7.5% interest) by June 30, 2027, with installment payment options over 24 months. If an officer or firefighter doesn’t timely pay the 4% contribution and interest, the penalty is that all their service years in the municipal plan will be transferred back to PERS by December 31, 2027. The assets previously transferred to the municipal plan get returned to PERS, along with the employee and employer contributions that would have been paid if the transfer had never happened, plus 7.5% annual interest. Any excess employee contributions paid to the municipal plan since the transfer stay there until the employee leaves the municipality.
HB 2331: Relating to Authorizing Certain Agencies of the Department of Commerce to Promulgate Legislative Rules
Lead Sponsor: Delegate D. Smith
This bill authorizes administrative rules for the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training and the Division of Natural Resources (DNR). The Miners’ office gets approval for rules on EMT-Miner certification, recertification, training, and EMT-M instructor certification. DNR receives approval for rules covering wildlife management, outdoor recreation, and hunting and fishing activities. These include: transporting and selling wildlife parts and pelts, general and special boating regulations, campground use in state parks and forests, special projects and grants for state parks and forests, hunting and trapping prohibitions, general hunting, special waterfowl hunting, special fishing, catching and selling baitfish, and falconry. Campground rules were amended to allow adjacent campsites occupied by youth organization groups to share a single adult supervisor (18 or older) at the area superintendent’s discretion. This also permits family camping groups and youth organizations to have one or two additional small tents on their campsite so long as they are not ecologically harmful.
HB 3358: Supplemental Appropriation FBGR DHHR
Lead Sponsor: Speaker Hanshaw
Bill Sponsor: Delegate Hornbuckle
This bill appropriates an additional $21 million in federal funds to the Department of Human Services’ Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. The money comes from federal block grant funds that weren’t included in the original budget.
HB 3365: Supplemental Appropriation HLTH Birth to Three
Lead Sponsor: Speaker Hanshaw
Bill Sponsor: Delegate Hornbuckle
This bill provides an additional $5.9 million to the West Virginia Birth to Three program for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. This funding comes from the program’s own dedicated fund rather than the state’s General Revenue Fund.
HB 3366: Supplemental Appropriation FEDA HLTH OIG
Lead Sponsor: Speaker Hanshaw
Bill Sponsor: Delegate Hornbuckle
This bill provides approximately $980,000 in supplemental federal funding to the Department of Health’s Office of the Inspector General for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. The Office of the Inspector General investigates fraud, waste, and abuse in state health programs. This funding is distributed across several categories: $859,900 for personal services and employee benefits (the bulk of the appropriation), $118,297 for current expenses, and small allocations of $500 each for repairs and alterations, equipment, and other assets. The bill also creates three new appropriation line items (repairs and alterations, equipment, and other assets) that didn’t exist in the original budget.
HB 3367: Supplemental Appropriation SAPR DNR
Lead Sponsor: Speaker Hanshaw
Bill Sponsor: Delegate Hornbuckle
This bill reallocates funding within the Division of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources License Fund for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. The bill shifts money from capital projects to operational needs without changing the fund’s total budget. The appropriation increases operational funding by $2.3 million across three areas: $605,639 for wildlife resources programs, $406,656 for administration, and $1.3 million for law enforcement. To offset these increases, the bill decreases the capital improvements and land purchase line item by the same $2.3 million total.
HB 3370: Supplemental Appropriation FEDA HMSV Summer EBT
Lead Sponsor: Speaker Hanshaw
Bill Sponsor: Delegate Hornbuckle
This bill appropriates an additional $32.1 million in federal funds to the Department of Human Services for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. The appropriation includes $27 million for current expenses (general operational costs), $677,086 for Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) administrative costs, and $4.5 million for CHIP services. All of this money comes from federal funds rather than state revenue, so it doesn’t impact West Virginia’s General Revenue Fund.
HB 3372: Supplemental Appropriation FEDA Veterans
Lead Sponsor: Speaker Hanshaw
Bill Sponsor: Delegate Hornbuckle
This bill provides $60,700 in supplemental federal funding to the Department of Veterans’ Assistance for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, and is designated for personal services and employee benefits, The funding comes from federal sources rather than state General Revenue, so it doesn’t impact West Virginia’s budget.
April 9th, 2025
SB 650: Relating to full-time interventionists
Lead Sponsor: Senator Grady
Bill Sponsor: Senator Woelfel
This bill changes the rules for how schools can use interventionists to meet classroom assistant requirements in early elementary grades. Beginning on the bill’s effective date (April 9th, 2025), any early childhood assistant teacher, aide, paraprofessional, or interventionist assigned to a kindergarten or first grade classroom must be full-time in that specific classroom to meet the requirements. Schools can no longer split one full-time interventionist between two kindergarten or first grade classrooms, but second and third grade classrooms can still use the shared interventionist approach. The bill also clarifies that part-time interventionists only satisfy the assistant requirements for one classroom, regardless of grade level. Under this bill, counties are not required to hire interventionists if they cannot find enough assistant teachers, aides, or paraprofessionals to fill required positions.
HB 3350: Supplemental Appropriation - DCR - Corrections - 0608
Lead Sponsor: Speaker Hanshaw
Bill Sponsor: Delegate Hornbuckle
This bill provides $13.1 million in supplemental funding to the Department of Homeland Security’s Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. The money comes from the state’s unappropriated General Revenue Fund balance. The funding is split between two divisions. Correctional Units receives $11.4 million divided between special services ($5.5 million) and directed transfers ($5.9 million). The Bureau of Juvenile Services gets $1.8 million for its central office operations.
HB 3361: Supplemental Appropriation - Health, Birth to Three
Lead Sponsor: Speaker Hanshaw
Bill Sponsor: Delegate Hornbuckle
This bill provides $6.6 million in supplemental funding to the West Virginia Birth to Three program for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. The money comes from the state’s unappropriated General Revenue Fund balance.