Del. Kayla Young

Maddy summaryHB 2905 would strengthen criminal penalties for individuals who interfere with firefighters during emergency operations. It creates a felony offense for attacking firefighters with deadly weapons or intentionally hindering their work, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. For lesser violations like refusing to follow traffic directions from firefighters at a scene, it imposes escalating fines: up to $200 for a first offense, $400 for a second within a year, and $1,000 for third or subsequent offenses. The bill also expands the definition of "emergency service personnel" to explicitly include firefighters under these protections. This law directly affects people who obstruct or interfere with fire departments during emergencies.

Maddy summaryHB 2833, the Hunger-Free Campus Act, creates a grant program for West Virginia public colleges and universities to address student food insecurity. To qualify as a "Hunger-Free" campus, institutions must establish a task force, provide SNAP enrollment assistance, accept SNAP benefits at campus stores, maintain a food pantry, and develop meal-sharing options. The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission will award $1 million in grants to eligible campuses to fund these initiatives. The bill directly affects public higher education institutions and students facing basic food needs, requiring concrete structural changes to support campus nutrition programs.

Maddy summaryHB 3010 would require the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to subsidize child care services for children of employees working 20 or more hours per week at licensed child care centers or certified family child care homes, regardless of the employee's household income. This policy directly affects child care workers in these settings by removing income restrictions that previously limited their access to subsidized care for their own children. The key provision mandates that the state cover child care costs for these employees' children, shifting the subsidy eligibility from income-based criteria to solely work-hour requirements. This represents a concrete change to the state's child care subsidy program, ensuring all qualifying child care workers can access subsidized care for their families.

Maddy summaryHB 3008 repeals a West Virginia code section (§17A-10-3c) that previously required additional registration fees for alternative fuel vehicles, such as electric or hybrid cars. This change directly affects owners of these vehicles by eliminating an extra fee they would have paid when registering their vehicles. The bill’s key mechanism is simply removing the specific code language that authorized the fee, with no new provisions or requirements added. The repeal takes effect upon passage, removing this cost from vehicle registration for affected owners. (Bill: HB 3008, introduced February 27, 2025)

Maddy summaryHB 2848 requires private and investor-owned utilities in West Virginia to send text messages to customers during service outages. The texts must state that service is interrupted, provide an estimated outage duration in 30-minute increments, and specify affected areas using city, county, and state boundaries. This applies to all non-publicly owned utilities and takes effect on July 1, 2025. The bill directly affects customers experiencing outages who currently may not receive timely outage notifications.

Maddy summaryHB 2953, the Consumer Data Protection Act, creates new data privacy rights for West Virginia consumers. It requires businesses meeting specific thresholds (e.g., $25 million+ annual revenue or handling 50,000+ consumer records) to allow consumers to request copies of their data, correct inaccuracies, delete their data, and opt out of data sales or sharing. The bill prohibits businesses from discriminating against consumers who exercise these rights and establishes the West Virginia Division of Consumer Protection to enforce the law and create necessary rules. This law directly affects covered businesses operating in West Virginia and all consumers whose data they collect.

Maddy summaryHB 2983 would require West Virginia's state agency to provide free identification documents to homeless U.S. citizens living at participating shelters. Eligible individuals must reside at a shelter, use the shelter address on applications, and provide a shelter employee's affidavit confirming residency. The bill specifies three documents: photo ID cards, driver's license replacements, or birth certificate replacements, with a limit of one document per person every 30 days. Citizenship must be verified using approved documents like birth certificates or passports. This policy aims to remove financial barriers to obtaining ID, which is needed for employment and public benefits.

Maddy summaryHB 2908 restricts the West Virginia Water Development Authority’s power to fund infrastructure projects, limiting it to in-state projects only and removing its previous authority to fund projects recommended by the Secretaries of Commerce, Economic Development, or Tourism. It creates a new "West Virginia Economic Enhancement Grant Fund" with two subaccounts: one for matching federal grants (requiring recommendations from state economic councils) and another for specific project costs like bid overruns, service expansions for economic development, or utility mergers. The bill directs funding toward water, stormwater, and wastewater projects that support economic development or tourism, as recommended by designated state officials. This affects local governments and non-profits seeking state funding for eligible infrastructure projects within West Virginia.

Maddy summaryHJR 26 proposes to amend the West Virginia Constitution by repealing Article XII, Section 10, which currently requires voter approval from affected school districts to create new independent free schools. If passed, this change would allow independent free schools to be established without needing consent from residents of the districts where they would operate. The resolution seeks voter approval for this constitutional change in the 2026 general election. It directly affects school districts and entities seeking to establish independent free schools within West Virginia. The bill does not create new schools but removes a procedural requirement for their creation.

Maddy summaryHB 2937 changes how West Virginia's Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) calculates childcare subsidies for licensed providers. It requires subsidies to be paid based on a child's monthly enrollment (number of children enrolled each month) rather than tracking daily attendance. This directly affects childcare centers, family day-care homes, and other providers receiving state subsidies under DHHR programs. The bill amends existing law to implement this payment method change, streamlining subsidy disbursement for providers.