Rep. Tom Clark

Maddy summaryHB 3332 permanently grants land reuse agencies and municipal land banks the right of first refusal to purchase certain tax-delinquent properties before public auction. It affects these specific local entities by allowing them to buy properties meeting one of three criteria: assessed value of $50,000 or less, municipal liens exceeding current back taxes, or being on a vacant property registry for 24+ consecutive months. The bill removes a sunset date on this provision, making the right permanent. This change enables these agencies to acquire qualifying properties directly, bypassing public auction, without altering the existing tax lien process.

Maddy summaryHB 3077 creates a tax credit for West Virginia employers who hire interns or apprentices in high-demand fields like manufacturing, healthcare, IT, and skilled trades (e.g., electricians, welders). Employers receive a 50% credit on wages paid (up to $10,000 per trainee annually), with a maximum $150,000 total credit per business yearly. The credit excludes retail, food service, administrative roles, and non-technical positions. Employers must apply for certification through the West Virginia Department of Economic Development to claim the credit and report trainee details annually.

Maddy summaryHB 3049, the Community School Parent Choice Act, requires West Virginia county school boards to provide parents a formal process before closing or consolidating a school. The bill mandates that boards prepare written reasons and impact statements for public review 30 days prior to a hearing, hold public hearings with specific accessibility requirements, and consider input from school improvement councils representing affected schools. Parents of students at schools facing closure or consolidation are directly affected, as they gain a structured opportunity to voice concerns before a final decision. The law includes a 10-year expiration date and applies to all school closures except those approved via prior voter-approved construction bonds.

Maddy summaryThis bill (HB 3323) requires healthcare providers, law enforcement, and emergency responders to report overdose data within 24 hours to the Office of Drug Control Policy. The collected data will populate a public dashboard tracking non-fatal and fatal overdoses, opioid antagonist use, drug types, and treatment outcomes - including location, demographics, and trends - to inform resource allocation and program effectiveness. It does not expand diversion programs to include felonies, as mistakenly implied in the title; the actual provisions focus solely on overdose reporting and data transparency. The bill mandates a daily-updated public dashboard with visualizations, including overdose hotspots and medication-assisted treatment coordination. This policy change directly affects hospitals, first responders, and law enforcement agencies by requiring standardized data reporting.

Maddy summaryHB 3331 updates West Virginia's rules for diesel-powered equipment in underground coal mines. It gives the state's Director of Miners' Health, Safety, and Training authority to create regulations that align with federal MSHA standards, without being stricter than those federal rules. The bill eliminates the need for site-specific testing of equipment already approved under federal standards and establishes a process for mine operators to request alternative technologies or exemptions. Each request must be reviewed on a mine-by-mine basis to ensure miner safety isn't compromised, with decisions made within 180 days of application.

Maddy summaryHB 3314 would require West Virginia to pay teachers in grades 7-12 an additional $25 per day for each student in their class beyond a 30-student limit, effective for the 2024-2025 school year. This applies to core academic classes but excludes physical education, band, chorus, strings, theater, dance, and other artistic performance courses. The bill amends the state's teacher salary schedule to add this incremental pay for qualifying large classes, without changing base salary rates. It directly affects middle and high school teachers in subject areas with class sizes exceeding 30 students during the 2024-2025 school year.

Maddy summaryHB 3315 adds two new salary increments to West Virginia's teacher pay scale: "Bachelor's Plus 30" (for teachers with a bachelor's degree and 30+ years of experience) and "Master's Plus 60" (for those with a master's degree and 60+ years of experience). These new salary steps will be included in the existing State Minimum Salary Schedule, effective for the 2024-2025 school year and beyond. The bill directly affects teachers who meet these specific degree and experience thresholds, providing them with higher salary placement without altering current pay levels for other experience ranges. It creates two additional columns in the salary table to reflect these new pay tiers for eligible educators.

Maddy summaryHB 3309 would amend West Virginia's retirement law to allow sheriffs in the public retirement system to retire at age 62 with eight years of actual, contributing service, instead of the standard 10 years required for newer members. This change specifically applies to sheriffs who became members through their election as sheriff and are not covered by another retirement plan. The bill creates a separate retirement eligibility standard for sheriffs, lowering the service requirement from 10 to 8 years. This policy directly affects eligible sheriffs by providing an earlier retirement option under the amended law.

Maddy summaryHB 3066 requires West Virginia's Corrections Commissioner to create an "Orange Alert" system that notifies registered crime victims within a 40-mile radius when a prisoner escapes or is released from a state correctional facility or jail. Victims must proactively register to receive these alerts, with registration details published in local newspapers. The bill mandates this system for all state correctional facilities and jails, making registration the victim's responsibility rather than automatic notification. This policy change establishes a formal notification framework but does not require automatic alerts for all victims.

Maddy summaryHB 3268 modifies rules governing student transfers for athletic and academic eligibility in West Virginia secondary schools. It requires the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission to update its rules regarding athletic eligibility for students transferring between schools and for incoming ninth-grade students' academic eligibility. The bill amends existing statutes to clarify the commission's authority to adjust these rules, directly affecting student-athletes and their eligibility to participate in school sports programs. This is a procedural change to commission rulemaking authority, not a new law affecting student rights or school funding.