Del. Jeff Stephens

Maddy summaryHB 3130 strengthens animal welfare protections in West Virginia by requiring pet owners to confine unspayed female dogs during heat cycles and increasing penalties for repeat animal cruelty offenses. The bill defines new criminal offenses like unlawful confinement and animal hoarding, with mandatory mental health treatment for hoarding cases, and updates humane officers' duties to include reporting suspected child abuse, elder neglect, or domestic violence linked to animal cruelty. It also mandates that animal facilities provide public access to stray and surrendered animals and establishes clear standards for temporary and primary enclosures. These changes directly affect pet owners, animal shelters, and law enforcement officers across the state.

Maddy summaryHB 3186 amends West Virginia's labor laws to strengthen the "West Virginia Jobs Act" for public construction projects. It requires employers receiving a local labor utilization waiver (to hire outside the local area) to hire outside workers at the same qualifications and wage rates they provided to Workforce West Virginia. The bill clarifies that the Jobs Act applies to all public construction projects, including those managed by the West Virginia Development Authority, and mandates the Division of Labor to create a public online database of certified payroll records (with personal information redacted) for all employers working on public contracts. This database will include employee residence locations and occupations, making the data accessible to the public for transparency.

Maddy summaryHB 3132 sets new requirements for commercial dog breeders in West Virginia, defined as those maintaining 11 or more unsterilized dogs over one year for breeding. It mandates annual permits with county-set fees (capped at $350 for smaller "Class I" operations and $750 for larger "Class II" operations), with funds directed to animal shelters and spay/neuter programs. Breeders must obtain annual vet certifications for breeding females, maintain rabies certificates for all dogs, include permit numbers in advertisements and on cages, and provide written buyer disclosures. The bill directly affects commercial breeders operating at scale, aiming to standardize care and transparency in dog sales.

Maddy summaryHB 3237 requires local governments in West Virginia to report demolition liens against property owners to major credit bureaus when ordering the demolition of unsafe, dilapidated, or abandoned properties. This applies to property owners (including landlords or trustees) facing mandatory demolition orders for structures deemed hazardous to public safety. The bill amends existing law to mandate that governing bodies file these liens with credit reporting agencies, meaning the debt could appear on the owner’s credit report. This policy change directly links property demolition costs to credit history, potentially affecting the owner’s credit score.

Maddy summaryHB 2927 authorizes West Virginia counties to test a four-day school week (with 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days) through a two-year pilot program. County school systems must submit detailed plans to the State Board of Education demonstrating how the schedule change maintains required instructional time, preserves teacher planning periods (at least 40 minutes daily for elementary), and analyzes impacts on student absenteeism and fiscal savings. The bill requires pilot programs to focus solely on improving student learning outcomes and must align with state education standards. It does not mandate the schedule change statewide but creates a framework for local experimentation. The State Board of Education would review and approve proposals based on specific criteria outlined in the bill.

Maddy summaryHB 2931 would require West Virginia school districts to designate up to five days per year (not monthly) without students present for school staff to engage in planning and professional development. These days would be added to the existing school calendar as "noninstructional days" for staff use, specifically to improve instruction, and would count toward the district's required 200-day employment term for staff. The bill directly affects school staff (teachers, administrators) by mandating dedicated time for planning, not students who would be absent on these days. It amends existing law (§18-5-45) to formalize this provision within current school calendar requirements. The bill does not change instructional day lengths or student attendance requirements.

Maddy summaryHB 3127 adds a 50-cent fee to every new vehicle registration and registration renewal in West Virginia. This fee, collected by the DMV, will directly fund the Deputy Sheriff’s Retirement Fund. The bill amends existing law to redirect these registration fees - paid by all vehicle owners - to support retirement benefits for deputy sheriffs. It does not change registration requirements or create new taxes beyond the specified fee. The policy change is limited to reallocating this existing fee stream to a specific retirement fund.

Maddy summaryHB 3151, the Closed Captioning Act, requires public venues like restaurants, bars, hospitals, colleges, and government buildings to have at least half of their public-facing televisions display closed captions continuously during regular hours. It mandates that these venues prevent patrons from disabling captions and distribute captioned TVs so they are visible to all guests. Exceptions apply if no TVs are present or if available TVs cannot display captions. The bill defines "closed captioning" as on-screen text of audio content and takes effect upon passage. This law aims to improve accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in public spaces.

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 2705 allows Tier II teachers (those who joined the West Virginia Teachers Retirement System on or after July 1, 2015) to convert unused sick leave into retirement credit. Specifically, it lets them count one day of retirement service credit for every two days of accrued sick leave, increasing their retirement benefits. This change modifies existing retirement rules to provide an additional way for eligible teachers to boost their retirement income based on unused sick time.