Del. Kayla Young

Maddy summaryHB 2454 clarifies protections for small-scale urban farming operations in West Virginia. It defines "agricultural residential land" as residential property used for limited urban agriculture, including keeping up to six chickens or maintaining apiaries for personal use or selling non-hazardous food. The bill prevents lawsuits against these operations unless the complainant already occupied adjacent land before the farming began. It also preempts local ordinances that conflict with agricultural activities on such land, ensuring state law supersedes conflicting municipal rules. This directly affects homeowners in towns and cities who engage in small-scale food production on their residential property.

Maddy summaryHB 2421 creates a Special Reclamation Fund Advisory Council within West Virginia's Department of Environmental Protection, requiring balanced representation from coal mining companies, environmental groups, miners, and the public. The council must annually assess the fund's financial health, evaluate reclamation efforts, and recommend adjustments to the reclamation tax. The bill also changes bonding rules to require mining companies to base bonds on actual reclamation costs and maintain current payments to the fund to retain their permits. These provisions aim to secure long-term funding for restoring land after mining operations.

Maddy summaryHJR 3 proposes a constitutional amendment to replace the separate offices of State Treasurer and State Auditor with a single Office of Comptroller. This change would combine the financial oversight duties currently split between these two positions into one role, affecting how state finances are managed and reported. The amendment would update the state constitution to remove references to "Treasurer" and "Auditor" and substitute "Comptroller" in all relevant sections, including those governing the school fund board and executive appointments. The proposal requires voter approval in the 2026 general election to take effect.

Maddy summaryHB 2068 prohibits the sexual abuse of animals in West Virginia, defining it as touching an animal's mouth, anus, or sex organs for sexual gratification. It bans actions like engaging in such abuse, aiding others in it, possessing animals for abuse, or forcing children to participate. Violators face misdemeanor penalties (up to 12 months jail or $2,000 fine) for basic offenses, or felony charges (up to 10 years jail or $10,000 fine) for repeat offenses, causing animal injury/death, or involving minors. Convicted individuals forfeit ownership of all animals, pay care costs, and face long-term bans on owning animals (5 years for misdemeanors, 15+ for felonies). The bill also requires psychiatric evaluations for offenders before probation can be granted.

Maddy summaryHB 2128 requires West Virginia public utilities that are members of regional electricity grid organizations (regional transmission organizations or RTOs) to report their voting activity annually. Specifically, these utilities must submit to the Public Service Commission by February 1 each year a report detailing all final votes they or their affiliates cast at RTO meetings during the prior year, including a description of how each vote serves the public interest. The bill mandates disclosure of all recorded votes, even if not otherwise publicly shared, and covers votes by affiliates when the utility itself did not vote. This applies only to utilities participating in RTOs, not all utilities. The goal is to increase transparency around utility decision-making in regional grid management.

Maddy summaryThis House Concurrent Resolution asks members of the West Virginia Legislature to encourage citizens and officials to respect democratic institutions and accept election results regardless of the outcome. It urges elected leaders to avoid spreading rumors or distrust about the voting system and to refrain from claiming fraud solely because their candidate lost. Instead, the resolution directs officials to report any concerns about election tampering to appropriate authorities and allow legal processes to resolve disputes based on facts rather than emotion. The measure serves as a formal request to promote trust in government institutions and does not create new laws or penalties.

Maddy summaryHB 233 requests additional funding from the state's general revenue surplus to support the Child Care Development fund for fiscal year 2025. This bill directly affects the Department of Human Services by authorizing an extra appropriation of $4,600,000 for childcare services. The legislation uses a standard supplemental appropriation process, drawing from unspent state money to increase the budget for the designated fiscal year.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a permanent state child tax credit of $1,000 for West Virginia residents who claim the federal child tax credit for an eligible child. The credit is refundable, meaning eligible taxpayers will receive the full amount even if it exceeds the taxes they owe. It directly affects working families with children who file state income taxes and claim the corresponding federal credit. The legislation aims to support local economies and reduce child poverty by providing additional financial assistance to qualifying households.

Maddy summaryThis legislative resolution asks Marshall University and West Virginia University to lead a group of experts in building a tool that calculates the real cost of childcare. The goal is to help the state better model financial needs for providers and ensure public funds are used wisely, addressing limitations in current subsidy rate surveys. The universities must work with state departments and stakeholders to develop this estimator, which must meet federal requirements for setting childcare rates. By June 30, 2025, the universities are required to report their findings to a state committee, with funding for the project provided through legislative appropriations.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes to allow employees working at least 20 hours per week in licensed child care centers or family child care homes to receive state child care subsidies, even if their household income exceeds current limits. The key provision adds a new section to state law that removes income restrictions for these specific workers while they work in the child care industry. By making this change, the legislation aims to help child care staff afford their own children's care without requiring them to meet strict income thresholds.