HB 5168: To increase funding for EMS first responders. - West Virginia

hb5168 hfat criss 2-23 _1 adopted.htm → hb5168 sfat barrett _1 3-11 adopted.htm · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill's title was amended to explicitly include fire protection alongside emergency medical services, broadening the legislation's scope. The amendment also clarifies that microgrids and high-impact data centers are entitled to county fire and police protection and must pay associated fees. Funding amounts were standardized by changing the numerical representation of millions to written words for clarity.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to explicitly include fire protection services and clarified the obligations and entitlements of microgrids and high-impact data centers regarding local fire and police fees.

SCOPE

Added 'fire protection' to the bill's purpose, expanding it beyond just emergency medical services.

ELIGIBILITY

Explicitly stated that microgrids and high-impact data centers are entitled to county fire and police protection.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified that microgrids and high-impact data centers must pay county fire and ambulance fees.

TECHNICAL

Changed funding amounts from numerical format (e.g., '$3 million') to written words (e.g., 'three million dollars') for consistency.

hb5168 s gov am _1 3-4 adopted.htm → hb5168 hfat criss 2-23 _1 adopted.htm · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to reject the previous version and instead adopt a new title that clarifies the bill's purpose and specific actions. The substantive policy content, including the creation of new funds, salary enhancement provisions, and lottery funding allocations, remains unchanged from the previous version.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's intent is clarified in the adopted title, but the operational scope regarding which counties receive funds and the specific dollar amounts allocated from the lottery remains the same.

TITLE

The bill's title was changed to explicitly list the new article numbers, the renamed existing fund, and the specific dollar amounts ($6 million, $3 million, $3 million) to be transferred from the State Lottery Fund.

PROCEDURAL

The motion by the Committee on Government Organization to amend the bill was removed.

A new motion by Delegate Criss to amend the bill's title was added and adopted.

The status of the bill was changed from 'Adopted' and 'Rejected' to solely 'REJECTED' regarding the previous amendment motion.

hb5168 s fin am _1 3-6 adopted.htm → hb5168 s gov am _1 3-4 adopted.htm · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill's committee amendment changed from the Finance Committee to the Government Organization Committee, shifting the bill's focus from broad economic development incentives for microgrids and data centers to specific funding allocations for emergency medical services. The substantive policy change involves renaming an emergency medical services fund to include 'Crisis Response' and 'Mental Health Treatment,' and adjusting the fund's purpose to explicitly support mental health training and crisis intervention teams in addition to salary increases.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted entirely from economic development and infrastructure regulation to emergency medical services funding and administration.

SCOPE

Removed all provisions regarding certified microgrid districts and high-impact data centers, including exemptions from local zoning, permitting, and tax regulations.

Added provisions establishing a special revenue fund for emergency medical services, crisis response, and mental health treatment.

FISCAL

Modified the fund name and purpose to explicitly include mental health treatment and crisis response training, removing the requirement that expenditures be limited to salary supplementation.

DEFINITION

Updated the fund title to reflect its expanded purpose of supporting crisis response and mental health treatment alongside salary enhancements.

Committee Substitute → hb5168 s fin am _1 3-6 adopted.htm · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to replace the original text with a new version that significantly expands the scope of emergency medical services funding and introduces new economic development provisions. The changes include renaming existing funds to clarify their purposes, adding specific restrictions on how lottery money can be used (requiring a 30% county match and prioritizing mental health training), and inserting a completely new section that grants state immunity to certified data centers and microgrid districts from local zoning and permitting laws.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from solely funding emergency medical services to also include economic development incentives for data centers and microgrid districts, while simultaneously tightening eligibility and usage rules for the medical services funds.

FISCAL

Added a new section requiring a 30% county match for lottery funds distributed to emergency medical services and prioritizing mental health training for the first $1 million.

SCOPE

Inserted a new chapter granting state-level protections and exemptions from local zoning, permitting, and land-use regulations for certified microgrid districts and high-impact data centers.

DEFINITION

Renamed the 'Emergency Medical Services Salary Enhancement Fund' to 'Emergency Medical Services Crisis Response and Mental Health Treatment Fund' to reflect expanded purposes.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the distribution criteria for the County Emergency Medical Services Fund to strictly require counties to have an existing excess levy or dedicated fee to qualify.

Added a requirement for an annual report to the Legislative Oversight Commission detailing fund distribution and salary enhancement data.

Enrolled Committee Substitute → Committee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill text was converted from a formal 'Enrolled Committee Substitute' format to a raw HTML web page view containing navigation menus and footer links. Substantively, the core legislative provisions regarding emergency medical service funding and microgrid protections remain identical, though the HTML version contains a minor typo in the fund name and omits the specific $6 million, $3 million, and $3 million transfer amounts in the main text, relying instead on a separate section to define those figures.

Scope change

The scope of the legislation (emergency services funding and microgrid protections) remains unchanged, but the document format shifted from a clean legislative text to a webpage layout with added interface elements.

TECHNICAL

The document structure changed from a clean legislative text to a web page view, adding navigation menus, links, and footer content that are not part of the law itself.

A minor typo was introduced in the fund name, changing 'Crisis Response' to 'Crisis Response,' with an extra comma.

The specific dollar amounts ($6 million, $3 million, $3 million) for lottery fund transfers were removed from the main summary paragraph in the HTML version, though they are still defined in a separate section.

Extensive HTML navigation links, search bars, and footer information were added, which are irrelevant to the legal content.

Engrossed Committee Substitute → Enrolled Committee Substitute · 5 edits · Apr 1, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized into its enrolled version, adding new provisions to ensure funding for emergency medical services and high-impact data centers. The most significant change is the addition of a new section (§5B-2-21b) that grants 'certified microgrid districts' and 'certified high impact data centers' immunity from local zoning, permitting, and land-use restrictions while requiring them to pay local service fees like fire and police protection. Additionally, the text for the emergency medical services funds was updated to clarify the distribution of lottery profits, specifying that $6 million goes to mental health training, $3 million to counties with excess levies, and $3 million to all other counties.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a new regulatory framework for microgrids and data centers, exempting them from certain local laws while mandating they pay specific local fees.

SCOPE

Added a new section (§5B-2-21b) creating a special status for 'certified microgrid districts' and 'certified high impact data centers'.

ELIGIBILITY

Established that certified microgrids and data centers are exempt from local zoning, building permits, and land-use restrictions.

REQUIREMENT

Required certified microgrids and data centers to pay business taxes, sales taxes, and service fees (fire, police, sanitation) to local governments.

Added a requirement that counties receiving lottery funds for mental health training must provide a 30 percent cash match from their own funds.

FISCAL

Clarified the allocation of State Lottery Fund profits to emergency medical services, specifying exact dollar amounts for mental health training, counties with excess levies, and general county funds.

Introduced Version → Engrossed Committee Substitute · 5 edits · Mar 14, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was significantly expanded to create two new special revenue funds for emergency medical services (EMS) in addition to the existing one. While the original version allocated $12 million annually to a single fund, the new version splits this into $6 million for the original fund and $3 million each for two new funds: one for counties with excess levies and one for all other counties. Crucially, the new version adds a requirement that lottery money awarded to counties must be matched by local funds and explicitly prohibits using these specific lottery funds for salary increases, limiting them to crisis response and mental health treatment.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a single statewide EMS fund to a three-fund system that differentiates between counties with specific financial burdens (excess levies) and all other counties, creating a more targeted distribution mechanism.

FISCAL

Created two new special revenue funds: the 'County Emergency Medical Services Fund' for counties with excess levies and the 'All County Emergency Medical Services Fund' for all other counties.

Changed the annual lottery allocation from a single $12 million transfer to a split distribution of $6 million to the original fund, $3 million to the new county-specific fund, and $3 million to the new all-county fund.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a mandatory matching requirement where any money awarded to a county from the State Lottery must be matched equally by county or other funds.

REQUIREMENT

Added a specific prohibition preventing the use of lottery-transferred funds for salary increases, restricting them strictly to crisis response and mental health treatment.

SCOPE

Established a new distribution priority for the new funds that specifically targets counties that have reached the maximum allowable rate on regular levies or have a special levy for EMS.

To increase funding for EMS first responders.

What changed between versions

How they voted

Actions timeline

Sponsors