Del. Keith Marple

Maddy summaryHB 3319, the "Restoring Sanity Act," prohibits West Virginia public schools and state universities from requiring instruction, course content, or statements about specific concepts deemed "factual" or "beliefs" related to race, gender, or sexuality. It bans diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices at public colleges and redirects funds from such offices to merit scholarships for lower-income, first-generation, or in-state students. The bill also requires schools to report complaints about violations and prohibits employees from being required to use a student's preferred pronoun if it conflicts with their biological sex, while clarifying that using biological sex-based pronouns does not create legal liability. These provisions apply directly to school districts, public charter schools, the West Virginia Board of Education, and state universities.

Maddy summaryHB 3321 increases West Virginia's minimum auto insurance coverage requirements. Starting January 1, 2026, drivers must carry $50,000 for bodily injury/death per person, $100,000 for multiple people, and $50,000 for property damage per accident. This raises current 2026 minimums from $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 to the new amounts. Existing policies in effect as of December 31, 2025, will remain valid until renewal. The bill directly affects all vehicle owners and operators in West Virginia requiring proof of financial responsibility.

Maddy summaryHB 3322 prohibits public servants in West Virginia - including legislators - from accepting any gift or gratuity from individuals or entities with business before them, even if the gift is unexpected or given after an action is completed. It directly affects all state officials, including lawmakers, who handle matters like regulations, contracts, or legislation. Key provisions ban accepting such gifts in exchange for official actions, with limited exceptions for trivial items, family-related gifts, or social events posing no risk of bias. The bill also explicitly excludes campaign contributions that comply with election laws from these restrictions.

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 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 3296 clarifies and strengthens how West Virginia municipalities can address dilapidated or abandoned properties. The bill allows municipalities to locate owners of such properties and report non-compliance to credit agencies, potentially affecting the owner's credit rating. It also requires property owners to cover the costs of demolishing unsafe structures instead of municipalities bearing those expenses. This directly affects property owners of unsafe buildings and local governments responsible for public safety.

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 3221, the Burial Equity Act, expands burial benefits in West Virginia state cemeteries to include eligible former National Guard and military reserve members (such as Individual Mobilization Augmentees and Active Guard Reserve), their spouses, and dependent children. It sets specific eligibility criteria: four years of service, two years of West Virginia residency before death (or service in West Virginia units), and a non-dishonorable discharge, with retroactive application for deaths after March 15, 2022. The bill creates a Burial Equity Grant Program administered by the Veterans Affairs department, offering up to $1,000 per family to cover burial costs on a first-come, first-served basis. It also establishes a dedicated Burial Equity Fund, initially funded with $50,000 from the legislature, to support these grants using state appropriations, federal funds, and private donations.

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.