Del. Kathie Hess Crouse

Maddy summaryHB 2453 allows West Virginia public school teachers to carry over unused sick or personal leave days to the next academic year. The bill adds a new provision (§18A-2-16) to the education code, enabling teachers to bank these days without losing them at year-end. This directly affects all public school instructors in West Virginia who have unused leave balances. The policy change is straightforward, requiring no additional approval or application process for teachers to retain their accrued leave.

Maddy summaryThis House Resolution (HR 8) is a symbolic request from the West Virginia House of Delegates asking Congress to pass the federal National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (HR 38). It states that West Virginia residents with valid concealed carry permits should be able to carry concealed weapons in any state that allows concealed carry, without needing to verify if that state recognizes their West Virginia permit. The resolution does not change any laws itself but urges Congress to enact HR 38, which would require all states to honor out-of-state concealed carry permits, similar to how driver's licenses are recognized across state lines. It directly affects West Virginia permit holders traveling to other states.

Maddy summaryHB 3138 would create a 25-foot buffer zone around first responders (including police, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel) while they are lawfully performing their duties. It makes it unlawful to approach within 25 feet after receiving a verbal warning, specifically to impede their work, threaten them with harm, or harass them. Violators would face misdemeanor charges with fines of $50-$500 or up to one year in jail. The bill directly affects anyone near first responders during emergency operations and aims to protect them from interference. (Note: The bill is in early stages, having been introduced on March 4, 2025.)

Maddy summaryHB 3143, the Workforce-Education Partnership Act, allows West Virginia business owners to contract employees to participate in vocational programs or high school classes while keeping them on payroll. Business owners receive a tax credit equal to 100% of the employee’s wages during participation, capped at $50,000 per business annually and $5 million statewide. The program requires written agreements between businesses and schools, ensures employees retain all benefits (including workers’ compensation), and prohibits replacing certified teachers in core subjects. It limits tax credits to one academic year per employee per tax year and mandates state approval for claims.

Maddy summaryHB 3123 requires mammography facilities in West Virginia to notify patients and their healthcare providers when a mammogram shows heterogeneously or extremely dense breast tissue (using the standard Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System). The bill mandates that facilities include specific patient-friendly language in lay summaries explaining that dense tissue may make cancer harder to detect and increase risk, while emphasizing continued routine screening. It also requires density information to be included in reports sent to the referring healthcare provider and allows facilities to provide additional educational materials like ACR brochures or DenseBreast-info.org resources. This bill directly affects patients receiving mammograms, radiologists, and mammography facilities, focusing solely on improving awareness through standardized notification.

Maddy summaryHCR 49 is a West Virginia legislative resolution (not a bill) requesting the Maryland General Assembly reject proposed changes to the North Branch Potomac River's water classification. It argues that designating the river as "Cold Water Aquatic Life" (instead of "Warm Water") would require West Virginia industrial facilities to install costly thermal controls like cooling towers to meet stricter discharge standards, imposing unnecessary costs. The resolution claims this would violate the U.S. Constitution's dormant commerce clause by unduly burdening interstate commerce, citing Supreme Court precedents like *Sporhase v. Nebraska*. It asks Maryland to withdraw the proposal and directs West Virginia's Attorney General to investigate the constitutional issues. (Note: This is a procedural resolution, not a law affecting policy changes.)

Maddy summaryHB 3140 requires West Virginia government agencies to create and maintain a public online database tracking all Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and outcomes. It directly affects public bodies (like state agencies) that handle FOIA requests, mandating they redact requesters' names and contact information from the database - except in specific cases like government officials' requests, public interest overrides, or explicit consent. The bill requires the Secretary of State to update all public FOIA databases within 90 days of enactment to comply with these redaction rules, and failure to redact personal details would trigger penalties under existing law. This changes how agencies currently manage FOIA request records by standardizing public access while protecting requester privacy.

Maddy summaryThis constitutional amendment (HJR 34) proposes changing West Virginia's constitution to give the legislature greater flexibility in taxing tangible personal property. It would allow the legislature to exempt specific property types (like motor vehicles) from ad valorem tax, reduce tax rates for certain items, set different tax rates for different property categories, or classify property as real vs. personal for tax purposes. The amendment requires voter approval in the 2026 general election to take effect. It does not enact a specific tax reduction but creates a constitutional framework for future legislative action on property taxation.

Maddy summaryHB 3101 mandates that public schools in West Virginia must begin the instructional term no earlier than the Tuesday after Labor Day and end no later than the Friday before Memorial Day, starting with the 2025-2026 school year. This bill directly affects all public school districts and county boards of education across the state by setting fixed calendar boundaries for the school year. The legislation specifies that the instructional term must include at least 180 separate instructional days, with defined minimum daily instructional minutes per grade level (e.g., 345 minutes for high school). It also includes provisions for handling weather-related closures through alternative instruction methods and adjusts noninstructional day allocations, but does not alter the required instructional time per day.

Maddy summaryHB 2515 requires West Virginia K-6 teachers to document and report student behavior that is violent, threatening, intimidating, or creates an unsafe learning environment. Teachers must file a report in the WVEIS system within 24 hours of excluding a student, and students excluded three times in a month may face in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, or alternative learning center placement. The bill clarifies it does not conflict with federal disability laws (IDEA and Section 504) and prohibits suspending students solely for absenteeism. It also mandates the State Board adopt a statewide disciplinary policy for grades 6-12. This directly affects elementary school teachers, students with disruptive behavior, and school administrators managing discipline.